MONTGOMERY – For over 50 years Mental Health Month has served to heighten public awareness to the fact that mental health matters. In the workplace, absenteeism, employee turnover, and lost productivity are just a few of the economic costs of untreated mental illnesses. During Mental Health Month, the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (DMH/MR) is encouraging Alabamians to pay more attention to their mental health in the workplace. The campaign sponsored by the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), is one of America’s most recognized health observances.

"With the stress of war, difficult economic times, and dealing with the loss of love ones, it’s hard for today’s employee to cope,” said Kathy Sawyer, Commissioner of the Alabama DMH/MR. “These stressful life situations can temporarily affect a person’s concentration and performance at work. Therefore, it is imperative that employees pay attention to their mental health needs and that the employer offer mental health support when needed.”

According to the NMHA, American employees used over 8 million sick days last year due to untreated depression. It is estimated that in the United States billions of dollars are lost every year due to reduced productivity, absenteeism, and premature death as a result of untreated mental health illnesses. Stress and depression rank second and third as the most common issues facing employees in the workforce. Symptoms of depression may surface as impulsive or indecisive actions, irritability and anger, late arrival to work, and a tendency to avoid colleagues. Employees may also start to work more slowly than usual, miss deadlines, and frequently call in sick. Excessive stress may cause depression and if not addressed, could result in clinical depression, an illness caused in part by an imbalance of brain chemistry.

The treatment success rates for such disorders as depression (more than 80 percent), panic disorder (70-90 percent), and schizophrenia (60 percent), surpass those of other medical conditions such as heart disease (40-50 percent).

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For more information about Mental Health Month in Alabama, contact Darold Dunlavy, Executive Director, Mental Health Association in Alabama at (334) 262-5500.