The body language was perfectly clear.

The senior executive, a man’s man, didn’t want to talk about mental illness in the workplace.

Nevertheless he was signed up for Jill Armstrong’s pilot project – where, behind closed doors and sometimes in secret – employees discussed and debated the danger, prevalence, costs and stigma associated with mental-health issues such as depression.

Code-named the Copernicus Project, the sessions had impact. At their conclusion, the senior executive had changed his mind.

Mike Dempster photo, Business Edge
Jill Armstrong of the Copernicus Project is helping firms understand issues such as depression

“He said he wanted to teach this to others,” said Armstrong, project co-ordinator, workplace wellness with the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Calgary region. “That blew me away.”

The executive was one of 65 people from five separate organizations who worked through the unique project developed by Armstrong. She presented information, videos and case studies to participants and then let them discuss and debate the issues, to determine where each personally stood on the subject.

Armstrong was surprised and heartened by the results, noting that about 80 per cent said they would be willing to talk about some aspects of mental illness to others.

Other feedback included:

* Participants were amazed to find the statistical impact and the seriousness of mental illness.

* Many were surprised at the extent of depressive illness in the workplace, and the degree that people hide their problems.

* Others said the sessions helped them be more attentive to their co-workers, and not to just leap to conclusions about performance issues at work.

* And, illustrating the pervasiveness of the problem, a number of participants said the sessions helped them deal with situations affecting their home lives.

“One woman said: ‘My husband has suffered from depression and you have given me hope that there are ways to deal with this,’ ” recalled Armstrong.

“Another woman said: ‘My daughter suffers from depression and this is the first time I’ve had any language to talk to her.’ ”

Perhaps the tidiest summary came from a man participating in a mostly male group. He said: “I learned that mental illness is not just for crazy people.”

Indeed it isn’t. According to the CMHA, statistics show that one in five Canadians will suffer from a mental illness in their lifetime. A Health Canada study released two years ago showed that about 30 per cent of 31,000 workers surveyed had symptoms of depression.

The project was timely because organizations continue to see the rising costs associated with mental illness.

Depending on the criteria used, estimates of the total cost to the Canadian workplace range from $14 billion to $33 billion.

Armstrong says that, according to the Canadian Employee Assistance Program Association, the cost for mental-health problems, particularly depression, are the most rapidly rising source of disability and are expected to exceed 50 per cent of administered claims within the next five years.

The percentage is consistent with estimates made by major insurers, she says.

Although mental illness is a critical workplace issue, it remains a taboo topic. Its stigma is significant, almost guaranteed to derail any executive’s climb up the corporate ladder.

“Almost all of us knows someone who is on an anti-depressant,” Armstrong says. “But we still know that to disclose it depreciates a person in their work environment.

“We know that according to pharmacists downtown (in Calgary) . . . a lot of people pay for their own anti- depressant medication rather than putting it through their company drug plans.”

It’s that type of information that proved an eye opener for many participants in the pilot project. While some of the male senior executives were likely “lobbied heavily” to participate, others did so willingly. One small 20-member organization had 16 staff members work through the seven modules, looking for answers to the stress they found in their work life.

The CMHA say it’s important to distinguish between stress and depression. Stress is a catch-all phrase most people use to describe daily life. However, stress, when it becomes serious enough, can trigger depression/anxiety disorders (as can genetic and biochemical factors). Depression – another commonly used word is burnout – manifests itself in sleeping disorders, a lack of interest in daily life, overwhelming sadness, fatigue and, in severe cases, thoughts of suicide and death.

During the pilot project, participants realized that while it’s a difficult issue to talk about, mental illness is not that complicated. Plenty of information exists on the topic, but fear makes it difficult to discuss openly at work.

In reality, most people who are suffering only admit they have problems when they reach the breaking point. At that point they require costly and time-consuming treatment to recover.

The first of the pilot project groups started in October 2002 with the others running at different intervals in early 2003. Since their conclusion, Armstrong has presented her findings to an international conference supported by the World Psychiatric Association at Queen’s University.

She has had inquiries about her work from across Canada, California, Germany and England.

“People say they are interested in this because it’s an area often neglected – that stigma is a problem we don’t know what to do with.”

Closer to home, all five Calgary organizations involved with the project said they’d like to move further to educate and reach others in their workplace. Two organizations are studying formal proposals from Armstrong.

The project itself was named after Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus who, in 1543, presented the idea that the Earth spun on its axis, orbiting the sun on an annual basis. It debunked the belief that the sun and other planets orbited the Earth, and became a cornerstone in the development of modern science.

Armstrong says further work on her project will have to be self-supported and she understands that it isn’t necessarily an easy sell to corporations when they are setting budgets.

Nevertheless, her project is a small step toward creating change and she believes the “lights turned on” for a few participants, people who could champion change in their organizations.

The believers include one or two senior executives, whose new attitudes may help illuminate an issue too often shrouded in shame.

Web watch: www.cmha.ca