World Mental Health Day: Lifeline Stress Poll reveals work main cause

EARNING over $90,000 in a fulltime job in a capital city, single and aged 35-39 or 50-54, then we have some worrying news on World Mental Health Day.

Many tension headaches are related to poor posture and technology use. For Real Me 10/12.

WORK is the number one cause of stress in Australia with three quarters of workers experiencing some level of stress on the job and one in four reporting high levels.

In the lead up to World Mental Health Day today, the annual Lifeline Stress Poll revealed fulltime employees in major capital cities earning $90,000 or more were particularly susceptible to work-related stress.

Those who were also single and aged 35-39 or 50-54 had even higher chances.

Director of Mental Health at Work and Lifeline ambassador Ingrid Ozols said mental health issues were becoming more common and advances in technology had been a contributor in the workplace.

“The internet was supposed to make our lives easier but now we’ve got even more pressure on us,” she said.

“(Young people) have lost the art of conversation … the more connected we are the more disconnected we are.

“Our biggest challenge is knowing the person we work with beyond their title.”

She said workplaces needed to open up safe conversation about mental health with their employees.

“It’s about seeing the signs, symptoms or warning bells earlier … because we often hide behind a screen we don’t (see) them,” she said.

“It’s also an economic win for the organisation because if we’re well and healthy we are going to be more profitable for the company.”

Sean Redmond, author and executive coach at TS Redmond in Sydney, used his personal experience with occupational anxiety to help companies improve their profitability by focusing on how workers think.

At age 22, he was an outgoing, confident civilian pilot in the air force doing barrel rolls but with two weeks left of training, he witnessed his roommate attempt suicide.

“I went and got help and he was fine but within a couple of hours I started to hallucinate and saw snakes crawling across the walls, my heart started to beat fast, I couldn’t breathe properly and I started to feel a tingling sensation,” Mr Redmond said

“I thought I was having a heart attack but I was having my first panic attack.”

Within 18 months, he was discharged from the air force on medical grounds and couldn’t use escalators or drive cars because he was afraid he would have an attack and no one could help him.

This continued for 20 years.

“The saddest day was when I had to fly from Adelaide to Perth and (I had to be) sedated and accompanied by a doctor and two nurses,” he said.

“Can you imagine a guy that used to be an aerobatic pilot being terrified of flying? It doesn’t make sense.”

Mental health issues often seem illogical.

“We’ve got to normalise the conversation around mental health and look at training organisations in anxiety and triggers and how we can manage triggers,” Mr Redmond said.

“This is a good opportunity to work with employees and unlock their potential.”

Read more about workplace health in CareerOne in your News Corp Australia newspaper today