05.10.22
Your Mind Matters: 5 Articles on Mental Health and the Financial Services Industry
by: Irene Yeh, BISA Staff
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Just like how we must maintain our physical health, mental health is just as important. Through the past few years, many of us have heard stories of people all across different industries suffering from burnout, fatigue and even mental illnesses – and the financial services industry is not immune.
It’s important to take a moment to step back and take a deep breath – and get a better understanding and appreciation of positive mental health. We’ve compiled a list of articles (and a whitepaper) that discuss mental health in the financial services industry.
The impact of COVID-19 has exacerbated a pre-existing issue in the financial services industry: the mental health of advisors. Among the seven most prevalent mental illnesses in the field, depression and panic disorder were amongst the top.
“You can only take your clients as far as you have gone yourself.” This piece by Sonya Lutter details the importance of therapy and why advisors need to take a step back to evaluate themselves and their priorities before they can help their clients.
“Whole person health” is the recognition of physical and mental health being interconnected and correlating with each other. This article provides advice on how to improve and maintain your overall health and what you can do to take action today.
While this article is from April 2019, it still contains the important message of providing psychological support for financial services employees. This article follows the experiences of a financial advisor and how her experiences caused her to develop high anxiety. It also covers other incidents that showcase just how dire mental health needs to be provided for financial services workers.
This whitepaper by Aon was developed in 2021, based on their research with organizational leaders and employees. Current wellbeing strategies do not meet the complex and changing demands of a post-COVID-19 world, and companies must re-evaluate and assess the best support for their employees.