Hello everybody, my name is Andrzej Rodzin and this is the Software House CEO podcast. Today I am joining two mental health specialists and experts: Lana Jurojć and Wojtek Jurojć. They also are co-founders of the Power of Now platform.
Today we were talking about mental health, especially in the IT industry, so maybe tell us who you are and what you do.
Lana:
I am very happy to share my knowledge today. My name is Lana and we have a mental health specialist centre. We also provide webinars for IT specialists not only internationally worldwide and different courses for employees, so this is my main specialisation. I work with employees all around the world.
And with the employees from the IT industry?
Lana:
Yes, the IT industry but not only. We also work with different companies who need our help. We help employees to feel better on a daily basis. We help with burnout, stress, and other problems that employees may face on a daily basis.
Are your clients rather companies or more often individuals?
Lana:
Yes, individuals as well because employees just contact us at weekends and organise online sessions or offline sessions individually, so this is common for us.
What language are the classes in?
Lana:
Mostly in English. We focus our business on speaking English. Individual employees and companies sometimes have to travel abroad for the job and they also face a lot of problems because it’s difficult to go to another country and find themselves.
What about the platform The Power of Now?
Lana:
Well, this is a great platform. Employees can be connected to this platform entirely any time, from any place, and watch different videos connected to mental health.
Wojtek:
Not only videos but also articles or audio podcasts. The idea is that everyone can learn in different ways. We prepare the content in three different ways so the people can learn. Our main goal is to show simple solutions, and simple techniques, which can help people with different issues or change their views on a daily basis.
Why the IT industry specifically? Is it because you previously worked in IT?
Wojtek:
I think two things. First is that Lana works with IT employees, so she sees the huge challenges people struggle with. And the second thing is that I am also used to working in the IT industry, so I know what kind of challenges people are facing. Not only in Poland but also internationally. We used to live in different countries like Denmark, Russia, Thailand, Czech-Republic, so know how difficult it is when you work in an international company in IT.
Lana:
To be honest, I also see there is a lot of interest nowadays in improving the mental health of employees. I think that the IT industry is investing in the employee’s mental health. I think it also depends on the interest of the employers to invest time, energy, and finances to improve health.
Why do you think it is important for IT companies specifically?
Lana:
I think that most of the employees in the IT industry work remotely and today feel sometimes abandoned, and alone. They need to travel abroad, they need to try to find themselves in this new place. Many times it is actually employees of IT companies who are introverts, so they like being alone. They get the energy from being alone. But it also has a different side: they might feel abandoned, and alone. This might be the reason why people nowadays have depression. They feel separated from people who can help them. They need a person with whom they can share problems.
What is the sign for people? I’ve also encountered people that did not realise they have a problem but they have depression and did not realise they have some help like you?
Wojtek:
One out of ten people who are under stress knows that they are under it. Only one. This is the first thing in the consciousness about our feelings, about our emotions, about our bodies, something to be receiving different signals and we just completely ignore this. And then it’s too late, then we got some things like burnt out, depression. 10 years ago, when I was working in IT, I went through a burn out so I know how difficult it is. I was living in a beautiful place, with a good job and a good salary in an international environment. However every day I woke up, I couldn’t get up from my bed, I felt very bad and very tired. And sometimes we are ignoring this and don’t realise what is happening to us.
Who helped you?
Wojtek:
I was worried and unhappy that I had to change something in my life, so I just quit my job and bought a one-way ticket to get to Southeast Asia with a backpack. It was a radical movement. But sometimes it is good to take one step back. Just think about what you need and how you are feeling. We are living in times when we are connected to things like phones, and laptops. We don’t have time to spend with ourselves. We are living in times where we are addicted to things that give us impulses and adrenaline and we forget how to be aloneWe don’t listen to ourselves.
So we are connected but still lonely?
Wojtek:
Kind of. We just don’t know what we want.
And what did you want after you decided to go to Southeast Asia? Did you change your job to work with mental health problems after that?
Wojtek:
Yes, I came back after a couple of months and I actually got a job in Poland. I got a job in IT in Poland but I knew that I wanted to go back to Asia so I opened my small company and I was taking people to show them local life.
But, you don’t have to do it, right? As an IT guy, you completely changed your life.
Wojtek:
Yes, this is my example. Don’t follow me. Sometimes I am a rush person. When I want something I just do it. I knew I wanted to come back to Asia, but as I say, don’t follow my steps. Just think about what you want.
Lana, you mentioned that people in the IT industry often work remotely, and they feel disconnected from society. Do you agree with the statement that being independent doesn’t bring you real happiness and being codependent that someone depends on you and you depend on someone brings people happiness?
Lana:
I would say interdependent, maybe not codependent because codependency does not always bring mental benefits. We are very social creatures. Nowadays we actually don’t interact with others so much, especially in IT. And we sometimes don’t know how it influences our brave ways. People who struggle with depression feel so much better when they are doing something together with others.
What is the difference between codependency and interdependency?
Lana:
I think that interdependency is that I can’t feel alone, I feel fine, joyful, and happy but at the same time I understand that I need other people, I feel great with them.
How to find the power to go out there and find people who do for example gardening with?
Lana:
I think that the most important thing is just to start contact with someone. The first step is just to contact a mental health specialist, maybe a doctor who prescribes your medications to support you in the beginning.
Some people, myself included, think that sport is the answer to all kinds of problems. I solve them by bike every morning and play squash. But it does not always relieve stress. Is it true?
Wojtek:
Of course, we need physical activities. Thanks to this we get the power and our mental health is going to be better. If we want to be healthy we need to take care of three levels or actually stress them on a daily basis. There is a physical level, emotional level and conscious level. For these three levels, we have different tools to deal with them.
Lana:
I think that the most important thing is that every psychotherapist asks what do you feel? Our feelings are signals, they show us what we actually need. Because our feelings mean something.
Wojtek:
A quick story about the process. I remember I travelled around Asia etc. I remember I saw some Monks, making mandalas on the ground, and I was asking them what they do. I asked them how long it takes. They say a couple of weeks, months. When I asked them what they do after this, they say: ,,The goal is not important, the process is more important”. So enjoy the process. Whatever you do, enjoy the process.
Do you have any final advice for all the people, not just from the IT industry, about their mental health?
Lana:
Yes. A lot of people wait and think that it will be better. You have to accept yourself fully, who you are, and accept your problems, and challenges. It is a beautiful process of health transformation.
Thank you!
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