Mental Anguish & Mental Illness in the Workplace

It was a Wednesday when I slipped into a space I didn’t recognize. I was attending our routine bi-weekly roundup, sitting in a conference room surrounded by colleagues, when a strange wave hit me. My heart raced, my breaths were shallow, and a sudden weakness washed over my entire body. I kept telling myself, “As long as no one calls on me, I’ll be okay.”

But then it came.

“DaVonne, how about you? What are your thoughts?”

Right there, in a polished corporate office with fluorescent lights humming above me, I broke. I burst into uncontrollable tears. I stood up quickly, weaving past concerned and confused faces, searching for an escape. The restroom was only a few feet away—if I could just make it.

I locked the door behind me, hoping I’d find a moment of quiet to regroup. Instead, everything worsened. My hands trembled violently. My breathing collapsed into gasps. My body folded into itself, lying curled on the wooden bench as sobs tore through me.

I was having a severe panic attack.

Here’s the complicated truth about mental illness:

It doesn’t care where you are. It doesn’t respect calendars, deadlines, leadership titles, or boardrooms. It doesn’t pause because you have a big meeting, a project launch, or a team depending on you.

Mental illness shows up like a wrecking ball—uninvited, unapologetic, and unannounced.

And although millions of employees silently fight these battles every day, mental health in the workplace is still treated like taboo—whispered about, avoided, or tucked under professionalism. But when we avoid the conversation, we create environments where people suffer quietly and unnecessarily.

This is exactly why LABELED partners with companies and organizations.

We help build workplaces where psychological safety is practiced, not just promised, and where emotional well-being is understood as a business imperative—not an HR side project.

What LABELED Does for Companies

Our uniquely designed corporate programs help organizations understand the human experience behind the job title. We educate, equip, and empower teams to navigate mental health proactively—not reactively.

• We work alongside leadership, HR, DEI teams, and frontline managers to:
• Build psychologically safe cultures where employees feel seen, supported, and safe to speak up
• Create sustainable frameworks for mental health awareness, crisis response, and ongoing support
• Equip leaders with the tools to recognize signs of distress and respond without causing harm
• Address bias and stigma around mental illness that often go unnamed but deeply impact performance and retention
• Facilitate conversations that strengthen team trust, belonging, and connection
• Provide resources and toolkits that normalize mental health and clarify pathways for support

Because when employees feel emotionally safe, companies see measurable improvements in engagement, innovation, retention, and productivity. Psychological safety is not a soft skill—it is a competitive advantage.

Key Components Participants Will Learn

Understanding Mental Health

Clear, accessible education on the most common mental health conditions and how they show up in professional settings.

The Power of Inclusion

How inclusive practices directly impact performance, morale, and employee longevity.

Communication Strategies

How to approach mental health conversations with compassion, clarity, and respect—especially as a leader.

Tailored Organizational Solutions

Custom strategies that address the unique culture, needs, and challenges of your company.

Building Internal Support Systems

How to create networks, policies, and processes that support employees instead of isolating them.

Addressing Stigma

Understanding the cost—emotional and financial—of workplace stigma and how to replace it with awareness and empathy.

When leaders make mental health a priority, they don’t just change workplace culture—they save careers, strengthen teams, and create environments where people and performance thrive side by side.

Mental health should never be a silent struggle.

With LABELED, it becomes a shared journey toward healing, resilience, and organizational excellence.