Layoffs and chaos are taking a toll on federal worker's mental health

NINA MOINI: Well, since coming into office, President Donald Trump has made it a priority to drastically reduce the size and scope of the federal government. It's led to mass layoffs that have impacted Minnesotans, and also funding cuts that trickle down to local agencies and nonprofits. It's creating a lot of uncertainty and confusion.

To help Minnesotans cope with some of the anxiety from that, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Minnesota Chapter, or NAMI Minnesota, is holding a workshop tomorrow. And joining us now is Melissa Conway. She's a licensed social worker with Minnesota Mental Health Clinics. And she's going to be leading the workshop. And thank you so much for your time today, Melissa.

MELISSA CONWAY: Hi, thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: So I understand you have around 80, 85 people registered. Does that feel like a lot? Do you do other programming like this?

MELISSA CONWAY: I do other programming like this, yes. And it does feel like a lot. I was surprised. I would say typically 20 to 30 would be the usual what I would expect for people to just sign up for a free event like this. So I'm excited that so many people are going to get to participate in the group. And I'm sad that so many people are hurting. And it's really just such a small percentage of the people who are affected by everything going on.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, I wondered if people can still participate, or what is the capacity there?

MELISSA CONWAY: Oh, yeah, I believe they can. It's on Zoom. So I don't believe we have a limit at all. And if you just go to the NAMI website, as soon as you get onto the NAMI website, it's right there in the middle of the page. You'll see the event, and you can click on it and register online.

NINA MOINI: Why did you feel like it was important to have a space like this for people impacted by this specific topic, of the federal worker cuts?

MELISSA CONWAY: Well, when you're the people providing the care to vulnerable populations, which most of the people are here-- so when we're talking about people working for the VA, people working in federally funded programs that provide care through Medicare, Medicaid, other PMAPs, people who keep our parks open and areas that people can access for free that really serve to help with their mental health by being able to get out in nature and do the things they want to do, when you have a job that focuses so much on serving others and you are now under just insurmountable stress about, am I going to have a job, what does my future hold, what comes next for me, it's important that we're taking care of those caregivers. And it's important that we're taking care of those people who serve so many others because the trickle-down effect of that stress is huge.

NINA MOINI: So many people lose a job, and that's stressful enough. But for these workers in particular, it's become such a national debate. And it's become politicized. I understand you have people fill out these forms about how they're feeling. What did people share with you? And was there anything that really stood out?

MELISSA CONWAY: Yeah, so we did ask people when they registered to share, what is one thing you're hoping to get from this? So some of the things we're hearing are how to deal with the overwhelm and the emotional exhaustion, how to find strength and positivity, coping strategies for dealing with their own anxiety, stress, depression, poor sleep, how to know how to help others who are in the same situation, how to know what to tell the people that they might be serving in their role who are wondering, what's going to happen to me or to my family if these programs go away or you're not here to provide care anymore, how to help with burnout, how to deal with anger and fear and uncertainty, some stress from previous layoffs that people have been with. But the overwhelming theme is stress, anxiety, and fear.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and all of that uncertainty, that actually has an impact on our brains and our bodies and our nervous systems, right? I mean, sometimes if people have a serious problem occur, like the loss of a job, sometimes they're rushing to get a new job or figure things out that are more tangible and perhaps pay less attention to their mental health at a time that it's really critical to do so. But could you describe for our listeners what actually happens to the brain and the body when something like this happens?

MELISSA CONWAY: Yeah, absolutely. So our brains are designed to have three different parts. We have our upper brain, our midbrain, and our lower brain. Our upper brain is where executive functioning is, so problem solving, critical thinking, reasoning.

Our upper brain allows us to come home from work at the end of the day and say, I need to feed myself or my family. What do we have for dinner? What can I make out of this? Maybe I need to run to the grocery store and go buy what you need, cook the meal, clean the meal, take care of yourself and your family.

Our lower brain is where our anxiety center sits. It's the part of our brain that we share with all animals, where that fight-or-flight place is. And when our anxiety center is activated, when we're in our lower brain, our upper brain, our executive functioning, turns off. And our brains were designed to do that so we can act out of that fight or flight in order to keep ourselves alive.

So if my house is burning and my children are inside, my lower brain activates. The part of my brain upstairs, the executive functioning that says, you can't go in that house, you'll get hurt, turns off. And my lower brain kicks in and allows me to run through the house and save my children.

But what if you're activated in that lower brain because of the fear, uncertainty, anxiety, stress, whatever it is, associated with all of these federal cuts? Now your upper brain is still turned off. Your brain is still functioning the way that it was designed to function. You're in an anxiety state, so you're executive functioning is turned off or really slowed down. And it makes things like responding to emails harder, knowing what to make for dinner harder.

The thought of coming home then and having to say, OK, I need to make dinner, what do we have, what can I make, do I need to go to the grocery store, becomes a chore that feels impossible. Things that used to be easy decision making, that used to be easy problem solving, that used to be easy concentration all diminishes when people are in that anxiety state.

And when we have people in this prolonged anxiety state because there's so much uncertainty and they don't know what's going to happen next, then we have people who every day are feeling like, I can't get things done. My brain isn't firing like it used to. I'm unable to stay on top of things at work or at home. I'm even unable to stay on top of my relationships and just general communication and texting or phone calls.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. What do you find when people actually do start to learn about how their bodies and their minds interact? Do you see people letting go of some of that shame? Or what do you hope people would gain from a workshop like this?

MELISSA CONWAY: Yeah, letting go of the shame is a big one. We want people to be aware of how you're feeling in this moment is fair. It is real. It is valid. The way that your experiencing differences maybe in work due to that executive functioning slowing down because of your anxiety state is a symptom of what you're experiencing. It's not a personal deficit.

And so we don't want people to fall into this place of learned helplessness, of, no matter how much I try, it doesn't get better, no matter what I do, I can't change it. We want people to recognize, the way I'm feeling is valid with what is happening in my life and around me. These things are congruent.

I am allowed to be feeling this way. It is expected that I would be feeling this way. And I do have areas of influence-- even if I don't have control, I have areas of influence-- where I can start to figure out, what could my next steps look like?

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and there's no quick fix sometimes. And things can take a while. And it takes a lot to keep going during a hard time. I feel like for so long-- just before I let you go-- it was like, don't even talk about mental health as it relates to work. Like, just go to work-- or don't go to work. You lost your job.

But this merging of talking about mental health and in the workplace or around jobs, are you doing more programming like this? Or do you hope to do more programming that focuses on just the relationship to jobs and mental health? And perhaps you've already been doing a lot of that.

MELISSA CONWAY: Yeah, I do. I lead some discussions for a really great organization called WeCare. It's a nonprofit. And they specialize in treating mental health for health care providers, so addressing burnout, work stress, work fatigue for any health care providers, from doctors to social workers to nurses to Reiki healers, massage therapists, whatever it could be.

And so I do a lot of work with that sector and helping people figure out how to prioritize their own mental health when they're in a role that they are constantly giving to others. But I think, overall, we all need to be talking about this mental health stuff. Years-- not years ago. I shouldn't say that. About three years ago, I did a mental health discussion for 3M about learned helplessness in the workplace and resiliency and how to address stress and burnout in the workplace.

And I think the more we can offer these things to different organizations, the healthier we're going to see our employees are and the happier our employees are. Instead of pretending like the stress going on inside of the organization or around the organization isn't impacting them, let's call it out. Let's name it. Let's validate it. And let's help our employees know how to work through it. How can they care for themselves while working through this really stressful experience?

NINA MOINI: Got it. Yeah, it's important. Melissa, thank you so much for coming on and sharing about these important resources with us. I really appreciate it.

MELISSA CONWAY: Yeah, absolutely. I just really hope people show up and feel supported. I hope they have a sense of community and they feel less alone after being in this group, and that they feel much more supported and cared for.

NINA MOINI: Thank you, Melissa. Thank you. Take care. That was Melissa Conway, licensed social worker who will be leading a mental health workshop for people impacted by federal job cuts. And if you or someone you know needs immediate mental health support, there is 24/7 help available. You can call or text 988.