Breaking the silence

إضغط هنا للإطـلاع باللغـه العربيـه

With depression at work, the price of silence can be high. Some of the signs of depression you are likely to see include:

• Loss of productivity
• Absenteeism and tardiness
• Poor morale
• Lack of co-operation
• Safety problems, accidents
• Frequent complaints of fatigue and "being tired all the time"
• Complaints of unexplained aches and pains
• Alcohol or drug abuse

You can easily see that such signs and symptoms aren't what you expect to find in an effective and productive colleague.

The price of silence is not only misery for the person who is depressed, it is a persistent problem for all of you at work.

To act effectively, you need to understand that your colleague is ill. You need to understand the illness. There is no need for your colleague to suffer and no need for you to put up with the consequences.

But to get the benefit of treatment, someone has to speak up. If you understand depression, if you can recognize the symptoms, then you can also help.

We can't tell you exactly how to go about it. That will depend on your relationship with the depressed person.

What can I expect?

Denial. "Get off my case." "It's none of your business;" "Leave me alone. There's nothing wrong."

Deception. "I'm just having a bit of a 'bad patch.'" "I've just got a bit under the weather." "I'll be better soon." "I'm not really sick. I've just got a bit tired." "I've had some trouble sleeping, but I'll see the Doc and get some sleeping pills." "It'll all be okay pretty soon."

Disguise. "Sorry I'm late. The traffic was awful." "The alarm didn't go off." "I had a rough night. Woke up about three and couldn't get back to sleep." "Oh yeah, I should have called, but I had a splitting headache." "It was just a touch of the flu." (The third "touch" in the last month.)

Don’t expect them to admit to feeling depressed. They may be afraid of office gossip, of being looked down on and even of losing their job.