{"id":1412,"date":"2008-10-16T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-16T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2008\/10\/national-boss-day-depression-a.html"},"modified":"2008-10-16T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-10-16T10:00:00","slug":"national-boss-day-depression-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2008\/10\/national-boss-day-depression-a.html","title":{"rendered":"National Boss Day: Depression and Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since it is National Boss Day, I wanted to continue a conversation that was started on the combox of my post “Job Stress Triggers Depression”<\/a> about the relationship between work and depression.
\nAn anonymous Beyond Blue<\/a> reader wrote this:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The connection between work stress and depression is undeniable, and it can start a cycle that feeds on itself. As job stress begins to overwhelm, job performance may suffer, which leads to guilt, which adds more stress, which may amplify depression, and on and on etc.?A man is what he does, “John, he’s a lawyer, Bill, yeah I know him, he sells insurance”. Other factors may initiate the depression, but once started, it WILL spread into a man’s work life, and the cycle begins.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Beyond Blue reader Larry Parker<\/a> added:\u00a0\n<\/div>\n

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From “lack of control” to “low wages,” those are EXACTLY the things you are forced to accept as your resume gets more and more checkered from interruptions due to depressive episodes — making it more likely your resume will become even more checkered and you will have further depressive episodes. What a freakin’ Catch-22 …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And on the September Newbie discussion thread at Group Beyond Blue<\/a>, member Cornfoot wrote:\u00a0<\/div>\n

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My depression pretty much destroyed my career path and now I’m struggling along lost and trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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J. Raymond DePaulo Jr, M.D. provides some statistics on how directly depression impacts the economy and the work force in “Understanding Depression”<\/a>:\u00a0\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Depression alone costs more than $44 billion in the United States economy each year. The impact on society includes decreased economic productivity because of days of work lost due to illness [estimated at 172 million days yearly] as well as increased health costs. And because few people with depression receive diagnosis and treatment, the costs for them, their families, and their employers is even greater. Of the 11 million who suffer from depression each year, about 7.8 million (72 percent) are in the workforce. Major depression carries the greatest risk of disability days and days lost from work. (A disability day is defined as a day during which a person spent all or part of the day in bed due to an illness or was kept from usual activities due to feeling ill.)\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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I remember\u00a0all the discussions fellow patients and I had about work re-entry back\u00a0in my outpatient program at Laurel Hospital. Almost all of us took baby steps on our way back to the office. One man who had held a prominent position at a large consulting firm was asked to go return to work ASAP. The nurses and other patients, myself included, were concerned for him: tackling too much stress too soon. After he listened to some of us and to his family, he opted to do part-time consulting for a month or two before he resumed his responsibilities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n
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I wasn’t able to work at all for six months, and when I slowly started accepting writing assignments again, it was with great trepidation because I had such little confidence in myself. As advised from a friend, I enrolled in a writing class–a way to build up my self-assurance. And I took baby steps–small projects, one after another–that stacked up, one on top of another, eventually grounded and supported me in the working world to take the leap … when I launched\u00a0Beyond Blue<\/a>.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Holding a day job is undoubtedly one of the hardest challenges of a person suffering from any kind of mood disorder. But hanging in there, and staying employed can be very good for recovery. Writes Dr. DePaulo:\u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Despite the problems people with depression face on the job, they’re usually still better off going to work if they can. The ability to maintain some day-to-day functioning, especially outside of the home, is helpful. For one thing, it gives them a reason to get out of bed in the morning, one of the hardest things to do when depressed. Work also provides a good distraction from the illness for most patients. And completing even simple tasks means that the patient accomplished something that others value.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To read more Beyond Blue, go to www.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue<\/a>, and to get to Group Beyond Blue, a support group at Beliefnet Community, click here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since it is National Boss Day, I wanted to continue a conversation that was started on the combox of my post “Job Stress Triggers Depression” about the relationship between work and depression. An anonymous Beyond Blue reader wrote this:\u00a0 The connection between work stress and depression is undeniable, and it can start a cycle that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-depression","category-mental-health"],"yoast_head":"\nNational Boss Day: Depression and Work - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2008\/10\/national-boss-day-depression-a.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National Boss Day: Depression and Work - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Since it is National Boss Day, I wanted to continue a conversation that was started on the combox of my post “Job Stress Triggers Depression” about the relationship between work and depression. 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