Not playing hurt: Promoting mental health is a team effort.

Byline: Heath Hamacher

In the sporting world, athletesoften"play hurt"through a variety of physical injuries.Competingnowis theirfocal point, andlong-term health riskstheafterthought.

The practice of lawissimilar in many respects.Manylawyersoftenfind itdifficult, no matterwhat else they may be going through, to call for a substitute.So, they put on their game faces and push throughstress, anxiety, depression, and much else.

But left untreated, lingering injuries can lead to massive damage.

"If I break my leg[in a sporting event]everyone understands that I need to be carted off the field and get an X-ray and have a cast applied and take time to get better and do rehab,"said DouglasEy, deputy general counsel at McGuireWoods. "It's the same thing if I'm suffering from depressionIneed to be evaluated andtreated by professionals and then I cancome back on the field,ready to go."

In Charlotte, agroup ofgeneral counsel for law firms in the Carolinas, including Ey,meets quarterly to discuss issues affecting law practice everywhere.Kate Maynard, general counsel for Robinson Bradshaw, said that lawyer well-being is a perennial topic of those meetings.

"Ourgroup is a place where we share ideas and concerns about what we're dealing with to kind of be resources for each other," Maynard said.

Just asfootball playersare morelikelythan golfers tobe injured, studies show that lawyersaremore at-risk thanotherpopulationsofdevelopingbehavioral health issues,fromsevere anxiety todrug and alcohol abuse.Practicing lawconsistently ranksas one ofthe most stressful jobs in America.There always seem to beloomingdeadlines, demandingclients, andexcessivework.

But athletes have a number of advantages that lawyers don't. In the law, for instance,there are few breaks andno off-season.But the most important differences boildown to one key concept: Teammates and coaches.

Encourage help-seeking behavior

In sports, thoseteammates and coachescanoftenspot signs of physical injuryand help an athlete get prompt treatment.The signs of mentalhealth challenges are more easily concealed from colleagues and supervisors, however. Ina firm, who pays attention to theagitated colleagueor the one who frequentlyworks behind closeddoors? The consensus isthateveryone should be aware.

"If you see something, say something," Ey said. "We do want everyone to have their antenna up and hope that supervising lawyers and mentors will really pay attention, but we also hope that those being supervised...