By Max Douge

This year’s Olympics will soon come to an end. I’ve been able to see some of my favorite events and have witnessed some amazing accomplishments. I watched a woman from the Netherlands get tripped and fall during the last lap of a 1500-meter qualifier; she got up and sprinted nearly 400 meters to catch up with, and ultimately pass, everyone else to win her race! Katie Ledecky represented Maryland again with her incredible swimming performances, and the Jamaican women’s sprinters won all three medals in the 100 meters! Incredible performances by these and many other athletes!

However, this Olympics appears to have also highlighted mental health for the world to witness and discuss. After failing to execute a difficult maneuver that could have led to a potentially serious injury, USA gymnast Simone Biles shared with the world her struggles with mental health and had to pull out of several events to address it. This happened only weeks after tennis star, Naomi Osaka, also revealed her challenges with mental health and removed herself from a major tournament. Over the past couple of years, athletes in other major sports have also come forward to share their challenges. These revelations are huge for normalizing an issue that many people face but are often unwilling to address. For centuries, people have struggled silently fearing undue criticism and persecution.

As a business community, let’s all do our part to help those who struggle through these challenges. Much like a physical illness, mental illness can be short-term, or it can last a long time. We often make accommodations for those whose physical health has been affected; let’s make sure support is also provided for our fellow workers with mental health challenges. Here are a few resources to provide for employees:

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential support services to employees. If your organization doesn’t offer EAP, learn more about it here.
Whether it’s a crisis or not, anyone can call 211 to find available support services; learn more at https://211md.org/.
The Mental Health Association of Frederick County is a great local resource: https://fcmha.org/.

As individuals, we can provide assistance to our coworkers if we can spot some of the common signs of mental illness, such as:

Excessive fear
Excessive sadness
Extreme mood changes
Avoiding family/friends
Change in eating or sleeping habits

These are only a few of the many signs; for a more comprehensive list, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Warning-Signs-and-Symptoms.

Thanks to a few brave athletes, mental health awareness takes gold this summer!

[Note: as I was completing this blog post, I learned that Simone Biles competed in the balance beam competition… she won bronze!]

Gold for Mental Health