March 8th, 2019
#BalanceforBetter
Today is International Women’s Day, a time when we celebrate women’s achievements and collectively advocate for greater gender equality in all aspects of life. The campaign theme is #BalanceforBetter, and the message is that a more gender-balanced world – a gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government and a gender-balanced media, for starters – is a better world for both men and women.
February 15th, 2019
15 Minutes is Enough to Make a Difference
Believe it or not, gardening or yoga could save your life. It sounds slightly exaggerated, but if you read the series of articles on this site about taking steps to improve well-being, exercise comes up in almost every one of them. Solid research prescribes exercise as a solution to so much of what ails us, from depression to heart disease. Green exercise – exercising outdoors – is particularly effective in preventing disease and fighting stress.
February 6th, 2019
The Potential for MSD in Childcare Workers
As a childcare worker, we are naturally concerned over the safety of the children, but often times, we overlook our own safety, which can potentially affect child safety. Whether you’re working in a childcare facility, caring for infants, toddlers, or preschool age children, one of the top hazards that we may encounter in the workplace is musculoskeletal disorders, also known as MSD. The prevalence of MSD back/neck and shoulder discomfort in childcare workers in one study was shown to be between 43-61% and 25-35.4% respectively (1).
January 18th, 2019
Getting Past Blue Monday with Your New Years Resolutions
The beginning of a new year is a traditionally a time for introspection and to sometimes reevaluate life choices. This inevitably leads to New Year’s resolutions, which, in my view, can sometimes take the joy out of new beginnings. Resolutions that are too ambitious inevitably result in failure and can lead to guilt. That’s because they are often geared toward correction of old behaviours rather than to new beginnings. Too often our resolution involves changing an undesired trait or behaviour or situation. Changing these traits can be difficult and we can set unrealistic expectations and then by “Blue Monday” (this year that is January 21) you feel like giving up.
January 10th, 2019
Know When It’s Time To Go
I have a friend who was experiencing burnout at work, and although his initial response was to try to overcome the issues associated with burnout – and there are many strategies – it gradually got to the point where the best advice I could give him was to look for another job. He had all the symptoms: anxiety, depression, feelings of helplessness and an inability to sleep. He had a crushing workload and an unsympathetic boss who gave him unclear and undefined tasks to perform – basically he was responsible for whatever came up, whenever he found out about it, which was usually too late.
January 7th, 2019
Did you know that PSHSA is developing specialized eLearning for the Aphasia Institute?
Yes, we are building an exciting, introductory module that will promote a successful approach called SCA™– or supported conversation for adults with Aphasia. The targeted learner for this training are those health care professionals (i.e. clinicians/speech-language pathologists/nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers) who are involved with patients with Aphasia.
January 2nd, 2019
Back to Work: Is it Time for a Work-Life Balance Check?
The holidays are over; time to get back to work. Don’t groan! Work is a good thing. It gives us purpose, establishes a routine, presents an opportunity to meet and interact with people and, of course, generates a paycheck. Work is good. On the other hand, it is sometimes easy to feel overwhelmed by work. Some people are so overloaded with time and scheduling conflicts that they have trouble coping. It might be time for a work-life balance check!
December 20th, 2018
Drink to Your Health: Leave Out the Alcohol
The holidays can be a difficult time for people who, for whatever reason, do not drink alcohol. Holiday parties, festive dinners and lunches, office celebrations – they all involve booze, including yummy specialty cocktails like rum and eggnog and peppermint mimosas. What’s a non-drinker to do?
December 17th, 2018
Too harried to be merry? How to beat holiday stress
Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Have you made a list, put up the decorations, driven to the mall, tried to park at the mall, ordered a turkey, mailed out Christmas cards…? Are you having fun yet? If the answer is “not really,” don’t feel guilty. You are experiencing something many people feel leading up to the Christmas season, including myself: holiday stress!
