The mental stress of mining studied in Sudbury – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – April 12, 2019)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

When you take that deep dive down into the ground, your mental health can take a hit. Vale, Steelworkers Local 6500 and the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health at Laurentian University have recently completed a large study looking at the impact of mining on mental health.

“Most of the measures were very similar to the (larger) population when it comes to depression, anxiety, fatigue and other things, but there were a couple of things that were a little bit higher than the general population,” Keith Hanson, occupational health and disability lead at Vale, said.

“Burn-out was a little bit higher and post-traumatic stress disorder was higher than the population.” The research was presented Thursday as part of Workplace Safety North’s mining health and safety conference, which took place in Sudbury.

“What we’re really trying to do is maximize the mental health of all employees,” Hanson said during his presentation. “We’re trying to create an organization where it’s Ok to be found, where it’s Ok to talk about mental health.”

Dr. Michel Lariviere, a professor and Laurentian University and a researcher with CROSH, said symptoms of depression can include low mood, tearfulness, thoughts of suicide, as well as disruptions to sleep and appetite.

For the rest of this article: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/the-mental-stress-of-mining-studied-in-sudbury