New Delhi, October 10 (IANS): Chronic stress stemming from the workplace can lead to mental health disorders, but they often stay untreated because of the social stigma attached to it, causing damage to an individual’s health and career, health experts have warned. The National Mental Health Survey 2015-16 revealed that nearly 15 per cent of Indian adults need active intervention for one or more mental health issues and one in 20 Indians suffers from depression. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines workplace stress as “the response people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope”. The ever increasing work pressures can affect an individual’s body, thoughts and feelings, as well as behaviour and cause headache, fatigue, change in sex drive, sleep problems, anxiety, restlessness, lack of motivation, overeating or under-eating, outbursts of anger, drug or alcohol abuse and social withdrawal, among others. “The stigma attached to having a psychiatric disorder is such that employees may be reluctant to seek treatment out of fear that they might jeopardise their jobs,” Bhagwat Rajput, Consultant Psychiatrist at Venkateshwar Hospital in New Delhi, told IANS. As per a study conducted across 35 countries, including India, two-thirds of employees who suffered depression either faced discrimination at work or while applying for jobs. These perceived and anticipated discrimination can be categorised as the major causes for people suffering silently at workplaces and being hesitant to seek proper care and counselling, the experts said.
