Creating a Culture of Wellness

Answer:

I think we’re all a bit stressed these days. Whether it’s the day-to-day unknown of the pandemic or worries about what’s going on in the world, I think nearly all of us in the past couple of years have begun to experience and notice symptoms that are telling us we aren’t at our optimal mental health. In my circle of clients, colleagues, friends and family, I’ve heard variations of: “Sometimes I feel like I’m not functioning normally.” In times of upheaval and change like these, that’s common. And it’s OK to talk about. It’s good to talk about it.

Answer:

Yes! I think we should start by clarifying the difference between mental health and mental illness. Unlike mental illness, which directly impacts about 20% of the population, we all have mental health. Excellent mental health is not the absence of a diagnosable mental disorder, even though having good mental health can help protect us against development of many such challenges.

Answer:

Fortunately, good health habits are also good mental health habits, so we don’t have to go too far out of our way to stay mentally healthy as well. Keep active, eat well, sleep well, and drink sensibly. Other good mental health habits help keep our ‘social animal’ brains in good working order. In practice, this means keeping in touch with friends, talking about our feelings, expressing ourselves and communicating openly, caring for others, and asking for help when we need it.

Answer:

We’re offering enhanced therapy benefits, we increased the number of mental health days and offer mental wellness apps. These are all good first steps. But they constitute just one step along a long road to whole mental wellness in the work community.

Throughout pandemic, I believe we opened up a dialog with our employees about what their needs are, and how they can be met. These employee mental health check-ins and surveys led to new policies. We wouldn’t have known about the issues our employees were facing if we never asked, and provided a safe, confidential space for response.

Our goal is to lead with empathy, and train it into the management culture. Reducing stress and increasing resilience in the workplace begins with open communication, empathy, and a commitment to our core values – which we’ve written down and shared – that include treating everyone with dignity and modeling healthy behaviors and habits from the top down.

To have a mentally healthy workplace, we must create an ecosystem where psychological safety is prioritized and supported at all levels of the organization. Then, if an illness or problem is assessed, provide easy access routes to quality treatment and supports.

Answer:

We prioritized increasing access to mental health services for our members and addressing the insufficient supply of mental health providers within our network. We also are examining ways to expand the behavioral health workforce to ensure we have a diverse slate of behavioral health providers to meet demands, including those in rural and underserved communities.

In the public sphere, CareFirst has been working to encourage federal, state and local governments to expand support of telehealth and behavioral health capabilities. We encourage government policymakers to support and support embedding behavioral healthcare practitioners into primary care practices.

Answer:

As common as behavioral health problems are, silence enshrouds the topic of mental illness. We must strive to create a culture in which discussing depression, anxiety, trauma and other common illnesses become as mentionable as diabetes, hypertension and migraines. When people feel free to express their concerns, they are far more likely to find the right resources. Silence feeds stigma and prevents those who suffer from seeking help. Treatments for the most common conditions are effective 80 percent of the time, and yet only one third of the people who need help will get it, partly because people fear negative consequences at work, and partly due to the lack of access to quality, affordable treatment.

Please reach out to friends, family and the resources we provide at CareFirst. We have the following services available:

• CareFirst Behavioral Health Support: 800-245-7013
• CareFirst My Account
• CareFirst Health Library
• Behavioral Health Conditions
• Substance Use Recovery
• Behavioral Health Digital Resource

To anyone struggling I’d say: give yourself grace. During the past two years, many have faced each day with uncertainty. School closures became routine, as did dealing with testing, quarantine or coping with one’s own or a family member’s Covid-19 diagnosis or a child's school closed for positive cases. If you add an unexpected crisis to this climate, well, it’s a lot to cope with.

You are not alone, and I encourage you not to run away from difficult emotions. Uncertainty, fear, frustration and anger are all with us to stay and are not going away. Give them space to exist and use the tools available to you to live a healthier, happier life.

Answer:

We all have a part to play in recognizing the collective significance of mental health and creating a cultural shift. In our own working communities, we can create an ecosystem where good mental health practices aren’t crisis response measures but are strategic and organizational priorities. The more we think about our mental health needs in the context of health needs, the more effectively we can respond when mental illness arises, meeting it with evidence-based solutions instead of fear and prejudice, and leading to better outcomes for all.