If you’re like me, you’ve had days where you wake up in the morning, and can’t even fathom getting out of bed.

You’re wrapped in your warm comforters, in your cozy PJ’s and have no desire to enter the world as a real human. Whether or not you struggle with depression and or anxiety - I’m sure you’ve experienced a day much like the one I’ve explained above. Motivation when we’re feeling off, down or disconnected it’s hard to pull yourself out and get your butt to the office. As someone who suffers from clinical depression and anxiety - I know the feeling.

Since I’ve never been one to steer clear from talking about my struggles with mental health - I wanted to break down the steps I take to personally deal with my anxiety and depression. Especially as a woman finding her way in the business world.

Personally, I don’t think it’s discussed enough. Since the average full time employee struggles with this - I wanted to dive into the gritty, unattractive truth so you can maybe take some of these steps, and implement them into your life - and continue to grow your career despite the struggles that might be holding you down.

My personal breakdown

I’ve always been a bit of an anxious creature. There’s really no other way to describe it other than living in a place of high anxiety for most of my childhood, teen years and then into my adulthood. And for no particular reason either. I had a great childhood, awesome parents and sibling… but still carried these burdens with me.

I remember always thinking of every worst case scenario, just to have myself prepared - but instead of preparedness, I was hindering myself and smothering my happiness and career growth with these hypothetical situations. Saying it wasn’t healthy is a total understatement.

Into my adult years, I carried my metaphorical suitcase of anxiety with me in most aspects of my life… and grew into a depressive state through a series of unfortunate life events, failed relationships and hard family events. This is when the unmotivated moments began hindering my life. The irony was, that my career was going places, and I was doing extremely well as a young business woman working in the tech industry. I was going places, but my life felt so drab and like it was painted in a melancholic black and white movie.

For the last year of my life, I’ve been on medication to help battle my depression and ease my anxiety, AND still attempted to grow my career. Sounds like an undertaking, right? It absolutely was.

My hope here is that if any of my personal story is relatable to you - that you too can work through your mental health issues and still have a successful, and even growing career. If I can do it… so can you.

Below is a list of tricks, methods and systems that have helped me grow in my industry while dealing with a year of clinical depression and anxiety. It’s important to note, that although these have proven to be successful for me, they may not be as successful for you, and your struggles. Take the time to understand yourself and your personal needs. Once you do that, you’ll be able to better understand the things that lift you out of the hard times.

1. Start being kind to yourself

I’d get stuck in moments where I’d only judge my actions and how I felt. If I had a day where I couldn’t get out of bed - I made myself feel bad for it.

I’m naturally a really motivated person, and strive for greater career growth, and personal growth… but these moments where the depression took over completely engulfed those desires, and my ego and brain reminded myself of it…. Constantly.

I only started feeling better about my stressors when I became a little kinder to myself. Instead of making myself feel guilty for needing a day in bed, or an afternoon of not doing the dishes, I fell into those moments and accepted that they’re healthy in small doses.

If you need to spend a Saturday in bed, watching Parks and Recreation for the 100th time - do it. Embrace it, and move into the next day knowing you did something for yourself, and it felt good.

2. Creating comfortable & safe spaces

Now, when these days fell on a week day/ work day - yeah, it became a little more difficult. You can’t just skip work because you’re feeling off.

I dealt with this by creating a safe space in my work environment. I’m lucky enough to work for an amazing company called StreetText. They’re incredibly understanding of my needs, and personally and professionally support me. Because this type of work structure isn’t available for everyone, it’s important for you to make your space comfortable and safe so you can come to work, even on your darkest days and get through the 6-8 that you need to put in.

How do I recommend doing this? Well there are a few things you can do to make your space healthy, comfortable and safe for yourself.

-Decorate your space: I have flowers on my desk, a little cactus that’s almost impossible to kill and my dog sleeping at my feet while I work throughout the day. You could also include photos of your spouse & kids on your desk, inspirational pictures and quotes as well as some favourite snacks to get you through the day.

-Make friends: My coworkers at StreetText are predominantly just that… coworkers. We do however, have moments throughout the day where we discuss our real life. Over time, we’ve all developed work friendships that can be taken out of the office space. This creates many layers of support and safety in the workspace.

Having just a few personal aspects of your life in your workplace can make all the difference when you’re going through a difficult time. It makes getting to work easier, and sustaining the day achievable.

3. Exist in the present
A really big thing for me was always hypothesising on the ‘what if’s’ of every situation.

●What if I lose my job next week?
●What If my relationship fails?
●What if I never amount to anything, or fall short while striving for my dreams?

I began to learn that I loathed the “grey” areas of life, and began being scared of almost every situation. Not knowing how something was going to unfold caused me tremendous stress and mental strain.

Letting go and focusing on the present, although difficult - can actually be really liberating. It definitely doesn’t come right away, but with a little practice, you can be removing the hypothetical thoughts, and grounding yourself with what’s occurring in the present moment.

When I get anxious about these ‘grey’ area’s I always ask myself a few of the following questions…

1.In this moment...am I in any immediate danger?
2.In this moment...Is my life threatened in any way?

If the answer to these is no, then It’s probably something I should re-evaluate. In those moments, ask yourself those two questions, followed by a few deep breaths… and relax a little.

I also recommend reading up on a few Buddhist techniques. Buddhists strong believe of living in the present moment, or rather being more mindful. Mindfulness is all about reclaiming and expanding your present moment. It takes time, practice and a willingness to improve - but If done right, it will shift your mindset from a foggy chaotic mess, to a more balanced and accepting mind. Issential for any personal business growth.

4. Talk to a third party

There is absolutely no shame in needing to talk to someone.

As humans, we want to be heard and validated. At times, when we chat with family, or even friends - we can feel as though they don’t fully understand out perspectives as they know us, love us, and only want what's best for us. This means, it may be hard for them to be objective when giving us advice. People can often give us biased advice based on a number of different reasons, which is why having a third party is often beneficial to our overall wellness.

The benefits of having a third party to talk to are incredible, as this person has to steaks in the race. They have no specific reason to WANT your life to go in any particular direction. Their only job is to ensure our health and safety, and assist us with any personal growth we have ahead of us.

This obviously differs from location to location, but the cost varies from $50-$150 dollars per session. If you have benefits with your employer, these sessions are often covered and can be a fantastic way to help with any of the issues your experiencing in your personal or corporate life.

I’ve personally been seeing my councilor for the past 2 years, and absolutely love spending time with her. After my sessions, I’m able to relax a little more, and feel as though I was heard, and supported through the struggles and decisions I maybe made that month.

Again, there is no shame in needing to have a third party to communicate to… and honestly, I personally believe that more people should do it. Not only does it help you deal with your issues… it helps prepare you for any issue that may arise in your future, as well as being a bit more of an emotionally stable person.

Check it out. Trust me, you wont regret it.

Summary

At the end of the day, you shouldn’t be at the mercy of your mental health issues. It can absolutely be hard at times, however you can still have a successful, driven career. You just need the right resources to make the right steps towards success.

Reach out to your HR or any other local resources for more information on assistance.

Author's Bio: 

"Elysse Bujold started her career at Disney Interactive Studios, where she grew on a project team advancing initiatives for the company. To further her professional growth and development, she then decided to join StreetText – an online platform for Real Estate agents to Generate Leads using Facebook Ad Marketing. Over the last year, Elysse has been driving marketing strategies and initiatives as well as content creating. https://streettext.com is rooted in Kelowna, British Columbia."