TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The societal stigma toward mental health has many remaining silent, specifically within the workplace.
This has some Topeka organizations implementing ways to create supportive environments that prioritize everyone’s well-being.
The team at Advisors Excel saw first hand how avoiding conversations about mental health can change the course of someone’s life.
“We had an unfortunate situation where one of our key teams members took his life,” said Co-founder of Advisors Excel, Cody Foster. “To see someone who was such a close friend and such a strong person — literally one of our absolute top performers here that people would turn to for everything. We would always call him our culture ambassador — everyone here just loved him.”
The tragedy opened their eyes to a growing trend, and it wasn’t a good one.
“One in five adults will struggle with a mental health condition this year and we know that to be true — that’s 20% of our population walking around struggling,” said Director of Learning and Development for Advisors Excel, Leslie Carr LSCSW. “The average to seek treatment is 10 to 11 years before a person accesses therapy or some kind of official treatment to treat the diagnosis.”
The situation raised a question.
“How do we make this easier for people to say, ‘Yes, I do need to go talk to someone,’” said Foster.
The company hired an onsite therapist and demand was so great that they recently added another.
They’re also trying to foster an environment that amplifies what it means to be seen and heard.
“When we really push and say, ‘Hey I care about you and I really want to know the truth,’ — I don’t know a single person in this world that doesn’t react to that positively knowing, ‘Someone sees me and someone cares about me’” said Carr.
Knowing the warning signs can be tricky if you don’t know where to start.
Valeo Behavioral Health Care offers free Community Mental Health First Aid classes that walk you through those steps.
“With mental health being a top line item right now of peoples concern and discussion — we feel it’s really important that these classes are offered and we’re very proud to be able to do that at Valeo,” said Development Director for Valeo Behavior Health Care, Aimee Copp Hasty. “It does assist you in identifying risk factors.”
Having those resources better prepares you to provide support and be a voice for those who need it most.
“If you’re in a public setting and you see something that isn’t quite right, you know how to engage, de-escalate, and identify maybe what’s going on with that person who may be having a mental health crisis,” said Copp Hasty.
Understanding that we’re all human better helps us to walk in someone else’s shoes.
“I just think if all of us lived with the perspective of we don’t know what everyone is going through and gave everyone a little more grace in our interactions with them — that would be a good thing,” said Foster. “I just don’t want what happened to my friend to happen to anyone else ever again.”
If you or someone you know is having a mental health crisis, you can dial 988 for 24/7 free and confidential support.
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