Fear, loneliness, isolation, inability to work, financial worries, loss of self-esteem are some of the triggers that has seen an 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. World Health Organisation
Forbes reported that “fifty-two percent of employers report their employees are more engaged working from home. Yet, paradoxically, mental health concerns and burnout have skyrocketed. Nearly six times as many employers report increased mental health issues among employees since the pandemic began—burnout being among the most common.”
A study by McKinsey found that one of every three employees say their return to the workplace has had a negative impact on their mental health, and they’re feeling anxious and depressed. A total of 59% of Americans are feeling isolated since the start of the pandemic despite the fact that 75% are living with someone and a third are more depressed.
Mental Health Services Australia reported widespread restrictions of movement, social distancing measures, physical isolation and lockdowns were widely implemented from March 2020. The sudden loss of employment and social interaction, with added stressors of moving to remote work or schooling, and more recently, impacts of sudden, localised lockdowns to prevent further outbreaks have negatively impacted the mental health of many Australians. “The pandemic has the potential to contribute to or exacerbate mental illness they reported.
So what happened? We went from a world with a certain amount of predictability to one of WTF is going to happen next. The world changed and people are today still living on the edge waiting for the next one to drop. A certain amount of trust dropped and people continue to live in survival mode which shows up in their physical and mental health.
For myself, for the 20 years previous to March 2020 I had been travelling the world as a professional speaker and overseas 6-9 months a year. I loved it. Every bit of the world travel and sharing knowledge on the world stage. As I saw the world shutting down, I raced home to Australia while I could easily and spent the last two years at home for the first time in 20 years.
Like everyone I had the opportunity to adapt or go down the rabbit hole. What we can change is our response to what was happening. Like I had taught for years, our bodies need to adapt to stress, we adapted to that stress at that time and it changed our environment.
20/21 ended up being a couple of the best years of my life. In fact They were absolutely fantastic, because things dried up I flourished. I was able to continue my work in a virtual environment from home and loved having so much more time for my surfing. That was an absolute bonus.
Nature is not stagnant. It’s constantly evolving and so what’s next.
We get to Rewrite our story and live our future from the present not our past.
I wrote the original 7 Steps to Sanity book in 2002. In the years since the principles don’t change. The 8th Steps comes from the need for us to get out of survival mode and support our mental health more, living from a place of prevention on all levels.
The 8th Step to Sanity is The 5 Keys to rewriting the story so you can adapt and flourish, support mental health and achieve work life balance without sacrificing your lifestyle.
I’m excited to be back to travelling and speaking, sharing my new work “The 8the Step – How To Flourish Amidst Uncertainty.
You can check out my new Speaker Reel here.
