"Only one month" or "Already one month"? How to deal with May sickness in time
Hello.
To all new employees and those who have changed environments due to a job change, how are you doing?
One month has passed since life in a new environment began.
This is the time of year when the tension suddenly breaks, and it is a period to be careful about "May sickness".
One of the symptoms of May sickness is a "depressive tendency".
There are many papers on depression, but this time I combined papers from three different specialized fields: "Occupational Science," "Rehabilitation Science," and "Psychotherapy," and considered countermeasures from a multifaceted perspective.
By combining the three points of "work style (environment)," "rehabilitation (body)," and "mindfulness (mind)," can we gain new insights into depression?
This time, I also had an AI set a persona and ask questions.
The persona is a "young new employee."
Questions from a new employee
Q1. Is it true that "overtime = mental deterioration"? I am anxious because I am late every day.
A. Actually, the "sense of burden" is more important than the "length of time."
It may be surprising, but as a result of analyzing the literature (Fujino et al., 2006), the relationship between simple "length of working hours" and depression varies depending on the study.
What we should pay attention to here is the concept of "Overwork (excessive burden)."
Point: It is not just what time the clock hands point to, but the load that makes you feel that it is "beyond your ability or mental capacity" that is strongly linked to mental distress.
Advice: In May, you start to get used to work, and you tend to push yourself too hard. Do not prioritize "because everyone else is doing it," but prioritize your own physical condition and the feeling that "I might be at my limit."
Q2. I heard that once you have depression, it is easy to "relapse." Is there any way to prevent it?
A. Yes. There is data that rehabilitation through "occupational therapy" is particularly effective.
Unfortunately, depression is a disease with a high recurrence rate, but preventive measures have also been shown from the perspective of rehabilitation.
A study by Kono et al. (2011) shows that patients who received thorough occupational therapy from the time they were hospitalized had a lower recurrence rate within one year after discharge.
What do you do?: We make adjustments tailored to each individual, from physical approaches such as stretching, abdominal breathing, and maintaining a sitting posture, to activities that regulate daily rhythms.
Why is it effective?: Because by "moving the body" and "adjusting activities" from an early stage, you can prevent symptoms from becoming prolonged (such as disuse syndrome) and regain confidence in returning to society.
Tapping on your smartphone doesn't count as moving your body, so it doesn't seem very effective.
Q3. "Mindfulness," which I hear about often lately, is just meditation, right?
A. No, it is a form of scientifically recognized "cognitive therapy."
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which is gaining attention in the field of psychotherapy,Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has been proven effective even for chronic depression (Cladder-Micus et al., 2018).
Mechanism: You train yourself to observe your thoughts as "I'm thinking this right now" without judging them as "good" or "bad."
Effect: It stops the "rumination" (circular thinking) that leads to depression and eases feelings of self-blame. This technique of distancing yourself from your mind is useful during anxious times when you might be feeling the "May Blues."
Tips for improving your QOL (Quality of Life) that you can start tomorrow!
For all you new employees, let's start by "securing your own time."
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Focus on "one minute" of breathing
It doesn't matter if you are at your desk or in the restroom at work. Just try focusing on the sensation of air passing through your nose for one minute. This acts as mental strength training.
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Consult "early"
Professionals like occupational therapists are available not only in hospitals but also in local communities and industrial health settings. If you feel even slightly that something is "off," please use a consultation service instead of bottling it up alone.
Summary
The papers for this article were carefully selected from those that appeared when searching for "depression." Looking at the search results alone, there were relatively many on "elderly depression" and "clinical depression (hospitalization level)," so I tried to select papers that would be useful for daily social life.
Since I am long past being a new employee, I was thinking from the perspective of where I should be considerate of others. I certainly felt that it is necessary to consider the individual capacity of each person rather than just working hours.
From a neuroscience perspective, waking up properly in the morning and taking a walk while soaking up sunlight seems to be effective for depression. It is said that the brain releases serotonin, the happiness hormone.
That said, since the weather is bad in many places this Golden Week, let's take care of our physical and mental health and continue to work happily in the future.
See you in another article.
📚 References
[Occupational Science] Yoshihisa Fujino et al. (2006) "Systematic Literature Review on the Relationship Between Working Hours and Mental Burden," Journal of Occupational Health
[Rehabilitation Science] Kojiro Kono et al. (2011) "Examination of factors related to relapse prevention in patients with depression"
[Psychotherapy] Cladder-Micus, M. B., et al. (2018) Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for patients with chronic, treatment-resistant depression.
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While working in rehabilitation as an occupational therapist, I also propose a "life with ease" as a home appliance advisor.