GCN Interview
MENTAL HEALTH IN THE TIME OF COVID Searching for our own secret sauce While most of us will remember the pandemic as a time of uncertainty, fear and disruption, there is a silver lining to the ordeal we have suffered together. The pandemic has brought out our human side. It has reminded us of the importance of people and relationships, and of treating each other with compassion. And it has also helped break some of the long-held taboos around mental health.
Let’s face it - being a legal professional or a lawyer is a stressful job. We face tight deadlines, competing priorities and constant demands. We are brought in to solve crisis situations and handle high-stakes negotiations, where emotions are running high. We need to be constantly accessible. We need to be continually learning – to stay ahead of the changing legal landscape, while also understanding the evolving business of our (internal or external) clients.
The elephant in the room The issue of mental health has long been the elephant in the room in the legal sector. A Johns Hopkins University study in 1990 found that lawyers were the most likely to suffer from depression from among more than 100 professions. More recently, the ABA’s 2021 Profile of the Legal Profession found that 28% of lawyers experience depression and 11.5% have experienced suicidal thoughts.
In addition, we are all notoriously high achievers. We are ambitious, detail oriented and competitive. We put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves – often sacrificing our own health and wellbeing in the quest for perfection.
So why are lawyers so prone to mental health issues? The short answer is simple: firms ask a lot of their lawyers, and lawyers ask a lot of themselves.
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Together this creates a “perfect storm” which – if left unchecked - can lead to stress, exhaustion, depression and even burnout. What neuroscience tells us The issue of mental health is an even bigger challenge in a hybrid working environment. When we communicate over email, phone, or even video
