Today at work was a day with both many calls and work expectations. I met with staff who appear to be doing ok, but are they really? Do we really know what someone is thinking or the life stresses they have prior to coming to work. We wear masks at work which makes it even easier to hide what our body language revealed in the past. If you look at the photo, do you notice the man with the peace sign? Is he saying, he is at peace or peace be with you or I give up peace out. We don’t really know. Why am I focused on this today?

I am because today after a long day at work, I had dinner with my family later than usual due to working late for a third day in a row. I then went onto browsing the internet and was saddened to learn of the news of a celebrity who committed suicide. His name is Stephen Boss known as Twitch, who was known as a DJ, and a great dancer. I didn’t know him personally but I did love his energy and his gentle kindhearted soul that he expressed on TV. I remember a colleague who’s daughter was in dance and was very excited to meet him when he was in Boston on tour with the you think you can dance tour. She did meet him and was impressed by him as well. I read all the kind words people who knew him wrote. I did not notice anyone with any inkling that this was a man who was about to end his life. I watched a video that he posted dancing with his wife 2 days ago and again he did not appear to be someone we would be reading about today as ending his life.

This all leads me to this. We don’t know what life stressors our coworkers or acquaintances may have. They may hold them very dear to their hearts and not share them with the world. They may smile or be quiet in meetings. They may voice all their opinions or none because Depression looks and feels different for everyone. Please be kind and respectful. Choice your words carefully. Remember to stop and listen to others. If someone is quiet or distressed or highly opinionated then stop , listen and check in. This small gesture may be what gives someone with this inner stress the motive to still keep going.

Remember if you or anyone you know is having difficulty or is in crisis and needs immediate intervention you can refer them to the links provided

DEC 2022/Skilled Nursing Support/maria.messina@skillednursingsupport.com