This section contains an overview of some of the most common concerns that can affect your health and well-being throughout your lifetime:
If a specific concern of yours is not addressed in this section, please refer to the mental health conditions or where to go for help pages for additional information and resources.
Worry and anxiety are normal emotions that everyone experiences at times. You may feel anxious when you take a test, give a big presentation, get lost, or are faced with making an important decision. In these circumstances, anxiety can be very useful - it makes you more alert or careful. It usually goes away soon after you are out of the situation that caused it.
But for more than 25 million people in the United States, anxiety can cause such distress that it interferes with their ability to lead a normal life. For this group, worry and fear can become constant and overwhelming, and even crippling. There are several recognized anxiety disorders that cause these feelings, including:
It is estimated that 9% of Americans will experience a severe case of anxiety at some time during their life. When anxious feelings become a burden, it is time to address the situation. Anxiety symptoms vary depending on the type of disorder, but any of the following could be signs that you should consider seeking help:
There are many different treatments for anxiety that can involve medication, therapy, or both. If you are ever feeling worse than you think you should for longer than you think you should, or if your symptoms are interfering with your daily life, we encourage you to seek help. For no-cost confidential counseling or more ideas on how to manage anxiety, contact your employee assistance program:
For additional resources, visit Where to go for help.
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Grief is a normal and natural response to loss. It is a universal experience. Grief and loss are most commonly felt when there is a death of a loved one or friend. They are also felt when someone loses a meaningful and intimate relationship through divorce or separation. Many times, significant life or work changes contain elements of loss that can be very powerful as well. Events such as downsizing, reduction-in-force, mergers, and even promotions can result in some grief-like symptoms.
Reactions to grief and loss are as different as the people who experience them; there is no right way to grieve. Grief may be responsible for physical symptoms such as insomnia, appetite changes, malaise, or actual illness. Grief can affect our perception-the way we see ourselves and others and the way we make decisions. We may find it difficult to think clearly and feel a sense of confusion.
Grief may prompt some to withdraw from life and push others to stay too busy to feel. It is important to maintain contact with friends and family during this time. Contact with others who are experiencing the loss can help one to move through the grief process. Just about every emotion can be part of the grief reaction: fear, anger, peace, despair, guilt, agitation, and a seemingly bottomless sorrow may all be experienced after a loss.
The symptoms of grieving can look and feel similar to depression. They may include insomnia, poor appetite, and weight loss for some people. Others may sleep excessively or overeat as a means of coping with the loss. If your symptoms persist for two months or more, professional assistance is recommended.
The experience of grief is often described as happening in five stages: Shock, Denial, Bargaining and Self-Blaming, Anger and Anxiety, and Acceptance.
Shock occurs in the first hours after a loss is experienced and has various physical symptoms as shortness of breath, tightness in the throat, a need to sigh, muscular limpness, and loss of appetite. As the shock abates, the physical symptoms lose their intensity and we begin to absorb reality. If there is a persistent wish during grief, it is that the loss could be reversed.
Denial allows for the slow assimilation of the loss. At first, there is often the feeling that a mistake has been made or that the person will walk through the door any minute. As time passes and preparation for change or for the funeral begins, reality is faced.
Bargaining and Self-Blaming requires a greater level of acknowledgment that the loss has occurred, but resistance lingers to the extent that we attempt to make deals to reverse fate. There is a litany of "I should haves," such as, "I should have paid more attention, said something positive, been more patient, etc."
Anger and anxiety are emotional signals that our psychological equilibrium is out of sync. A loss stirs feelings of rejection and powerlessness that lead to feeling anxious. In the first hours or days, feeling restless and unable to sleep is common. Anger at the loss, the one who is gone, or the people who made the decision, are all normal reactions to loss. Anger often causes anxiety as it is an emotion with which many are uncomfortable. In reality, anger is a healthy indication that we are beginning to accept the facts.
Acceptance occurs with time. The realization sets in that the situation is not going to be the same as before, or that the person is not going to return and there is nothing that could have been done to change the outcome. There will be moments when a return to any or all of the stages occurs, yet accepting the loss allows us to move forward in the grief process.
There is no exact order, scale, or time limit for these emotions. But if you feel that there is no relief, seeking assistance from a counselor can be helpful in putting your grief reaction into perspective.
For no-cost confidential counseling or more ideas on how to manage grief and loss, contact your employee assistance program:
For additional resources, visit Where to go for help
Additional downloadable pdfs about grief and loss:
Grief and Loss: Guidelines for Co-Workers (PDF)
Grief and Loss: Guidelines for Supervisors (PDF)
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Good relationships are all vital to our well-being. Having important people in your life who love, support, and care about you can help you get through the best and worst of times. Problems or conflict in any of your important relationships not only cause great emotional distress but also negatively impact your physical health. Most worthwhile relationships require effort to develop and persist. Interpersonal skills and communication are key elements in nurturing all good relationships.
In a healthy relationship, both people:
Life's changes and challenges can sometimes negatively affect your communication skills and compromise your relationships. Before you know it, a relationship that was once positive now feels difficult. Signs of a troubled relationship are interactions in which partners avoid discussing issues, regularly become rigid or defensive, criticize more than compliment, stop sharing thoughts and feelings, and stop having fun together.
We all respond differently to relationship problems. Frequently, a troubled relationship leads to feelings of sadness, frustration, anxiety, disappointment, or anger. It can also lead to physical symptoms such as sleep loss, irritability, loss of appetite, or increased alcohol consumption.
A troubled relationship has become abusive if one partner uses manipulative tactics, name calling, threats of physical force or harm to well-being in order to exercise power and control over the other. In an intimate relationship, if you are ever frightened or afraid of your partner or their behavior, or have been hit, kicked, pushed, choked, or forced to engage in sexual acts against your will, you are in an abusive relationship. The mental and emotional distress faced by those in abusive situations can be overwhelming. Many experience major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. If you are or have been in an abusive relationship, we encourage you to seek professional help and support.
Intimate relationships often struggle with communication issues. One problem is a lack of communication. How might this happen in a loving relationship? Sometimes couples have a traumatic experience that places a barrier between them. Or after a big argument, what starts as "giving the other the silent treatment" might roll into a shut down. Sometimes it is a creeping process where partners get more and more involved in his/her own routine until they stop communicating with each other.
A lack of quality communication can also weaken a relationship. When a couple begins talking only about surface issues, such as their daily routines and responsibilities, and not about their feelings, they often begin falling out of love, losing the emotional bonds which had initially drawn them together.
It does take some proactive steps to get couples who have stopped emotional communication back on track, but it can happen! Here are some tips to get started.
For no-cost confidential counseling or more ideas on how to strengthen your relationship, contact your employee assistance program:
For additional resources, visit Where to go for help
* Electronic Mail is not secure, may not be read every day, and should not be used for urgent or sensitive issues.
A good night's rest is essential for feeling and performing your best each day. Most adults need at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep at night to maintain optimal mental and physical health.
Use this brief online Sleepiness Test to see if you are more or less sleepy than the general population. You'll get your results immediately along with helpful tips on how to get a good night's sleep. National Sleep Foundation Sleepiness Test.
Explore the additional resources below for more support with getting a good night's sleep.
Calm - mindfulness, sleep stories, and relaxation. Also available on the App Store.
National Sleep Foundation - sleep research and education
Healthy Sleep - information and videos from Harvard University
Michigan Medicine Sleep Disorders Center - sleep experts who can diagnose and treat sleep disorders
If a lack of sleep continues to be a concern for you, we encourage you to seek help. For no-cost confidential counseling or more ideas on how to manage sleep problems, contact your employee assistance program:
* Electronic Mail is not secure, may not be read every day, and should not be used for urgent or sensitive issues.
As a response to stress, you experience increases in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, metabolism, and the blood flow to your muscles. This automatic "fight or flight" response developed over the course of human evolution as a life-saving measure to help us quickly and effectively deal with physical challenges. In modern times, this positive stress response can help you perform important tasks at work or home more efficiently and give you a short-term buzz of energy when you really need it.
However, having this automatic physical reaction to everyday stressors can become harmful to your physical and mental health if experienced in large amounts or over long periods of time. You can feel the negative effects of stress physically when you have too little sleep, a poor diet, or an illness. You feel it mentally if you're worried about a major life change, a family situation, or a big presentation at work. You can also experience toxic stress from negative situations or traumatic events over which you feel little control, such as financial difficulties, relationship problems, or a significant loss. The majority of your mental stress comes from ongoing daily obligations and pressures, such as traffic jams, family responsibilities, and work demands.
It's important to remember that stress itself is a matter of perception. A situation that is stressful for one person may not be for another. Some people find public speaking challenging and exciting, while others get very distressed by it. Riding a roller coaster or flying in a plane can be exhilarating for some, but terrifying for others. An important key to managing stress is determining your personal tolerance level and identifying which situations trigger it the most. If you constantly experience stress without countering its effects or addressing the source, you may begin to experience both physical and mental health problems.
Too much negative stress can cause physical reactions like insomnia, increased or decreased appetite, backaches or headaches, and can contribute to potentially life-threatening diseases like high blood pressure and heart disease. Emotional reactions to stress may include getting angry or upset more easily or feeling dissatisfied, worried, or inadequate. High levels or long periods of stress can also lead to mental health problems like anxiety disorders or depression.
For no-cost confidential counseling or more ideas on how to manage stress, contact your employee assistance program:
For additional resources, visit Where to go for help.
* Electronic Mail is not secure, may not be read every day, and should not be used for urgent or sensitive issues.