The Public Manager 

Nehemiah’s Sense

Col. Series

Inner Peace: aChristmas Note

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If the Prophet Nehemiah were around today, he would surelyminister to the public servants in distress. He would anchor his holisticHRD management on the fact that man is body and soul.

But he would first give us a picture of how elusive peace hasbecome to the inner man. The silent scourge of modern or industrializedsociety called stress, with its many causes, forms and manifestation mightafter all be of epidemic proportion. Middle-aged persons are mostvulnerable to nervous depression, hence, the high incidence of the so-called mid-life crisis that sets a confluence of emotional and physicalaspects of health. The affliction can be reactive one which is caused orinduced by physical and social environments/stimuli. The second type, e.g.organic or endogenous is caused by certain chemical or hormonalchange in the body and in the brain. The two types, however, may bemutually reinforcing.

 The symptoms are many and vary in degrees. Most common is thefeeling of despair for trivial or no reasons at all. Others are attacked byfear of so many unknowns and sometimes of fear itself and alternatingdeep melancholy, feeling of dreariness and being weary of life. Some havelow level of tolerance and get annoyed even by a normal noise,somebody’s presence or even a usual little crowd. Coupled withrestlessness, others complain of some strange thoughts comingsimultaneously and uncontrollably which disturb concentration in one’swork or sleep which later on undermine overall bodily resistance to otherdiseases. But some sufferers would rather conceal their conditions underthe blanket diagnosis of high blood pressure.

Interestingly, this affliction respects no one, though it was thoughtto be a trendy disease of the affluent. Well-known personalities likeVincent Van Gogh, the Dutch artist and an internationally accomplishedFilipino musical artist, and bureaucrats are among the sufferers. Yes, evenhealth professionals are not spared. My nurse-friend told me about hiscolleague who is a well-sought-after cardiologist in Mindanao who is prone

 

to depression. A lady dentist, with a lucrative practice, admits thatsometimes she cannot treat patients when it strikes.

  The World Health Organization (WHO) describes “health” assomething like the sum total of physical, mental and emotional well-being.Curiously, this holistic view of health approximates the Jewish term“Shalom” for peace. Shalom is not just a mechanical Jewish greeting andexpression of a wish for another person. Shalom is a state of being wherea person is at peace with oneself, with his neighbors, and ultimately withGod.

Now, health and welfare policies of all countries are supposed to beconsistent with above definition. But our health insurance provision andcoverage and the health dimension of the employee welfare policy (bothin public and private sectors) still tend to ignore this concept of health. Itseems it is only the physical or the medical aspect that matters. By andlarge, society, and perhaps, the bureaucracy are not yet prepared to lookat depression just like any other ailment for which one should take aleave, seek proper medication and to convalesce from.

 Thus, for a public servant, it might be professionally hazardous,even suicidal, to state that he is affected by some “emotional or mental”problems for purposes of seeking medical attention or claiming employeebenefits. Because of such oddity, afflicted people might be put at risk bynot getting the timely and proper healing. Imagine the graveconsequences on HRD and productivity when talented, committed andeffective public servants are faced by this dilemma.

I might be endangering my own personal dossier and overallreputation by writing on this theme which has to cite my own battle with“emotional” crises for which I consulted spiritual counselors mental healthprofessionals. But I am coming out in the open just the same if only topave the way for a healthy and more professional view of emotionalproblems where people need not fear in seeking the proper cure – all inthe name of balance and responsive HRD policy. Rest assured I don’tintend to engage in illegal practice of medicine and I shall stick to theterritory of a personal experience which I just relate to those of the othersI have read and heard. I find some convergence among the observations,though.

Stress and its possible descent to nervous depression have so muchpersonal and official economic and social costs. On HRD grounds, thus, itis important and proper that the afflicted and his family, the employer andcommunity be parts of the total solution.

For the sufferer, the Socratic counsel of “Know Thyself,” is the rightbeginning. He should face the problem squarely in its early onset. Whenone runs out of internal resources to cope with the malady, there shouldbe no hesitation and procrastination to seek professional help. In doingso, an honest assessment of the extent one’s ability or inability to helphimself would be most advantageous and lead to a proper cure. Happily,for the endogenous type of depression, both holistic and scientific healingapproaches are now within one’s reach. Together with spiritual-

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psychological approaches, I am fortunate to get equally effective therapyfor my hormonal imbalance from natural and non-addictive sources.

It can be noted that over the past fifteen years, the workplace(public and private) has taken notice of the reality and costs of stress inproductivity. They actually began to provide stress management coursesin team-building sessions or as part of practical HRD programs. But thesemay not be enough or timely for many people whose state of chemicalimbalance already calls for sustained medical and nutritional approaches.At the same time a purely medical ministration may not suffice withoutfactoring in the capacity of the attitudinal aspect or the frame of mind infacilitating the healing of those with endogenous depression.

Overall, we still need a more positive and caring environment in theworkplace and community so that sufferers need not be consigned tosilent perdition. Just like the Club of Rome which recognized the “Limits of Growth,” so should sufferers and public managers recognize the limits of human endurance. Sympathetic understanding from colleagues andsuperiors plus a responsive personnel policy would go a long way inbreaking the usual deterrence in one’s seeking proper healing attentionbut also in putting afflicted persons at ease, strengthening self-esteem,keeping their morale high by enabling them to continue to give of theirbest to their work and society at large. All of these fortify their healingenvironment and in the process optimize utilization of gifted and efficienthuman resources.

 I close by going back to the public servant in distress. True, by

sheer self-effort and talents, one may find “peace” with himself andneighbors. But this may not be complete or tenable for a long time if theultimate source of that peace is not the Prince of Peace himself. After all,Shalom, our inner peace is something we make with and is given as a giftby the Person whose coming to earth we celebrate on December 25.

May your Christmas be merry and blessed with the abiding Peace

from above. Happy and prosperous New year, too.

Nbi: 12.23.02

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