Explore How Mental Health Impacts Daily Life

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Identify the links between mental and physical health.
Recognize the ways mental health can intersect with various life stages.
Learn the impact mental health has on job performance and satisfaction.

The Ripple Effect of Mental Health

Mental health impacts our daily life—it’s connected to how we live, work, and interact in the world. That’s why things like chronic stress, defined as a prolonged and constant feeling of stress, can be harmful to our minds and bodies. Everything from high-pressure jobs to loneliness to racism and more, “can wear down our bodies and cause us to become ill, either physically or emotionally.”

There are clear intersections between mental and physical health. People with severe mental health conditions are at high risk for chronic physical conditions and vice versa.

Long-term elevated stress levels can contribute to conditions such as diabetes, chronic pain, and cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. And the link works in the other direction, too. Chronic conditions and illness such as cancer can also impact your mental health.

About one-third of people with serious medical conditions experience depression symptoms.
People with mental health conditions are about four times as likely to have sleeping problems, compared to the general population.
People with both depression and heart disease are almost five times as likely to die as those who are mentally and physically healthy.

Clearly, the mind-body connection is strong. Mental health is health, after all. Let’s explore how it changes throughout our life stages.

Mental Health in Different Life Stages

Mental health can intersect with different life stages in various ways. For instance, life events such as divorce, a new home, job loss, or death of a partner can make you vulnerable and threaten your wellbeing.

In the Salesforce B-Well clip below, author and Thrive CEO Arianna Huffington speaks to the idea of “course correcting” over time through microsteps.

Since everyone experiences emotions differently, there’s no single “right way” to react, and some of us are more deeply affected by life events than others.

If you’re having a difficult time, consider how the events in the current stage of your life might be affecting your mental health. For instance, maybe you’re going through a divorce, causing extreme amounts of stress and anxiety. Or maybe you’re experiencing hormone-driven postpartum depression. It can be hard to adjust to major changes in your life, even positive ones.

How Mental Health Impacts Job Performance

No matter what industry you work in, we’re all moving through a fast-paced and stressful world. If we don’t prioritize our mental health, it’s easy to overwork ourselves and our teams to the point of burnout.

Burnout isn’t a new concept. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) reclassified burnout as an official workplace syndrome in 2019. And, according to Gallup, disengaged employees cost their company the equivalent of 18% of their annual salary.

If you’re feeling exhausted, disengaged from your work, or not as productive as usual, you may be experiencing burnout.

It’s important to illuminate these signs, so you can be aware and do something about them. In the Salesforce B-Well clip below, Flourish cofounder Naveed Ahmad shares why it’s so important to place our value and identity in ourselves as humans, rather than in our work or other things—a critical distinction for effective self care.

For more insights from Naveed, including the six signs of burnout, check out the full B-Well Together session in the Resources section.

Here are some steps to help combat burnout.

Share with your manager that you are feeling burned out. This expresses trust and demonstrates that you want to find a solution, together.
Set boundaries. What are your non-negotiables for yourself? Have a good inward look on what's really important to you, and what's really important to do.
Create agency in your schedule and life. Don't forget that it’s OK to say no.
Check in on your values and schedule time for self-care. Think about what matters most to you and align some activities to those values to take care of yourself. Even if it’s just 30 minutes a day, schedule time on your calendar and stick to it—your time matters, too! Start simple by planning a lunch break away from your computer and phone, which is a great way to refuel and recharge your day.
Take screen breaks. One of the downsides to remote work is that we are spending more time in front of our screens. If your visual presence on a call isn’t necessary, try taking a walk while you talk or asking a colleague if they’d be open to a phone meeting.
Fully unplug when you take time off. Don’t be afraid to set expectations that you will not check email or take calls during your vacation time. Work with your manager to identify a backup and put an out-of-office plan in place so you can return refreshed to projects that actually moved forward while you were out.
Reach out to a professional. Check if your employer offers mental health programs such as coaching, wellness programs, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), and medical/prescription coverage. You may also access mental health benefits through your country’s medical plan. You don’t have to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression to seek guidance from a counselor. And you can proactively build your mental muscles.

Declining mental health can lead to more than work burnout, but also attrition, absenteeism, low productivity, poor quality, missed sales, and missed deadlines. Everyone needs time to recharge their batteries, and when employees aren’t given (or don’t take) the space or support needed, it shows.

Let’s Sum It Up

Mental health is a journey, and like life, it has its ups and downs. It’s important that we remain vigilant and recognize emotional patterns signaling it’s time for action to get back on track and feel better.

To bring our best selves to the job, we have to prioritize our mental health. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance, building resilience, and practicing self care are some of the strategies that help us achieve this goal. We talk more about incorporating self care into our lives in the next unit.