During the talk, Ruby will address the importance of good mental health as well as tackling the problems of communication within businesses and organisations, especially for leaders. Combining psychological insights with her understanding of writing and performing, and of course humour, Ruby helps both individuals and groups understand how to create an open, honest culture that encourages and succeeds. A hilarious yet essential education not to be missed by responsible employers and employees alike.
Ruby Wax on Mental Health“Why, when you have a mental disease, is it always considered an act of imagination? Why is it that every organ in your body can get sick and you get sympathy except the brain?”
“1 in 5 people have dandruff. 1 in 4 people have mental health problems. I’ve had both.”
“I’ll say it again – mental illness is a physical illness. You wouldn’t consider going up to someone suffering from Alzheimer’s to yell, ‘Come on, get with it, you remember where you left your keys?’ Let us shout it from the rooftops until everyone gets the message; depression has and nothing to do with having a bad day or being sad, it’s a killer if not taken seriously.”
“It’s so common, it could be anyone. The trouble is, nobody wants to talk about it. And that makes everything worse.”
“It’s an unfortunate word, ‘depression’, because the illness has nothing to do with feeling sad, sadness is on the human palette. Depression is a whole other beast. It’s when your old personality has left town and been replaced by a block of cement with black tar oozing through your veins and mind. This is when you can’t decide whether to get a manicure or jump off a cliff. It’s all the same. When I was institutionalised I sat on a chair unable to move for three months, frozen in fear. To take a shower was inconceivable. What made it tolerable was while I was inside, I found my tribe – my people. They understood and unlike those who don’t suffer, never get bored of you asking if it will ever go away? They can talk medication all hours, day and night; heaven to my ears.”
“The thing about depression is that there is nothing wrong with you on the outside. I mean you know you don’t have any lumps, or you don’t have any scars. You are not in a wheelchair. So people go ‘Come on, come on!’ Especially in England they say ‘Stiff upper lip; snap out of it.’ And you can’t.”
“If you are the lucky one that doesn’t have depression, the three odd out of four that might not understand it and you meet somebody with depression, the worst thing you can do is say ‘Come on pull yourself together.’ Just imagine that inside of their head they are just as ill as somebody maybe who broke their leg or who has diabetes.”
“For me mindfulness is like building a house, so the next time the tsunami that is depression comes I’ll have a structure in place to resist it.”
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You can still register to attend the Safety & Health Expo for free below.
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
