Ruby Wax: just what the doctor ordered

I’m no psychiatrist, so it only recently clicked with me that mental illness is simply the fuzzy, cerebral, maybe even spiritual twin, of physical illness; that feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, with pounding levels of cortisol surging through your brain, is just as ‘painful’ and, arguably, just as treatable, as having a slipped disc, or a broken foot.

It also struck me that it’s no bloody wonder that mental illness is such a hot topic as more of us British worker bees buzz frantically round the clock doing cerebral jobs, rather than the traditionally manual jobs we did in the past.

During The Marketing Society's ‘An Audience with Ruby Wax’ at The Royal College of Physicians, Ruby revealed that the red mist, as she calls depression, now costs an average £1035 per employee in the UK in terms of treatment and time off work. This in turn amounts to a staggering 4.5% of our GDP. And one would imagine that sum is rising.

In true Ruby style she also alluded to the fact that it was only centuries ago that a postnatally depressed woman might have been sent to the ducking stool, or a tormented artist might have ended up, arms bound, in a lunatic asylum. And it is this historical lack of understanding, and cultural stigmatisation, of mental health that still lingers today.

After all, who would confess to depression on Tinder, or woe betide on LinkedIn?

She highlighted the unhealthy trend for ‘presenteeism’ in the workplace; a very real pressure on the 1-in-4 Brits who are regularly visited by the mist.  Presenteeism basically means the fear of losing one’s job for not being present at work. So when, as Ruby puts it, “The tsunami is about to break” it is much easier for an employee to plead physical discomfort than to fess up to needing a duvet day, or a bit of time out.

This is unacceptable.

The bottom line for Ruby, and every single talented human sitting in the audience last Thursday, is that it is time to get over the stigma. We, as employers, line managers and colleagues, have a very simple duty of care when it comes to safeguarding the mental health of our brilliant work mates. It may still not be as easy to understand as having a bout of flu but, for the majority of those who feel frazzled, a safe space, a friendly face and the chance to talk it through without the fear of prejudice will be just what the doctor ordered.

Rebecca Moody was formerly the strategy godmother at mother. She's now the founder and chief strategist at Salt of the Earth, down to earth cultural insight for brands. www.wearesaltoftheearth.com Follow them on Instagram here and twitter here.