Back Again

Depression can change your life’s work, but recovery is possible Turning 40 is a major milestone in most people’s lives, and when Cindy Radu passed it a decade ago, it certainly looked like she had everything under control. She had successfully transitioned her career from chartered accountant to tax lawyer and was working for a major law ﬁrm in Calgary. A month before her wedding, she decided to travel to London, England for four days of shopping and seeing shows with three of her closest girlfriends. It should have been the trip of a lifetime, but it wasn’t. “I just remember being a complete bitch,” Radu says. That’s because Radu’s personal life was not unfolding as planned. Two months before the vacation, she had a miscarriage. The experience devastated her, but she carried on with the typical workload of a lawyer who also happened to be planning a wedding. She was run down and exhausted. There were several times when she closed her office door and sat, silently, with her head in her hands. “There was this fogginess in my head,” she says. “It was really hard to concentrate and it felt like I was moving in slow motion.” The symptoms persisted after Radu got married and she decided to see a doctor in June 2002. She described feeling tired all the time and being unable to concentrate, even on seemingly simple tasks. Radu expected the doctor to tell her she had mononucleosis, a viral infection that, among other things, produces symptoms similar to the ones Radu was feeling. Instead, he shocked her with a diff erent diagnosis: depression. “‘You’re done,’” she remembers him telling her. “‘You’re not going back to work.’” Radu felt alone. She wasn’t aware of any family history of depression and she didn’t know anyone else in her peer circles who suffered from it. Radu’s situation was not that unique. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), one in ﬁve people experience a mental health issue every year and mental health problems are the leading cause of short- and long-term disability in the country. MHCC, a not-for-proﬁt organization, estimates that overall, the broad spectrum of mental health problems cost Canada’s economy $51-billion a year, a ﬁgure that includes everything from lost time at work to health-care costs. Ten years after being diagnosed with depression, Radu is now the director of The WaterStreet Group Inc.’s family office services in Calgary. She is also a mental health advocate who hopes to increase awareness, help eliminate the stigma attached to depression and allow people to feel comfortable about reaching out for support before needing to go on a disability leave from work. “If people know they can feel safe, they’ll talk,” Radu says. “If people are willing to talk, it takes a lot of pressure off.” For Radu, heading up the Calgary office for Toronto-based WaterStreet Group is a departure from her previous careers as a lawyer and accountant. “I knew I needed signiﬁcant changes,” she says. “I wanted something that was a bit more nine to ﬁve and needed lots of structure and support.” After Radu’s diagnosis, it didn’t take long for her to create the proper structure and ﬁnd the necessary support in her personal life. Her marriage didn’t last, but she gave birth to a girl during her initial disability leave in 2002 and ended up waiting two years before returning to work. “If you don’t come back 100% better with proper support systems in place, you’re playing with ﬁre,” Radu says. Radu speaks openly about her depression, but she doesn’t want to be coddled, especially at work. Instead, she just wants people to understand, and she ﬁgures that if every workplace had someone who was willing to talk about his or her experiences and act as a resource for anyone with mental health issues, it could be a big step towards creating more productive businesses. “Every single one of my staff knows,” she says. “I don’t walk around with a banner or anything, but I want people to talk about this.” Dr. Donna Ferguson, a clinical psychologist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto works with workplace safety clients. The majority of the people Ferguson sees have experienced workplace traumas and injuries, and as a result, have developed PTSD, depression and other mental health challenges. There are endogenous (biological) and exogenous (circumstantial) causes of depression, and the two often interact over time. Medication is typically required for a chemical imbalance. “Depression deﬁnitely deals with different chemistry in the brain,” says Ferguson. “There is a reason why chemical neurotransmitters react to medical intervention.” Depression often develops over time enabling opportunities for intervention and support. In the past year, 4% of employees developed depression and employers beneﬁt from providing a healthy work environment with the right responses to depression. Take Action “It’s estimated that by 2020, depression will be the number two cause of disability in the workplace,” Ferguson explains. Within the continuum of depression there are actions both employers and employees can take to effectively respond to the situation. Employers: Be willing to recognize the warning signs of depression in the workplace: lower productivity, increased absenteeism, increased isolation, or a change in demeanor.Offer employees the chance to share their concerns. Even if some employees prefer not to share their problems, encourage them to contact and use the Employee Assistance Program or extended beneﬁ ts and assure them of your support.Ferguson says employers can encourage a culture of health to help build resilience in the workplace. “Diet and exercise are huge inﬂuences on the prevention and maintenance of depression symptom abatement.” Ferguson suggests employers develop a wellness program or initiative for employee exercise and healthy eating. Employees: There is often an opportunity to take positive action prior to chronic illness. “If you are having trouble with work-life balance, you are a little more irritable, losing interest in your job and relationships, at that point you need to pay attention,” says Ferguson. “Be vigilant and seek help.”Other personal warning signs of depression: sleep problems, persistent low moods, concentration difﬁculties.Hope is realistic. Medical treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy and other interventions have proven successful in managing depression. Often a combination of approaches is successful and even the basics play an important role. “Good sleep, hygiene, diet and exercise are signiﬁcant to success for many people,” says Ferguson. Seek out support from either the Employee Assistance Program or extended beneﬁts. “There are ways to get through this,” says Ferguson. “Use the resources around you.”

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