Psychological distress in the workplace: to be accepted or prevented?
 

A symposium on psychological health in the workplace was recently held in Montreal. The symposium dealt with a problem that has been greatly increasing over the last decade. In fact, it has been noted that close to half of all workplace absenteeism is due to mental health disorders. This represents about 75% of the number of days lost.

Moreover, Statistics Canada indicates that, in the 2001 census, 4 out of every 10 Quebeckers said they are really or extremely stressed in life. In addition, in 2005 in Quebec, 7.5 million prescriptions for anti-depressants were written, more than 2 million more than in 2001.

Where does this stress come from, not only in the workplace, but in all areas of life? Many possible causes are cited: the search for ever greater productivity, competition with emerging countries, consumerism, a way of life based on immediate drives, a low level of social solidarity or a lack of appropriate personal training on how to face obstacles.

Common sense tells us that it is better “to prevent than to heal,” including at the psychological level. It is therefore better to strengthen our psychological state when things are going well – this is prevention – than to wait for a crisis, because then it is too late and an effort must be made to “heal.”

Anti-depressants seem to be a way to calm some psychological disorders. However, they are not always a long-term solution and, furthermore, they barely touch on the causes of the illness. So how can we prevent these psychological disorders?

There are undoubtedly many solutions, including the one found in the book Plato, Not Prozac: the idea that we can find, in the texts left behind by wise men and women and philosophers of the past, interesting, profound and practical answers to the daily problems that we still face today.

So one of the paths that appears to be worth exploring in the prevention of psychological disorders is active philosophy, which enables individuals who apply themselves fully to this approach to attain a greater state of harmony between their inner psychological reality and their life in society.
 

 

January 9, 2008

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