Mental health in the legal profession (Part 2)

YOLANDA KALENGA

As a lawyer, it is so difficult to even imagine your human limitations because it is one of those jobs that requires you to show up mentally strong.

All the time.

Your clients depend on your mental resilience, they pay you for how well you can navigate all the curve balls that comes with being a warrior in this noble profession.

But what we don’t realize is that most of the time, your mind takes so many knocks, much more than we care to admit and at the end of the day, I have realised that being too mentally strong can make you tired, especially when you have not factored in some self-care habits that bring a balance to your life.

Personally, off days were, have been and are still the weirdest thing to navigate.

Why, you ask?

Answer: the guilt.

The guilt that consumes you on your off days.

Honestly, it is the most mind-boggling thing to explain to anyone. For many years I have found that my off days, especially when I am booked off sick and in need of self-care, are the most torturous days. If it’s not the guilt consuming you, then it’s your mind racing beyond control, reminding you of what you need to do, have to do and want to do.

You literally feel guilty for lying in bed helpless, because you are so used to being strong.

I know that feeling all too well, I am no stranger to taking it all to the job and ending up being too strong, so strong that I often reached the stage where it felt like my brain was cracking.

However, in a profession that is built on mental resilience and excellence, how do you talk about mental health without sounding like you are weak and overwhelmed?

In a profession that thrives on pressure and the ability to excel under that pressure, how do you ask for a day off, without sounding like you are mentally frail?

I don’t know the answers to the above, but I know that it is a conversation that needs to happen, that we need to acknowledge that mental health is an issue in the legal profession and that we need to make it okay to say it out loud without internalising some misguided fear of being judged for sounding or looking “weak”.

It is exactly this type of internalised fear that has made people neglect their human needs, suffer in silence and turn to drinking, substance abuse and becoming regulars at the therapist office.

My learned colleagues, let me take this moment to remind you that beyond beast mode, you are an amazing human and your life is rich with experiences and relationships that are unrelated to our noble profession.

My learned colleagues, you are human and your mental health matters. Failing to address the impact of mental health in the legal profession is something that can affect performance, client service, diminish public trust in the profession and increase the risk of your business (because your greatest asset is compromised).

To be a good lawyer, you need to be a healthy person, both mentally and physically.

Your personhood is what comes first, therefore, I challenge you to take your mental health seriously and in so doing, I challenge you to take care of yourself, fully and unapologetically.

As for bosses and superiors, I challenge you to create a conducive environment that allows a safe space for your employees to feel that their need for health care (whether physical or mental) is acknowledged, respected and encouraged.

For further guidance on the matter, I recommend that you read the American Bar Association’s report titled ‘National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being’, which includes recommendations for promoting well-being in the legal profession and contains practical suggestions aimed at transforming the mindset and attitudes of judges, regulators, law firms, law schools, law societies and lawyers. This report is comprehensive and aimed at creating a blueprint for stakeholders to come up with an industry-wide approach towards promoting a positive attitude towards mental health in the profession, including suggestions on how to create practical and implementable plans to give effect to the endeavour as well as to rehabilitate lawyers from the damning and pervasive effect of poor mental health in the noble profession.

Briefly, some of the suggestions from the above report are:

1. De-stigmatise and encourage help seeking behaviours (acknowledge that your colleague or employees’ well-being is your business, because it will affect your business);

2. Build relationships with lawyer well-being experts (the establishment of lawyer assistance programmes that are confidential and aimed at providing “prevention, intervention, evaluation, counselling, referral to professional help and ongoing monitoring” are encouraged;

3. Addressing the root cause of poor health (which includes looking at the workplace culture and not just focusing on detection and treatment);

4. De-emphasise alcohol at social events (to address the issue of over-consumption of alcohol at social events);

5. Communicate that well-being is a priority and create a conducive environment that allows lawyers to have more control around their schedules (to allow lawyers flexibility and ability to thrive in their private lives as well and this includes the requirement that seniors should manage their time well to avoid passing on the resultant emergencies to juniors who are then required to work exceedingly hard to make up for poor time management on the part of seniors).



*Yolanda Kalenga is the chairperson of the Namibia Law Association and writes in her personal capacity.