Pune: A 30-year-old woman working with an IT firm suffered from depression and retreated into a shell. Her family members and doctors could not figure out the reason for the sudden change in her behaviour. After much discussion, her psychologist found that excessive work hours, guilt of unfinished tasks, and unrealistic targets were the key reasons behind her depression.

Workplace stress has emerged as one of the major culprits disrupting mental health of young people. The theme for this year's World Mental Health Day is ‘Mental Health at Work', emphasizing the importance of mental health in the workplace. Dr Sreystha Beppari, a consultant psychologist at Apollo Clinic, said, "Given the recent case of a Pune employee, this year's theme plays an important role in understanding the importance of a healthy workplace environment for employees' mental health.

" "One of the most common complaints that we come across is burnout. The 30-year-old woman who came to us worked in a fast-paced IT sector company. She reported how she felt tired and at times could not complete her tasks at work.

After a long conversation with her, we realised that she was going through severe burnout at work. She was also depressed due to her inability to complete work. We recommended that she take a break from work, speak with her family/loved ones, and come for regular visits to check on her progress.

After a month, we saw that she was healthy but recommended she continue taking work breaks to avoid any .