As a whistleblower, you may experience a lot of fear over what your future looks like with your company. Additionally, being aware of immoral or illegal behavior can put much pressure on your mental health. Fortunately, you can care for your mental health while dealing with a whistleblower claim.
Recognize the signs of anxiety and depression
When you witness abusive or illegal behavior in the workplace, it is natural to feel stress. Likewise, when you plan to report your superiors, you may worry about retaliation or your job security following your claim. Depression at work can manifest in an inability to focus. You may find yourself less confident or making more mistakes than usual.
Additionally, you may struggle to make it to work on time. Feelings of sadness, hopelessness or fear can affect your personal life too.
Reach out for help when necessary
While you may hope for the stress to end following the resolution of your report, you cannot always predict how long you have to wait for that moment. If you experience anxiety or depression due to stress at work, you may require treatment including cognitive therapy and medication.
While some companies have an employee resource company to help workers with mental health-related services, you may not feel as comfortable using these avenues during your claim. If there are other whistleblowers, reach out to them. Whistleblowers not only feel less alone when there are others to help, but they tend to have a stronger case.
Do not keep your stress to yourself. Reach out to friends, family and mental health professionals to help treat anxiety and depression caused by workplace stress.