Category Archives: Mental Health Awareness

The last few articles have dealt with understanding mood disorders, the impact of mood disorders and in this final article, we highlight some of the common warning signs to look out for when you suspect that you may have a mood disorder or when you believe a friend or colleague may have a mood disorder. 

Mood disorders have been ranked amongst the top 10 causes of disability and are a leading cause of absenteeism and diminished productivity in the workplace according to the U.S. Surgeon General, 1999. Mood disorders are of particular importance in the workplace as they have the potential to reduce productivity at work.

Mood disorders cause the largest disease burden in comparison to all other mental disorders. The result in the loss of work productivity when prevalent in the working population. Inherently, the workplace can also make manifest latent mood disorders destabilize, and aggravate symptoms and courses of mood disorders among workers.

Mood disorders are a mental health condition classified under their own category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5. Mood disorders are amongst the most common psychological disorders and are said to be on the rise globally. By definition, mood disorders are disturbances in an individual’s emotions that cause subjective discomfort and/or hinder a person’s ability to function, or both.  They are primarily characterised by chemical imbalances (norepinephrine and serotonin mainly) in the brain. The DSM 5 distinguishes between unipolar disorders and bipolar disorders. Individuals who suffer from either depression or mania are said to suffer from a unipolar mood disorder whereas individuals who alternate between mania and depression are said to suffer a bipolar disorder.

The use of any substance in excessive amounts and/methods that cause harm to an individual significantly impairs their judgment, clarity, and functioning is substance abuse. Such substances can be legal, such as alcohol and medication or illegal, such as Cannabis and Amphetamines.  In the DSM 5, this abuse of substances is categorised under the diagnostic criteria of substance use and related disorders.

Substance abuse has become a great issue in the workplace. More employees find themselves abusing substances to maintain their performance as well as cope with everyday life stressors.

Some of the most noteworthy consequences of substance abuse on an organization are absenteeism, lack or loss of productivity, inefficiency and workplace harassment due to the tense atmosphere caused by the affected workers.