1. 2 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com © 2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Reprinted with permission.
Taking off the mask
Workers struggling with addictions just want to be heard
By Amanda Silliker
A
llan Kehler was school president,
athlete of the year and national schol-
arship winner. He was that popular,
outgoing high school star who seemed to have
it all. But in fact, he was struggling.
“It’s kind of like smiling on the outside,
crying on the inside, because forever the world
was always my stage and I wore that mask and
put on that beautiful smile… but on the inside
it was very different,” he says.
In grade 11, mental health issues started
to surface. He spent close to the next 10 years
meeting with different health professionals
who peppered him with various labels
and placed him on several prescription
medications.
“I was just kind of thrown from one
professional to the next,” he says. “It was kind
of like Russian roulette; they didn’t know
which pills would work.”
In an effort to self regulate, Kehler turned
to “self-injurious behaviours,” which
eventually evolved into compulsive gambling
and drinking.
It was in university that things started
to improve, thanks to the actions of one
professor. One day after class, Ian McNeill
approached Kehler and asked if he wanted to
come back to his office to talk. He asked him
to sit down and he just said, “How are you
doing today, Allan?”
“He had complete compassion and I knew
there wasn’t any judgment, and I knew where
he was going with that question,” says Kehler.
“It was one of the first times I removed my
mask and told him a bit about what was going
on with my mental heath struggles and sub-
stance abuse. He didn’t fix me. He just listened
and provided me with some resources. In just
10 minutes, Ian McNeill changed my life.”
Kehler’s story has many valuable lessons for
employers, and he regularly speaks at health
and safety conferences across Canada.
“Employers have to start understanding this
is right under their nose; it’s right in front of
us,” says Kehler.
Three-quarters (77 per cent) of drug addicts
and 90 per cent of alcoholics are in the
workplace, according to the Canadian Centre
on Substance Abuse.
According to Kehler, there are six signs
to look for that indicate a worker is having
issues with mental health or substance
abuse: change in appearance; change in
performance; dilated or bloodshot pupils;
substance-related scents; absenteeism; and
isolation.
Oftentimes, people want to approach an
individual who appears to be suffering but
they don’t know how. They end up doing
nothing, which signals to the individual that
no one cares.
“One-hundred per cent of people who are
challenged by addiction are in pain and they
just don’t know how to manage that pain.
So, communication. Open up that door and
have a conversation,” says Kehler. “We have
two basic needs: see me, hear me.”
People often struggle with exactly what
to say, but it can just be short and sweet: “I
don’t mean to be intrusive, just want to let you
know I am concerned. If you need anything,
I’m here,” says Kehler.
The individual may initially get mad or just
pretend everything is fine.
“But eventually, when they’re ready, in their
own time, they will say, ‘I just need to chat.’
And when they get into it, you don’t have to
do anything because the moment they open
their mouth, it is inevitable that healing will
take place,” says Kehler.
At that point, managers should direct the
worker to the employee assistance program
and any other resources the company may
have. Accommodation may also be necessary.
FAMILY MEMBERS SUFFER
Employees with a loved one struggling with
mental health or substance abuse issues have
a hard time at work, too.
“They are renting out the mind space for
their loved one, they are maybe not getting
sleep because they are worried about their
loved one, their performance is going down
because they are present in body but not in
mind,” says Kehler.
More than one-quarter (26 per cent) of
employees have substance abuse or addiction
issues in their family, according to Hazelden,
an addiction treatment centre with locations
across the United States. Of these, nearly one-
half say they are distracted and less productive
in the workplace because of an addicted
family member.
“One woman told me the first time she
felt peace in the workplace was when her son
was in jail because, finally, she knew where he
was and she could finally focus on the task at
hand,” says Kehler.
Whether it’s an employee struggling with
alcoholism or a mother trying to cope with
her daughter’s cocaine use, employers need
to address the issue. If they do nothing, the
employee’s condition will worsen, co-workers
will pick up the slack, the team morale will
decrease, productivity will be lowered —
which will increase company costs — and
safety is at stake, says Kehler.
“It’s not only that individual’s safety, it’s the
safety of others around them — and silence is
always that enemy. If you say nothing and you
play that tape forward and something does
happen, are you going to wish you had done
something?”
After McNeill had that initial conversation
with Kehler in university, Kehler “swallowed
his pride” and made some adjustments, such
as writing exams in a room by himself and
getting note-takers and tutors. He successfully
received both his bachelor of education and
bachelor of physical education from the
University of Alberta.
Now, he lives in Saskatoon with his wife and
four kids and teaches a program for people
who want to become addictions counsellors
at the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of
Technology. He is no longer addicted to
gambling or alcohol and he has been off
prescription pills for his mental health issues
for more than six years.
“I wish somebody had said, ‘Just hold on,
here is a glimpse of what it could be, you have
a home not a house, you have a wonderful
wife and children who love you,’” says Kehler.
“Sometimes I was just way too blinded by all
that darkness. And hope and faith are those
two tools that you need to hold on to.”
Allan Kehler
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