One of our committee objectives last year was to create resources to help explain what occupational therapists can do to support workplace mental health. We created two fact sheets- one for the public, and one for employers or insurance companies.
Mental Health Resources
World Suicide Prevention Day
Journaling: The Path to Self-improvement, Satisfaction, and Success.
It’s 2018, and yes you may have a host of new year’s resolutions already sought out for … but if I could add one more item to your list, consider the daily practice of journaling. It doesn’t have to be an hour power writing session on the daily, but perhaps a few minutes scheduled into your morning or evening routine ...
#ThinkDigitalHealth
November 13-19 marks Digital Health Week, an annual celebration to recognize how digital health is transforming the delivery of care across Canada as more of our healthcare services become digital. Through innovations such as telemedicine, e-visits, predictive diagnostics, wearable sensors and a host of new smartphone apps, digital health has become an increasingly popular medium in helping Canadians manage their health and wellness.
World Mental Health Day
Take a Breather!
Diaphragmatic breathing, otherwise known as “deep breathing,” is defined as an efficient integrative body-mind training for dealing with stress and psychosomatic conditions (Ma et al., 2017). Benefits of diaphragmatic breathing, notably emotional balance and social adaptation have been investigated in association with meditative practices, ancient eastern religions (e.g. Buddhism), and the movement arts (e.g. yoga and Tai Chi) (Sargunaraj et al., 1996; Beauchaine, 2001; Porges, 2001). Various psychological studies have also found diaphragmatic breathing to be an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression (Stromberg et al., 2015) ...
Beating the Sunday Night Blues
It's Sunday afternoon. You've spent the morning slowly rising out of bed, running errands that you've put off during the week, and have even managed to hit up your favourite brunch spot.
Then it sinks in ... tomorrow is MONDAY.
You suddenly feel a wave of anxiety rush over you. The relaxation and enjoyment of the weekend's activities come to a halt. You begin to preoccupy your thoughts about the upcoming work week; thoughts of upcoming projects and meetings, colleagues that you need to attend to, conflicts that are unresolved. Your mood takes a down turn, and you begin to feel irritable and restless. You may even have a tough time falling, or staying asleep as those ruminating thoughts about your upcoming workweek invade your mind. If these feelings resonate with you, you might have a case of the 'Sunday Night Blues.'
"Can Work Make You Mentally Ill?" Research Update
Our experience at work will always have an impact on our mental health, either in a positive or negative way, and to lesser or greater extents. The relationship is indisputable. Yet, it is difficult to draw direct causation between the two. Is it even our job that is causing harm to our mental health or is it something else in our environment? Are some jobs worse than others for our mental health? If so, what makes them so bad? Do only specific workplace factors have an effect while the others are irrelevant?
Mental Health and Social Media
Today marks the start of Mental Health awareness week in Toronto! With the rising usage of social media in corporate and personal contexts, our focus this year is on raising awareness about mental health and social media. Are you a community manager? Do you manage a corporate social media account? Are you a social media guru? Blogger? Vlogger? Or regular Facebook checker? Then stay tuned this week to the blog and L&L Social channels for information, tips, personal stories, and strategies to maintain your mental health while using social media.