Blue Summers—Part 2
Last week, we talked about feeling blue, or experiencing stress, distress or crisis, during summer, a season that is generally perceived as a happy time of year. If you missed it, you can read this blog here: https://lawyersassist.ca/news-and-events/news/blue-summers-part-1/.
We talked about taking vacations to help relieve symptoms of burnout including low mood, lack of energy, higher levels of cynicism and dissatisfaction, numbness (which is sometimes accompanied by bingeing on food, alcohol or drugs) and physical complaints.
Since taking vacations is a normal part of most of our lives, please consider taking a relaxing holiday if you are experiencing these symptoms. If your symptoms dissipate, then you may be experiencing burnout, which is, by traditional definition, related to work even though we use it in other contexts colloquially. But if your symptoms continue notwithstanding alleviation of work-related stress, you may be experiencing depression, and I would urge you to consult with your family doctor or an Assist counsellor. Most forms of depression can be treated through talk therapy, biological interventions (like antidepressants), improved diet and exercise, and engaging in yoga, mindfulness and meditation.
In some cases, an individual needs time away from work while being treated for depression. Medication, a common intervention, takes time to reach its full efficacy. Your physician or counsellor will have insight into what you need.
I am now going to say something controversial: if you are aware that your mental health is deteriorating, be pragmatic about how and when you take medical leave. None of us wants to let anyone down—most of us are people pleasers at heart. But if you wait until you hit a mental health crisis and that crisis happens to coincide with an intense period at work, like the eve of a trial or a closing, your request for accommodation may cause you to think that your employer does not care about you or your well-being.
Here is a scenario that I have seen play out. A lawyer works hard in an attempt to manage their increasing distress while working on a major project. Distress becomes crisis, and their physician recommends a medical leave. When the lawyer conveys this message to the powers-that-be in their organization, they are told that they cannot be accommodated at this point in time because a work project is at a critical level. Supervising lawyers say things like “that isn’t possible now” or “that doesn’t work for us.”
I faced a similar situation in my second pregnancy when I had to advise my firm’s managing partner that I would need to start my maternity leave one week earlier than scheduled due to a placental insufficiency that was affecting my baby’s growth. The (male) managing partner told me that this wasn’t convenient! I explained that I was having two fetal stress tests and one ultrasound per week and that my physician was prepared to induce delivery immediately if there were any signs of distress, so unless they wanted me not returning from a scheduled appointment in the middle of ongoing matters, I needed to start my leave as of that Friday. He backed down, and I had a healthy baby who came of his own (early) volition about ten days later.
Leaving aside the legal issues about an employer’s duty to accommodate a person with a disability to the point of undue hardship for a moment, I understand what the lawyer leadership is saying in these situations: they feel that their duty to the client, which is almost sacrosanct in our profession, would be impaired if they have to pull you off the team, and that this duty overrides your medical needs. Stop and consider the fact that you are actually valued for just a moment (!), and then explain that you cannot reschedule your medical issues to fit their timetable.
One pragmatic solution is that when your stress and distress are escalating, first meet with a counsellor about how you experiencing this stress and distress. They may be able to provide strategies which will hep you manage your negative thoughts and emotions. They may help you maximize your down time to be most effective, de-escalating more easily before distress becomes difficult to dislodge. You can discuss the challenges you are facing at your workplace—you are not the first lawyer to deal with out-of-control work situations, and they can share approaches which have worked for others.
But there will still be situations where a medical leave may be looming. Please consider asking your firm or department leadership for help before you hit the critical time for a big project. Plan how your absence can be addressed and how your work can be delegated. If you decide that you need time away from work as recommended by your counsellor or your physician, please give as much notice as you can. If you show a willingness to work with your employer, they often will respond with willingness to work with you.
Here are a few strategies that you could offer if you decide to share your condition with your firm:
- you can advise them that you are keeping detailed notes to bring another lawyer up to speed if you need to leave before the matter is complete.
- you can keep informed of the workload of your peers so that you can suggest someone who could step in quickly.
- You could suggest that a student or junior lawyer shadow you which could help bridge the gap.
I say this from the perspective of someone who didn’t seek help until distress was fully entrenched. I remember leaving my doctor’s office, medical note in my hand, wondering how I was going to take a necessary leave of absence without creating problems for my colleagues. I decided that I would communicate my impending leave to my General Counsel but explain that I would come into the office the next day to dictate memos to file on all of my active files to make the transition easier. Both my doctor and my GC understood what I was doing and why I felt I needed to do it. It was a tough day, but I began my leave feeling that I had done the best I could for my workplace. But this may not work in all situations, so please discuss delaying your leave for a day or two with your physician.
Not all situations will allow for proactive planning, however. Anyone experiencing a severe mental health disruption may need a medical leave without advance notice or helpful strategies--each of us and our mental health situation are unique. When I operated my human resources law legal practice, I counselled employers to counter their reaction that your medical leave will cause disruption in workflow with the realization that someone who is deep in the throes of an unresolved medical crisis may not be performing at the top of their game.
Do not let anyone suggest that a mental health medical issue is somehow less worthy of a leave of absence than a physical health issue. The key word is “medical,” and if your medical provider believes you need a leave of absence from work, then your employer’s characterization should be irrelevant—whether you are diagnosed with diabetes or depression, a medical leave is a medical leave. Don’t get me wrong: it hurts when someone trivializes your mental health. You may not feel that you can address gaps in their knowledge at that point. But everything that you know about your employer is factored into your assessment of your career plan, and employers who engage in mental health myth-thinking will experience longer term retention issues. (To learn more about mental health myth busting, please see: Assist Myth Busters.)
One more point: you and your physician determine the parameters of your leave. If you disclose that you are experiencing a crisis, no one should impose their interpretations of a reasonable timeframe on you. While a diagnosis of depression may be common, the extent and characterization of our depression is unique. We do not all recover on the same timetable and workplace needs do not dictate your recovery. So, when your leader says that you can have a certain length of time off, gently remind them that the arbiter of your fitness to work is your medical provider.
If the idea of needing a “stress leave” is causing you stress, call Assist. Our professional counsellors can help you understand what treatment for your symptoms may entail as well as how to navigate having the conversation with your employer. Or perhaps you would like to speak to another lawyer who has taken a medical leave and returned to practice law. You can reach our professional counselling office at 1-877-498-6898 (you can also use this number to access the on-call psychologist’s contact information for 24/7 crisis counselling), and you can talk to us about peer support at 1-877-737-5508.
Please don’t let the idea of taking medically necessary accommodations intimidate you, and please consider asking for help early. In many situations, a lawyer dealing with depression or anxiety can be treated effectively without a leave of absence with appropriate support. As lawyers, we tend to do worst case scenario thinking as part of how we exercise prudent judgment, but if we assume the worst outcome, we can be reluctant to seek help.
Instead of letting your all or nothing thinking set in—I am feeling depressed and if I take a leave of absence from work, my career will be over—be open to the possibility that you may be catching an issue early, and that it may be an issue that can treated without a work interruption. Please find out what you need from a trained professional like your physician or an Assist counsellor!
But since it is summer, please try to take a vacation to see if your symptoms abate or if you may need to take more intense action. Summer is often, but not always, quiet, so use any hint of downtime to your benefit.
Loraine
P.S. There is no such term as “stress leave.” All leaves of absence relating to mental health issues are medical leaves. While we use the term “stress leave” in casual conversation, it is pejorative. I used it for rhetorical purposes!