Mental Health: A Foundation for Achievement

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.

There 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

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we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Adolescent, and Adult Licensed Clinical Social Worker Amy Lopez, PhD, LCSW, of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, says that because the concept of mental health is used in such a broad way, people can be confused about what the term means. “This lack of clarity can lead to stigma, reluctance to seek care, and frustration as people may not know how best to describe what is happening in their lives,” explains Lopez, adding that, “the good news is there are years of scientific studies and evidence-based treatments and methods to help people manage or resolve mental health symptoms and enhance well-being, to live happier and more meaningful lives.” The Johnson Depression Center’s Director of Education and Community Programs Alex Yannacone, MA, acknowledges that life can be stressful, and that stress can have a negative impact on our personal and professional lives. “Many of us grapple with how best to manage our stress and balance our self-care. It can be simple if we learn how to tune in and pay attention,” she says. Yannacone explains that stress can be positive. “It can motivate us, drive us, and help us accomplish tasks and projects in innovative and developmental ways. When stress piles up, however, it can negatively affect our performance. We may become agitated, bounce around from project to project without accomplishing much, and end up burning out or breaking down,” she says.

STEPS TO FINDING BALANCE

So how do we find that balance? According to Yannacone, the first step is awareness - tuning in and listening to what our stressors are telling us and why those messages are important. “Once we listen to the messages behind our stressors, we can begin to address them in productive ways,” she advises.

The second step is categorizing our stressors so we can address them with meaningful action:

Fixable stressors are those we have control over, such as a project due at the end of the week. Here, we want an action plan to address the stressor so we can break it down into manageable steps and ask others to hold us

accountable for our planned actions. 2. Unfixable stressors are those we do not have control over, such as a change of policies or expectations at work, including the recent stay at home order and COVID-related requirements. Here, we want to have healthy self-care habits and a support team to help us manage our reactions to these issues. 3. Overreactions are current stressors over possible events in the distant future, such as where the company might be in five years. Here, we want to give the stressors perspective, acknowledge their distant possibility, and break them down into smaller steps toward a long-term goal or assess their impact on us in the present time. Yannacone recommends daily check-ins to identify and categorize stressors to determine actions, to anticipate stressful times, and to develop a plan for coping and creating self-care habits to build resiliency. “Self-care habits are not just important – they’re critical to our overall mental wellness,” Yannacone says, explaining that self-care habits are intentional actions to take care of ourselves. “Self-care should not be another chore or task, nor does self-care need to be time consuming. Those who prioritize self-care tend to be healthier, have positive outlooks about who they are and what they contribute to, and most importantly, they’re more productive during stressful times.”

PRIORITIZING SELF-CARE

We can look at our self-care habits in six different categories:

Physical (taking care of our body)

Psychological (taking care of our minds)

Emotional (addressing feelings when they arise)

“When we evaluate our current habits in these categories, we can identify where we’re doing well and where we’d like to improve. For example, we may find we’re eating well and exercising regularly but struggling to prioritize relationships. This can be adjusted with a small shift, such as calling a friend once a week or going on a date with our partner once a month,” says Yannacone. “It‘s important to recognize where we can improve and what are realistic expectations for making those improvements. When we create achievable self-care goals for something we care about, we are better at following through and seeing meaningful improvement over time.”

BUILDING RESILIENCY THROUGH SELF-CARE

I’ve learned the importance of building resiliency through self-care habits. When faced with pressures in the past, I often compromised my sleep, nutrition, exercise, and relationships to focus on tackling the challenge at hand. Ironically, those compromises made it harder for me and those around me because of the negative impacts on our collective mental health. Today when challenges arise, I’m more experienced in scaling back my habits to devote enough time to the matter at hand but not to the point of compromise. Maintaining baseline habits is essential to persevering in the right way. For example, instead of exercising for an hour each morning, I’ll cut back to at least 30 minutes three times per week. Or, instead of sleeping seven to eight hours a night, I commit to no less than six. At least quarterly, I assess where I’m doing well and where I’d like to make changes. With the pandemic, I’ve shifted my habits to include daily gratitude practice and outdoor physical activity, limits on the

Spiritual (identifying meaning in life)

Relationship (prioritizing meaningful relationships)

Professional (developing new skills, managing time effectively, balancing workload, arranging comfortable work space)

time I spend reading or watching the news, and sticking to a regular sleep schedule. The intentionality and energy I put into caring

for myself makes me a better leader, colleague, mother, and friend. I’ve also learned the power of identifying how stress affects me and the benefits I get from sharing my stress signs with those with whom I work and live. As they see my stress signs before I do, I’ve asked them to tell me so I can adjust, listen to the message behind the stressors, and move to meaningful action. I encourage those around me to do the same, and I am honored to lead a team that values the benefits of watching out for our stress signs and kindly acknowledging them. This habit has helped propel us smoothly through a number of challenging projects.

INTEGRAL PART OF CORPORATE CULTURE

At KPMG, we recognize that health and well-being are not just a priority, but a business imperative and integral part of our “Heads Up” culture as well. We offer access to employee assistance programs for our partners, employees, and members of their households along with a regular cadence of workshops on stress management, selfcare/resiliency, happiness, mental health, and more. These are in line with our core values of integrity, courage, excellence, together, and for better. We are committed to continuous improvement, including supporting health and well-being as part of the foundation for achievement. “Every step is an end, and every step is a fresh beginning.” – JOHANN WOLFGANG VAN GOETHE

STEPS TO BEGIN THE JOURNEY

I invite you to take the following steps forward in your mental health and wellness journey:

•

Assess your self-care habits using the six categories, and identify at least one new habit to focus on developing over the next month.

Identify how stress affects you, and ask others to help you notice when they see signs of stress. Categorize your stressors, and learn how to recognize the signs so you can move toward meaningful action.

Lead by example, and learn about the mental health resources available through your employer, health care provider, and community. Tap into these resources, explore how they can benefit you, and champion their use with employees, colleagues, and others. Lisa Hackard is an Audit Partner with KPMG LLP, also serving as the National Chair of KPMG’s ‘Abilities in Motion’ Business Resource Group, whose 1,800+ members in chapters throughout the U.S. are raising awareness and supporting people with disabilities and those who are caregivers for people with disabilities. Contact her at lhackard@kpgm.com.

Amy Lopez, PhD, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and instructor at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus where she provides individual, family, couples, group therapy, and telehealth to adults and children experiencing depression, anxiety, mood difficulties, or life stressors.

Alex Yannacone, MA, has an extensive background in implementation and training for prevention and intervention of mental health services and education. As the Director of Education and Community Programs at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, she provides programs and training addressing mental health issues across Colorado.

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