Worker's Honest Talk With Boss About Mental Health Pays Off

Honor Eastly spent years pretending she was fine at work, even when she wasn't. The pattern started at a job interview when her future boss found a video of her singing in a psychiatric hospital and asked if it was "all behind her now."

She lied and said yes, even though she was experiencing a depressive episode at that very moment. That dishonesty became her survival strategy for years.

Throughout her career, Eastly maintained what she calls the "honesty gap." She'd polish emails while panic attacks pulsed through her, keeping a crisis service chat open in another browser tab. She became known as high functioning, but the constant pretending pushed her into overwork and burnout.

The fear of being seen as unreliable drove her to work herself into the ground. Most colleagues never saw the daily effort it took to appear normal, or the relentless stress it caused.

Everything changed when Eastly created a memoir podcast called "No Feeling Is Final" about her mental health experiences. The show became unexpectedly popular, which meant coworkers in new jobs already knew part of her story. But knowing someone struggled in the past is different from knowing they're struggling right now.

Recently, while leading a high pressure project with tight deadlines, Eastly noticed warning signs she recognized. Her anxiety was peaking and she was having nightmares, signals that she might be slipping into another severe episode.

This time, she did something different. Over a Zoom call with her manager, she spoke directly: "I need to let you know this is having an impact on my mental health. I'm OK right now, but if it gets worse, I won't be able to keep leading this project. We'll need a backup plan."

Her manager surprised her with immediate support. They agreed no project was worth destroying her mental health and already had a contingency plan ready if needed.

Why This Inspires

Eastly's experience shows what becomes possible when workers feel safe being honest about mental health. The project finished successfully and sustainably because both she and her manager knew the limits and had a Plan B ready.

She still has moments of struggle, but she's learned that being direct about her needs doesn't make her less competent. It actually shows self awareness and proactive thinking.

Now as co-founder of The Big Feels Club, Eastly helps other people with long term mental health challenges navigate their workplaces. Her advocacy work even earned her the Australian Mental Health Prize.

The honesty gap is slowly closing, one brave conversation at a time.