5.1 Other mental health issues

Although stress is possibly the most common issue which individuals experience in legal practice, there are a number of other potential issues that can arise. It is important to be aware of these, so that you can identify when you (or a colleague) may need to obtain further help and support. Some of the most common issues include:

• Anxiety (intense, disproportionate and/or distressing feelings of worry)
• Depression (low mood impacting on daily life)
• Vicarious/secondary trauma (the negative psychological signs and symptoms that can result from on-going involvement with traumatised individuals)
• Burnout.

Unlike stress, where a certain amount can be beneficial, burnout is bad. It’s often the reason why people gradually become ineffective and then leave certain professions. According to one of the most well-known burnout researchers (Maslach and Jackson, 1981), the three components are:

1. Emotional exhaustion (anxiety, irritability, loss of appetite, fatigue, insomnia);
2. Cynicism and detachment (not caring, depersonalisation, reduced empathy);
3. Feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment (reduced or low productivity, poor performance).

Recent evidence indicates that females may experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion than males and they may experience emotional exhaustion as their first warning sign of burnout (Houkes, Winants, Twellaar and Verdonk, 2011). In contrast, males may experience higher levels of cynicism and detachment than females and may experience this as their first warning sign of burnout. So how you experience burnout may differ depending on your gender (and other factors).

First-hand accounts of legal professionals dealing with some of these issues are available on the LawCare website. [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] This video explains when you may wish to consider seeking further support.

Considering further support

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MATHIJS LUCASSE

Legal professionals should consider getting help for emotional issues for mental health issues when they're noticing an impact on their functioning and/or their sort of general well-being. It can be difficult to reach out for help, and people generally wait for things to become quite severe before they'll get any assistance.

But two things to look out for will be your general functioning. How you are doing in terms of work outputs and functioning in terms of your relationships and outside of work as well. And just in terms of overall emotional wellness, it can be hard for the person themselves to identify this. And that's where friends and family members can be especially helpful.

I think what becomes really tricky is making that first step. Most people, when they're accessing help for an emotional problem or for their mental health, will do so through their general practitioner or through primary health care. And your GP is a good person to start having that conversation with, because they have expertise in terms of mental health, but also because they can help you access services.

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