The Legal Depression: Your Mood Determines Your Lifespan

Countless studies demonstrate that the Australian workplace is in the middle of a depression epidemic. Beyond Blue’s study in 2014 revealed a disturbing statistic that 1 in 5 Australians had, in the past 12 months, taken time off work as a result of experiencing stress, depression and anxiety in the workplace. An even more extraordinary number of Australian workers (46%) considered their workplace to be mentally unhealthy.

Incidence of depression four times higher in legal profession

While the typical Australian worker is becoming increasingly unhappy, lawyers continue to trump this category and rate as the most depressed profession in the country. The Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney found that one in three solicitors and one in five barristers suffered from clinical depression. Overall, the incidence of depression in the legal profession was found to be four times higher than that of the general population.

Having once worn the hat of a lawyer for over 10 years in various law firms in the Sydney CBD, I can relate to feeling down and often isolated at work. During that time, I recall coming across articles like this one, all pointing to the poor mental health of lawyers. Despite understanding the message in theory and knowing things weren’t right, I never fully believed that my happiness at work was something I could control.  

Typically, Lawyers are groomed for success and their competitive natures ensure they strive to be the best at everything they do. Even fun runs and office sweeps are the subject of a contest within law firms. However, when it comes to being the most depressed people in the nation, this is one race lawyers should not want to win. 

Depression results in shorter and poorer quality of life

A wealth of reliable, scientific based research has emerged which links a person’s poor physical health to their mental state. Leading experts say that if you are depressed, you are more likely to get sick. It’s a sobering thought, but it’s true. Depressed people do not live as long.

The US National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) published a paper which showed that happy people live up to 10 years longer than unhappy people. In this landmark study, there were two thousand middle aged men who worked at the Western Electric Company in the 1950s. Those who had been emotionally depressed at the start of the study were twice as likely to have died from cancer 20 years later. In coming to this conclusion, allowances were made for smoking habits, alcohol intake, weight, age, job status and family history of cancer.

The mind and body are directly connected

There are now more than 10,000 peer reviewed published papers proving a direct connection between the mind and body and which point to depression as being a major risk factor to ill health and disease. A leading Professor in Medicine, David Spiegel, unequivocally states that the mind affects the body and health – both directly and indirectly. Spiegel published a study in the Journal of Clinical Encology showing that the course of depression over a year for cancer patients predicts survival time.

In Spiegel's study, which focused on women with breast cancer, the women whose depression was getting better lived substantially longer than those who were getting worse. And, it wasn’t just two months after their depression had been studied, it was seven years later. And the depression was independent to all those other standard risk factors such as estrogen levels, family history, blood pressure, weight, time from initial diagnosis to relapse and other environmental and lifestyle factors.

Stigma associated with depression keeps us from getting better

Despite all of this research, the ‘legal depression’ and the mental health of the Australian workplace generally, remains somewhat of an enigma. Many unhappy professionals are either completely unaware they are depressed or have become extremely skilled at hiding their emotions for fear of ridicule, career demotion or, worse yet, revealing a weakness. The stigma associated with being depressed and an unwillingness to speak out is a huge factor in maintaining the status quo.

As a lawyer, it can feel like there is little time for tending to your emotions when your day is divided into 6 minute billable intervals and, on top of exceeding your daily budget, your duties include tasks such as mentoring juniors, keeping on top of admin and presenting to clients on legal matters. Added to that, of course, is the duty to be constantly achieving - jumping through gold hoops on fire, back flipping your way to the court room and, once there, morphing into a magician to wipe out your opponents with one modest shake of your wand.

Because there is a stigma that stops us from revealing how we truly feel at work, there is also a lack of awareness and information around how we can best nurture and care for ourselves during our working day. However, there is so much we can do when we come together as a team.

Depression is a risk factor for ill-health we can have an effect on

Whilst the majority of professionals feel it is their responsibility to suffer in silence rather than to disclose feelings of depression, remaining well requires an acknowledgement of one’s own mental health followed by active steps to combat it. The good news is (and yes, there is some!), depression is a risk factor for ill-health and disease that we can do something about.

Depression can be addressed by implementing an array of workplace strategies that adopt and support healthier practices for employees. For instance, the adoption of specific workplace policies, such as policies for flexible working arrangements and policies which promote health and wellbeing in the workplace, are a great way to create a healthier and happier work environment.

Healthy diet and lifestyle habits throughout a person’s working day also goes a long way to alleviating poor mental health. Daily exercise is crucial for mind health. So is the regular and committed practice of yoga and meditation, which have both been shown to be highly effective in reducing depressive symptoms. As such, there is an increasing trend towards employers engaging service providers to facilitate mindfulness based programs for their staff.

Mental health should be given greater priority in the Australian workplace

As Beyond Blue’s report stated: “Australian businesses need to give employees’ mental health in the workplace the same priority as they give their physical health and safety.” On the basis of this report and for the sake of improving the quality and longevity of life for those in the white-collar domain, it is clear that Australian workplaces need to take considered steps towards tackling this epidemic.

In particular, Australian law firms could do a lot to change the daily experiences of their lawyers by taking a few simple measures to begin the process of tackling the legal depression.

Cultivating a healthy work environment is not an overnight job. It takes a lot of persistence, support and desire for change. In its report, Beyond Blue recommended that every Australian workplace ought to implement targeted workplace wellness programs whereby leaders of the business take a hands-on approach and actively encourage their staff to adopt healthier lifestyle practices.

If you would like to learn more about how to bring wellness into your workplace or if you are interested in wellness for yourself personally, contact Dwana from Align Life on 0411 364 406 or click here to send an email.