When facing health challenges like fertility struggles, obesity or type 2 diabetes, the focus often centers on medical treatment and lifestyle changes. However, the emotional toll of these conditions is just as important. Anxiety, stress, and depression frequently accompany chronic health issues, creating a cycle where mental distress worsens physical symptoms and vice versa.

At Headspace, we recognize the deep connection between mental and physical health. As Medline is taking a holistic approach to supporting the health of its 22,000+ employees, Headspace worked alongside  organizations like Progyny and Twin Health to deliver comprehensive education and resources to its workforce, focused on the mental health aspects of fertility, family building, and metabolic conditions. Because every individual’s health experience is personal and unique, it’s critical for employers to think holistically.

Understanding the Emotional Impact of Health Struggles

Health challenges can often bring up feelings of frustration, fear, or even grief. For employees navigating these challenges, the pressure of balancing work, family, and personal health can become overwhelming. This is why emotional wellbeing must be an integral part of health care, rather than an afterthought.

Through this comprehensive effort:

• Information from Progyny and Headspace highlighted the intersection of fertility and mental health, as Medline recognizes that for many, a journey to parenthood does not come without challenges. Fertility journeys can be complex and filled with uncertainty, and one of the biggest indicators of a person’s mental health is their acute and chronic long-term stressors. While Progyny supports reproductive health and fertility challenges, Headspace offers complementary tools, including a content collection focused on fertility journeys, to manage the stress, shame and isolation that many feel while undergoing these challenges.
• Twin Health empowers members to address the root cause of conditions like obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes: a dysfunctional metabolism. With the help of advanced technology and a medical care team, members learn to naturally manage blood sugar, reduce medications, and feel better.  

There is a deep connection between mental and metabolic health. Research shows that depression increases the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases by 40%, while chronic stress triggers inflammation that impacts cognition, productivity, and physical health. Twin has teamed up with Headspace to support employees in reducing stress, improving mood, and achieving better overall well-being. By combining Twin’s metabolic health support with Headspace’s mindfulness and mental health resources, Medline encourages employees to take control of their physical and mental health.  

By integrating these resources, Medline employees and their families have access to a full spectrum of care: addressing both physical and emotional needs.

The Power of Mindfulness in Managing Health

Through Headspace’s tools, employees can access support in navigating the emotional ups and downs of their health journey. Within the Headspace app, members can:

• Improving emotional resilience: Learning mindfulness techniques can help employees regulate emotions and build healthier coping mechanisms before times of crisis arise. Empower employees with constructive, tangible tools that allow them to work with — rather than against — their emotions. For example, workplace culture experts Liz Fosslien and Molly West Duffy co-created a content collection in partnership with LinkedIn and Headspace, “Life Skills: Emotions at Work,” to help employees learn to cope with work-related emotional stress.
• Addressing medical anxiety: A survey conducted by One Medical, Headspace, and The Harris Poll revealed that two-thirds of people have anxiety about scheduling medical appointments, and 67% put off going to the doctor. A meditation and mindfulness practice may help to alleviate some of these feelings, by creating a sense of balance and safety. Headspace has been proven to reduce stress by 32%, and eight weeks of Headspace has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety. Headspace's director of teaching, Eve Lewis Prieto, created an exercise designed to relieve anxiety and stress before medical appointments.
• Supporting fertility journeys: With its complex mix of uncertainty, stress, shame and isolation, infertility can take a significant toll on one’s mental health. Headspace’s content collection, “Support for Your Fertility Journey,” is designed to help anyone who may be undergoing a family-forming journey and to help people feel seen, heard, and supported as they navigate their own family planning journeys.
• Managing physical health: Mindful eating and movement sessions can also encourage sustainable habits for long-term wellness. In Headspace’s mindful eating collection, you’ll find resources to help become more present during meal time, while cooking and grocery shopping, or in the middle of your work day. You’ll also hear from registered dietitians and physicians about the relationship between eating and sleep, movement, and stress.

Through these collaborations, we’ve helped Medline employees integrate mental health support into their daily routines: whether they’re navigating a new diagnosis, managing a chronic condition, or simply looking for ways to improve their overall wellbeing.

A Future of Holistic Healthcare

By addressing both mental and physical health, Medline, Progyny, Twin Health, and Headspace are paving the way for a more holistic approach to employee wellbeing. When employees feel supported in every aspect of their health journey, they’re not only healthier but also more engaged and productive at work.

At Headspace, we believe that mental health is health, and we’re here to support you every step of the way in building holistic benefit strategies. Learn more about how Headspace helps improve mental health by contacting us here.

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