After more than a year and a half of writing weekly about mental health, looking through ICBA’s Workplace Wellness program, hanging out with Corey Hirsch at many mental health events, and talking about it constantly with the media, it’s easy to forget that stigma is still an everyday occurrence and has to be pushed back against.
It comes in our language – words like “crazy”. It comes in our frustrations – “just suck it up.” It comes in our feelings – “You’re feeling depressed? I have it way worse!” And it comes in our apathy – “Maybe I didn’t hear that right.”
But stigma is still there, and we should continue to push back against it.
So let’s keep talking openly about it, educating ourselves and others. And let’s remember to default to compassion first – these are our friends, family, colleagues, and loved ones. They deserve our support.
Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 90 companies and nearly 10,000 construction professionals better understand mental health. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.
