HUMAN RESOURCES
Mental Health: A Foundation for Achievement BY LISA HACKARD, CPA This article is the second in a series addressing mental health in the workplace. In the July/August 2020 NewsAccount, Lisa Hackard shared her story and the events that led her to become a passionate promoter of mental health. In this article, she shares her discussions with two mental health professionals, Amy Lopez, PhD, LCSW, and Alex Yannacone, MA, of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. They explore the importance of mental health as the foundation for professional and personal achievement.
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here are many aspects to health, intertwined and interdependent, contributing to and detracting from our overall well-being. As accountants, we talk easily about physical health, particularly in areas of achievement like summiting Mount Quandary, running a marathon, shooting par at Sanctuary Golf Course, and racking up a dozen powder days during ski season. We also talk about physical ailments, such as food allergies or broken bones, especially those resulting from our achievements. Culturally, these are comfortable for us. Most of us easily offer sympathy and accommodations for these ailments, modify menus for those with allergies, carry things for others, and provide alternatives to walking or traveling for our colleagues who are injured. However, in our profession, like many others, we’re often uncomfortable acknowledging our mental health achievements and challenges or offering compassion to others. Yet we know mental health is just as important as physical health; perhaps even more so in the context of our ability to succeed in our professional and personal lives. With multiple competing priorities, fixed deadlines, and high standards for quality, our profession demands that we manage not only our stress but also that of others. As protectors of the capital markets, we are charged with keeping a steady hand on the wheel during times of dynamic change. We’ve all been grappling with disruptive changes resulting from COVID-19. This persistent virus has turned our world upside down and challenged us in numerous ways as we maintain our professional responsibilities, manage our households, and cope with associated child care, education, and elder care issues. We’ve also had to come to grips with the reality that when we return to our workplaces, things likely will not be as they were before. This ongoing stress is compounded by the daily onslaught of headlines bringing news of more societal, political, and
Now, more than ever, we need the vocabulary, courage, and confidence to cope with stress and strengthen our mental health and well-being to navigate through the challenges ahead. economic turbulence unlike anything most of us have ever seen. Now, more than ever, we need the vocabulary, courage, and confidence to cope with stress and strengthen our mental health and well-being to navigate through the challenges ahead.
WHAT IS “MENTAL HEALTH”? Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, according to MentalHealth.gov. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and it helps determine how CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
September/October 2020 | www.cocpa.org
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