The Author, Anshika Sharma, is a 3rd-year, BA.LLB student at Delhi Metropolitan Education, GGSIPU. She is currently interning with LatestLaws.com.

INTRODUCTION

“We Have to Nourish to Flourish”.

To have the best output at work we need to provide people with a healthy environment to work. A healthy workplace can be described as one where people actively contribute to the working environment by promoting and protecting the health, safety and well-being of all others. Mental health interventions should be delivered as part of an integrated health and well-being strategy that covers prevention, early identification and support. Mental health of every person is very important for being productive, as not having a good mental health would lead to inability of the person to concentrate on his work.

The mental illnesses must be treated like any other physical illness. Simply saying it’s just in your head won’t help because for those who suffer, it is very real. The victims of mental disorders need coping advices and not judgmental comments. There seems to be no specific reason to when a mental disorder strikes, how deep it strikes or how long it lasts.

Lawyers are more prone of being the victims of mental illness like depression or anxiety as they have to deal with problems and disputes on daily basis. It is not unusual to know that the problems of the clients start bothering lawyers on a personal level. He has to serve justice to his client and at times deal with the problems of his life too.

MENTAL HEALTH OF LAWYERS IN INDIA

Mentally ill people are not usually in a position to make decisions on their own. This is what makes it different from general health or well being. Families often try to hide their mental illness out of a sense of shame. As a result, they are unable to get access to appropriate treatment. Around 300 million people suffer from severe mental illness, equivalent to 4.4% of the total population. According to a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, 1 in 40 and 1 in 20 people are suffering from the past and current episodes of depression in India. In spite of this big burden of mental health issues, unfortunately, it continues to be misunderstood in developing countries like India.

Being a lawyer is a demanding job. The profession has its own host of factors that cause stress and strain. You have to deal with clients, senior attorneys, other advocates, judges, mediators, receivers, clerks, notaries and the police. You need to interact with professional personnel from other industries such as accountants and IP specialists. All in all, it is essential for a lawyer to meet and deal with a lot of people – each with their own sets of demands and requirements. You have to meet their demands and take care of their interests to succeed and shine.

The legal profession inherently prescribes various traits that a lawyer must display to be rewarded for their work, but these traits are also ones that force our community to brush mental health-related issues under the carpet. The pressure to over-extend oneself is so entrenched that a lawyer would probably find it hard to speak to someone at work about the trouble they face, for fear of being called a slacker. For many professionals, the fear and anxiety of making a mark in their professions is consistent. The concerns such as whether they will succeed as independent legal counsel, whether they will be able to generate work, whether their training is sufficient, whether they are working with the right people are constant.

Above all, like any other profession in India, there is a huge amount of stigma associated with mental health issues. Mental healthcare in India is already marred by lack of access to basic information and an unwillingness to accept mental health as a real issue. Add to this, the burden lawyers face to not only be mentally “fit” but to also play the part convincingly.

The strain and stress involved in the work as a lawyer in the ruthlessly competitive market, along with the economic downturn that the world is witnessing today, makes the situation worse.

You get very little time to look after your own self – to take care of your mind and body. A young lawyer, who tries to find his feet in the profession, may end up getting a pittance in return of all the toil, sweat and burning the midnight oil. That’s the experience of many young lawyers. There are a lawyers who get paid well at law firms and senior’s chambers, but they have their share of other problems, like preferential treatment, inhumane work pressure or office politics.

To this add a sprinkling of negotiations that may go wrong, client meetings that may take unexpected turns, cutthroat competitors undercutting your rates, clients who disappear without paying bills, judges who are unkind or unscrupulous, or just difficult matters in court where the chances of getting favourable orders are next to nil. Remember, as a young lawyer, you often find yourself in a situation where you have very little choice to say no to a case even when defeat in the courtroom is staring at your face, and a few unreasonable clients, and the putridity of near hopelessness is there. All these things take toll on your mind. Mental illness is the most traumatic illness a person can have. When an individual suffers from a severe mental illness, he often tries to attempt suicide. Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 264 million people of all the ages suffer from depression. This current generation should not be afraid to convey their feelings or to communicate.

STEPS TAKEN TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH OF LAWYERS IN INDIA

According to Article 21 of Indian constitution no person shall be deprived of personal liberty or life except according to procedures as stated in the law. It has been held that right to life and personal liberty under this article includes “facilities for reading, writing and expressing oneself in diverse forms, freely moving about and mixing and comingling with fellow human beings”. As this section every person liberty to live there life in their own way.

As more and more state and local bar associations recognize the need to account for the reality that many attorneys experience mental health issues, there has been an increase in the number of Lawyer Assistance Programs to help practitioners dealing with issues ranging from alcoholism and drug addiction to gambling, burnout, depression, and other psychiatric issues. These programs aim at connecting diagnosed lawyers with peers who have personal experiences with same issues. Just as peer support networks have especially helped women and members of diverse racial and ethnic groups gain a stronger footing in the legal profession, these types of networks are critical for people living with impairments and conditions that often carry a heavy stigma. Without peer support, the risk of suicide or lost productivity and long-term unemployment are likely to be much greater.

National mental health policies should be concerned with a wide range of issues promoting mental health of lawyers. Mental health promotion should be included in government and non-government policies and programs.

TIPS FOR LAWYERS

1. Stop Lying to Yourself

The first thing to do is to stop lying to yourself. More often than not, what stands between you and your honesty is your ego. This is not your fault. There is a sense of ingrained in millenniums of human conditioning. Our civilization, culture and history have made us so it makes us blind to the immediate realities. At times it turns us into rabbits in headlights. At other times, it makes us look at the world with rose tinted glasses and think that everything is alright. All you need is to go deep and broad inside your conscious mind and think.

2. Do one thing at a time

We can poach an egg and talk to mom on the phone at the same time. But it is impossible, as per experience, to do legal research for one case and draft the other reply to notice at the same time. So, for things that require more mental energy, cognitive resources and will power, it is common sense to do one thing at a time, and to do that with unwavering focus. This holds especially true for lawyers, corporate personnel and other multitasking professionals. If there are multiple things to be done in the course of your job, then divide the day into multiple parts. Assign each part to each of the many specific tasks. This method is called ‘chunking’. Focus on your work at hand as if nothing else exists in the world. There will be fleeting thoughts in your head about other things that appear pressing. Ignore everything. Let all thoughts pass. You will do nothing else until what you have set out to do is done. This habit can help safeguard from depression, but create the greatest work ethics. This is something we tend to lose track of in entirety while struggling to find our feet as a lawyer. When you start saying no to everything else when you are doing one thing, some people may scream for your attention initially, but you will soon be able to train people to let you do one thing at a time. You will also be able to train yourself to create and follow a schedule.

3. Stop being a perfectionist

You do a thing well because you do it to the best of your ability. That’s the only simple trick for success performing the tasks at hand to the best of one’s capacity and gives you elbow room for error. If you can’t forgive yourself for mistakes you make every day, stress, anxiety and depression are inevitable. However, those won’t be your only problems. If you cannot allow yourself to make mistakes, you will not move fast enough in your career, you will not grow, and you will at best be an average professional. That is because those who are willing to make mistakes are the ones who come forward and take risk, engage in innovation and experiments, get out of their comfort zone and pick up fights where they may even lose. No loss is permanent. But the fear of making a mistake cripples us, prevents us from doing anything worthwhile and keeps us ordinary. It also gives us tremendous anxiety. This has the potential to devastate your mental peace. So, instead of being a perfectionist, strive for constant betterment. Law is a highly subjective discipline. There is always room for improvement. There can always be a better order from the judge or a better deal from the client. Thus, instead of striving for the unattainable perfect order or perfect deal which does not exist in real life, strive for constant improvement.

4. Accept that everything is not in your control

In this speck of dust, you are a lawyer. Sadly, the professional world of a lawyer and legal education system are highly competitive spaces. They charge and drive us to take control. This applies to our studies. This applies to the courtroom where we wish to defeat the opposition lawyer from within the adversarial system of justice administration. This also applies to the client meet where the amount of control you exercise determines your quantum of remuneration. The element of control is most prominently present in the professional life of a litigating lawyer. Even they have to keep a semblance of control despite things running towards utter chaos all the time. It is unavoidable to avoid this strife for control if you want to make something out of yourself as a lawyer. That is why it is absolutely necessary to learn, to know – when to let go. It is crucial to internalize this simple, timeless truth that there are not many things in this world that are in our control. It is no different with our work. For everything we may even manage to control at a time, there are 10 others we have no control over.

5. Do not severe your connections from people who care for you

When you are in depression, or on the verge of it, you are likely to want to cut off from the world, especially the people who love you and care about you. That is what happens mostly and that is a mistake that makes bad situations even worse. One may also feel too weak to support those who depend on him/her and disappear. Prima facie, being there for those who count on us seems like an easy task. After all, why would one even think of turning their back on the people they care for? However for someone suffering from depression, anxiety or having to contend with excessive workload, reaching out in itself can be a difficult task, let alone the urge to stand beside your close ones in the hour of need. Having someone to depend on you when you yourself are gasping for breath can indeed seem to be a tall order. Identify the people who genuinely care for you.

6. Share with trusted friends

There is a platform for depressed lawyers to come together and share their difficulties with each other, to give and take advice. It is called the Lawyer’s Depression Project. Legal professionals and law students with diagnosed mental health conditions come together and participate on this platform. If the testimonials are something to go by, it has proved immensely beneficial to many of them. Unfortunately, in India, we do not have any such platform. We all need help at times. It can come from a trusted peer – a friend or a group of friends, some fellow professionals who are suffering from the same or similar problems like you do, even from a family member or your loved one. You need to create a safe space for yourself and your mind. A space where you can share your innermost thoughts, fears, anxieties and vulnerabilities without being taken advantage of can be an immensely beneficial undertaking. It can be one person, it can be a therapist or coach, and it can be a support group.

7. Your physical health is key to your mental health

A healthy mind is a healthy body. The need to keep one free from afflictions was given primacy by our ancient ancestors too. Wellbeing has been crucial to us since the dawn of history. One needs to pay heed to the wisdom from the continuous collective of mankind. Work or other people do not impact your health. Your lack of care and attention to your own health is the real culprit. Only reason other people, or work makes a dent on your physical mental health is because you tacitly or passively allow such things to happen. If you are not caring about your health enough and that is almost inevitably leading to a difficult mental health situation too. Most lawyers never bother to check or learn enough about their own health, or even measure or track the same, leading to disasters. Many of us have made mistakes and then learnt how to take care of our health. Either way, the earlier you learn, the better.

Other Typical/general ways to promote mental health are:

Early childhood interventions (providing a sustainable environment that is sensitive to the health and nutritional needs of children, protection from risks, early educational opportunities and sensitive, psychologically supportive and growth-stimulating interactions);
Assistance to children (e.g. life skills programs, child and youth development programs);
Socio-economic empowerment of women (e.g. improving access to education and micro credit schemes);
Social support for the aging population (such as initiatives for the elderly, community and day centers);
Programs targeting vulnerable people, including minorities, indigenous peoples, immigrants, and people affected by conflicts and disasters (such as post-disaster socio-social interventions);
Mental health promotion activities in schools (e.g. programs related to assisted environmental change in schools);
Mental health interference at work (e.g. stress prevention programs);
Housing policies (e.g. housing reforms);
Prevention Violence prevention programs (such as reducing the availability of alcohol and access to weapons);
Community development programs (e.g. integrated rural development);
Anti-discrimination laws and campaigns;
Promoting the rights, opportunities and care of people with mental illness

MENTAL HEALTH OF LAWYERS ACROSS THE WORLD

Numerous surveys on mental health from across the world have reported psychological issues are comparatively high in the legal profession. Lawyers consistently rate in the top two occupations with the highest prevalence of mental health problems.

When researchers at Johns Hopkins compared the experience of 12,000 workers in more than 25 occupations, attorneys were found to have the highest rates of depression—more than three times the approximate rate of depression when compared with other occupations. A study of more than 2,500 lawyers in North Carolina found that one in four attorneys reported clinical symptoms of depression, such as loss of appetite, lethargy, insomnia or suicidal thoughts several times a month in a particular year.

Main reasons contributing to stress:

Deadlines and time constraints;
The high stakes involved, including a loss of freedom, property and even life;
The expectations of expertise;
The scrutiny and critical judgment of work from other counsel or the courts;
The conflict-driven nature of the legal process;
The threat of malpractice;
The tendency of assuming client's burdens;
The demise of professional cordiality
The depletion of energy that comes from high demands at work.

Some might argue that legal jobs are inherently stressful, and that people with depression and anxiety issues should look for less stressful work. But if the legal profession were to try to rid itself of the high percentage of lawyers with mental health issues, the profession would be impoverished in the process.

STEPS TAKEN BY FOREIGN COUNTIES TO IMPROVE THE MENTAL HEALTH OF LAWYERS

Mental health is undoubtedly an integral and essential part of the health. According to the WHO constitution, "Health is a state of complete mental, physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of infirmity or disease." Mental health is more than just the absence of mental disabilities or disorders. Mental health is a state in which an individual realizes their own capabilities, can cope with the stresses of life and is able to work productively. Mental health is fundamental to not only collective, but also individual ability as humans to emote, think or interact with each other, enjoy life and earn a life. On this basis, the protection, promotion, and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies across the world.

In the context of national efforts to implement and develop mental health policy, it is vital to not only protect and promote the mental well-being of its citizens, but also address the needs of people with mental disorders. There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating both the cost- effectiveness and efficacy of key interventions for priority mental disorders in countries at various levels of economic development. Examples of interventions that are feasible, affordable or cost-effective include:

Treatment of depression with psychological disorder and, for moderate to severe cases, antidepressant medicines;
Treatment of psychosis with psychological support and antipsychotic medicines;
Taxation of alcoholic beverages and restriction of their marketing and availability.

A range of effective measures also exists for the prevention of suicide, treatment or prevention of mental disorders such as dementia or schizophrenia, and treatment of substance-abuse. The mental health Gap Action Programme has produced evidence based on the guidance for non-specialists to enable them to identify and manage mental health conditions effectively.

CONCLUSION

The concerned authorities must make choices and strategic decisions to bring about positive changes in the acceptance and treatment of mental disorders. No matter what its resource constraints, every Council or Association must do something to improve the mental health of its members. What it requires is the courage and the commitment to take the necessary steps despite the chronic nature of mental disorders, with proper treatment, people with mental disorders can lead productive lives and become an important part of their communities. New knowledge on how individuals, society and the public health community can cope with mental disorders can have a tremendous impact

Picture Source :

Anshika Sharma