Mental Health & Stress Management

It's been a while since anything's been posted! As life typically goes, unexpected things happen and time has been taken off to mourn the loss of some amazing people for family and friends. (This page is run by solely one person)

Hopefully everybody is staying safe during these difficult times.

Posting will continue back to normal on MONDAY.

If you need to talk, I'm still here, feel free to send a message.

Other resources:

Kids Help Phone: 18006686868
(For children and parents needing help with children. YES, you can call on behalf of your child!)

Hope For Wellness Helpline: 18552423310
(First Nations & Inuit)

CASP: 18888112222
(Canadian Association for Su***de Prevention; CMHA)

Next week on Tuesday April 14th, 30 minute personal meditation sessions will be available! Did I mention it's also FREE!?

Anxiety in Children

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns for children and adults, affecting upwards of 20% of children and adolescents over the lifespan. Anxious youth are often quiet and well behaved, and thus frequently go unnoticed by their parents, teachers, and coaches. Alternatively others can be disruptive and act out, being labeled as having attention deficit disorder or being a “bad” kid. Both scenarios result in youth failing to receive the help they desperately need. Sadly, untreated anxiety can lead to depression, missed opportunities in career and relationships, increased substance use, and a decreased quality of life.

https://www.anxietycanada.com/learn-about-anxiety/anxiety-in-children/

Anxiety in Children - Anxiety Canada Expert tools and resources to help Canadians manage anxiety.

Understanding Mental Illnesses (1/7)

ANXIETY DISORDERS

We all feel nervous or worried at times. This anxiety can be a helpful feeling when it motivates us or warns us of danger. An anxiety disorder, on the other hand, causes unexpected or unhelpful anxiety that seriously impacts our lives, including how we think, feel, and act.

What are anxiety disorders?

Anxiety disorders are mental illnesses. The different types of anxiety disorders include:

Phobias

A phobia is an intense fear around a specific thing like an object, animal, or situation. Most of us are scared of something, but these feelings don’t disrupt our lives. With phobias, people change the way they live in order to avoid the feared object or situation.

Panic disorder

Panic disorder involves repeated and unexpected panic attacks. A panic attack is a feeling of sudden and intense fear that lasts for a short period of time. It causes a lot of physical feelings like a racing heart, shortness of breath, or nausea. Panic attacks can be a normal reaction to a stressful situation, or a part of other anxiety disorders. With panic disorder, panic attacks seem to happen for no reason. People who experience panic disorder fear more panic attacks and may worry that something bad will happen as a result of the panic attack. Some people change their routine to avoid triggering more panic attacks.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is fear of being in a situation where a person can’t escape or find help if they experience a panic attack or other feelings of anxiety. A person with agoraphobia may avoid public places or even avoid leaving their homes.

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder involves intense fear of being embarrassed or evaluated negatively by others. As a result, people avoid social situations. This is more than shyness. It can have a big impact on work or school performance and relationships.

Generalized anxiety disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder is excessive worry around a number of everyday problems for more than six months. This anxiety is often far greater than expected—for example, intense anxiety over a minor concern. Many people experience physical symptoms too, including muscle tension and sleep problems.

Other mental illnesses

Some mental illnesses are no longer classified as anxiety disorders, though anxiety or fear is a major part of the illnesses.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is made up of unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that cause anxiety (obsessions) or repeated actions meant to reduce that anxiety (compulsions). Obsessions or compulsions usually take a lot of time and cause a lot of distress.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur after a very scary or traumatic event, such as abuse, an accident, or a natural disaster. Symptoms of PTSD include reliving the event through nightmares or flashbacks, avoiding reminders of the traumatic event, and feeling unsafe in the world, even when a person isn’t in danger.

Who do they affect?

Anxiety disorders can affect anyone at any age, and they are the most common mental health problem. Sometimes, anxiety disorders are triggered by a specific event or stressful life experience. Anxiety disorders may be more likely to occur when we have certain ways of looking at things (like believing that everything must be perfect) or learn unhelpful coping strategies from others. But sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be a reason.

What can I do about them?

Many people who experience an anxiety disorder think that they should just be able to ‘get over it’ on their own. Others may need time to recognize how deeply anxiety affects their life. However, anxiety disorders are real illnesses that affect a person’s well-being. It’s important to talk to a doctor about mental health concerns. Some physical health conditions cause symptoms of anxiety. A doctor will look at all possible causes of anxiety.

Normal, expected anxiety is part of being human. Treatment should look at reducing unhelpful coping strategies and building healthy behaviours that help you better manage anxiety.

Each anxiety disorder has its own specific treatments and goals, but most include some combination of the following strategies:

Counselling

An effective form of counselling for anxiety is cognitive-behavioural therapy (or ‘CBT’). CBT teaches you how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours work together. A goal of CBT is to identify and change the unhelpful patterns of thinking that feed anxious thoughts. CBT can help you identify problem behaviours and replace them with helpful strategies. It’s often the first treatment to try for mild or moderate problems with anxiety.

Medication

Some people also find antianxiety or antidepressant medication helpful. Medication can help with the physical feelings of anxiety. It may also make anxious thoughts less frequent or intense, so it can be easier to learn helpful coping strategies. Some people take medication until their anxiety is controlled enough to try therapies like CBT.

Support groups

Support groups—in person or online—may be a good place to share your experiences, learn from others, and connect with people who understand.

Self-help strategies

Many different skills can help people manage anxiety, such as stress management, problem-solving, and relaxation. Mindfulness—developing awareness of the present moment without judgement—may also help. Practices that support wellness, such as eating well, exercising, having fun, and connecting with others, are also important.

How can I help a loved one?

Supporting a loved one who is experiencing an anxiety disorder can be difficult. You may not understand why your loved one feels or acts a certain way. Some people who experience an anxiety disorder feel like they have to do things a certain way or avoid things or situations, and this can create frustration or conflict with others. You may feel pressured to take part in these behaviours or adjust your own behaviours to protect or avoid upsetting a loved one. Support can be a delicate balance, but you should expect recovery­—in time.

Here are some general tips.

Remind yourself that the illness is the problem—anger, frustration, or behaviours related to anxiety are nobody’s fault.
Be patient—learning and practicing new coping strategies takes time.
If your loved one is learning new skills, offer to help them practice.
Listen and offer support, but avoid pushing unwanted advice.
Set boundaries and seek support for yourself, if needed.
If other family members are affected by a loved one’s anxiety disorder, consider seeking family counselling.

Do you need more help?

Contact a community organization like the Canadian Mental Health Association to learn more about support and resources in your area.

Founded in 1918, The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a national charity that helps maintain and improve mental health for all Canadians. As the nation-wide leader and champion for mental health, CMHA helps people access the community resources they need to build resilience and support recovery from mental illness.

www.cmha.ca/mental-health

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BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDITATION » for a positive & productive day (part 3) Increase positive energy, calmness and productivity throughout the day with a short morning meditation. Alternatively, you may choose to meditate in the even...

What Is Mental Health?
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:
• Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
• Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
• Family history of mental health problems
Mental health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.

Why is emotional health important?
Emotional and mental health is important because it’s a vital part of your life and impacts your thoughts, behaviors and emotions. Being healthy emotionally can promote productivity and effectiveness in activities like work, school or caregiving. It plays an important part in the health of your relationships, and allows you to adapt to changes in your life and cope with adversity.

Early Warning Signs
Not sure if you or someone you know is living with mental health problems? Experiencing one or more of the following feelings or behaviors can be an early warning sign of a problem:

• Eating or sleeping too much or too little
• Pulling away from people and usual activities
• Having low or no energy
• Feeling numb or like nothing matters
• Having unexplained aches and pains
• Feeling helpless or hopeless
• Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
• Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
• Yelling or fighting with family and friends
• Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
• Having persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head
• Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
• Thinking of harming yourself or others
• Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or school

Risk factors
Certain factors may increase your risk of developing a mental illness, including:
• A history of mental illness in a blood relative, such as a parent or sibling
• Stressful life situations, such as financial problems, a loved one's death or a divorce
• An ongoing (chronic) medical condition, such as diabetes
• Brain damage as a result of a serious injury (traumatic brain injury), such as a violent blow to the head
• Traumatic experiences, such as military combat or assault
• Use of alcohol or recreational drugs
• A childhood history of abuse or neglect
• Few friends or few healthy relationships
• A previous mental illness
Mental illness is common. About 1 in 5 adults has a mental illness in any given year. Mental illness can begin at any age, from childhood through later adult years, but most cases begin earlier in life.
The effects of mental illness can be temporary or long lasting. You also can have more than one mental health disorder at the same time. For example, you may have depression and a substance use disorder.
Negative life circumstances can put you at risk of developing mental illness. Situations that can affect mental health include:
• poverty
• family conflict or violence
• neglect in early childhood
• having a parent with a substance abuse problem living in inadequate or unsafe housing
Learning ways to cope with these circumstances can help your overall mental health.

Prevention
There's no sure way to prevent mental illness. However, if you have a mental illness, taking steps to control stress, to increase your resilience and to boost low self-esteem may help keep your symptoms under control. Follow these steps:
• Pay attention to warning signs. Work with your doctor or therapist to learn what might trigger your symptoms. Make a plan so that you know what to do if symptoms return. Contact your doctor or therapist if you notice any changes in symptoms or how you feel. Consider involving family members or friends to watch for warning signs.
• Get routine medical care. Don't neglect checkups or skip visits to your primary care provider, especially if you aren't feeling well. You may have a new health problem that needs to be treated, or you may be experiencing side effects of medication.
• Get help when you need it. Mental health conditions can be harder to treat if you wait until symptoms get bad. Long-term maintenance treatment also may help prevent a relapse of symptoms.
• Take good care of yourself. Sufficient sleep, healthy eating and regular physical activity are important. Try to maintain a regular schedule. Talk to your primary care provider if you have trouble sleeping or if you have questions about diet and physical activity.
How can I help?
• Research confirms that support from family and friends is a key part of helping someone who is going through a mental illness. This support provides a network of practical and emotional help. These networks can be made up of parents, children, siblings, spouses or partners, extended families, close friends and others who care about us like neighbors, coworkers, coaches and teachers. Some people have larger networks than others, but most of us have at least a few people who are there for us when we need them.
• There are a number of major ways that family and friends can help in someone’s journey of recovery from a mental illness:
• Knowing when something is wrong—or right: Getting help early is an important part of treating mental illness. Family and friends are often the first ones to notice that something is wrong. Finding a treatment that works is often a process of trial and error, so family members may also be the first to see signs of improvement.
• How do I do this?
• TIP: Learn more about the signs and symptoms of different mental illnesses. Also learn more about how treatments work so that you know what side effects you may see, when to look for improvements and which ones to look for first. A recent review found that when the family is educated about the illness, the rates of relapse in their loved ones were reduced by half in the first year.
• Seeking help: Families and friends can be important advocates to help loved ones get through those hard, early stages of having a mental illness. They can help their loved one find out what treatment is best for them. They can also be key in letting professionals know what’s going on, filling in parts of the picture that the person who’s ill may not be well enough to describe on their own.
• How do I do this?
• TIP: Offer to make those first appointments with a family doctor to find out what’s wrong or accompany your loved one to the doctor—these steps can be hard if your loved one doesn’t have much energy or experiences problems with concentration. If you do accompany the person, work with them to write down any notes or questions either of you have in advance so that you cover all the major points. If your loved one wants to do it on their own, show them your support and ask them if there’s anything you could do to help.
• TIP: You can’t always prevent a mental health crisis from happening. If your loved one needs to go to hospital, try and encourage them to go on their own. If you’re concerned that your loved one is at risk of harm, they may receive treatment under a Mental Health Act. It may be necessary in certain cases, but involuntary treatment can be complicated and traumatic for everyone.
• Helping with medications, appointments and treatments: If you spend a lot of time around your loved ones, you can help them remember to take their medications. You may also be able to help tell a doctor why medications aren’t being taken as they should be. Similarly, you may be involved in reminding your loved one to do their counselling homework or use their light therapy treatment each morning, or reminding your loved one to make or keep appointments for treatment.
• How do I do this?
• TIP: If you notice that your loved one is having trouble taking their medication, you can encourage them to talk to their doctor or pharmacist. They can suggest ways to make pill taking easier. If there are other problems with taking medicine, such as side effects, encourage your loved one to write down their concerns and questions and talk to their doctor. If they don’t have a good relationship with their doctor, help them find a new one.
• Supporting a healthy lifestyle: Families can also help with day-to-day factors such as finances, problem solving, housing, nutrition, recreation and exercise, and proper sleeping habits.
• How do I do this?
• Providing emotional support: You can play an important role in helping someone who’s not feeling well feel less alone and ashamed. They are not to blame for their illness, but they may feel that they are, or may be getting that message from others. You can help encourage hope.
• How do I do this?
• TIP: Try to be as supportive, understanding and patient as possible.
• TIP: Taking care of an ill family member or friend can be stressful. Remember that you need emotional support, too. Consider joining a support group for family members of people with mental illness. There, you can connect with other people going through the same things and they can help you work through your own emotions. It’s very important to make sure you are taking care of your own mental health as well.

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDITATION » for a positive & productive day (part 2) Increase positive energy, calmness and productivity throughout the day with a short morning meditation. Alternatively, you may choose to meditate in the even...

8 Tips for Living With Depression

1..Build a Support Network
One of the most important things you can do to help yourself with depression—other than medication and therapy—is to develop strong social support.

For some, this may mean forging stronger ties with friends or family. Knowing you can count on supportive loved ones to help can go a long way toward improving your depression.

For others, a depression support group can be key. It may involve a community group that meets in your area or you might find an online support group who meets your needs.

2. Reduce Your Stress
When you're under stress, your body produces more of a hormone called cortisol. In the short-term, this is a good thing because it helps you gear up to cope with whatever is causing the stress in your life.

Over the long run, however, it can cause many problems for you, including depression. The more you use techniques to reduce stress, the better because it will reduce your risk of becoming depressed.

3. Improve Your Sleep Hygiene
Sleep and mood are intimately related. A 2014 study found that 80% of people with major depressive disorder experience sleep disturbances.

But, you might feel like you just can't fall asleep. Or perhaps you struggle to get out of bed because you feel exhausted all the time.

Good sleep hygiene could be key to improving the quality and quantity of your sleep.

Turn off electronics at least an hour before you go to bed. Use dim light to read a book or engage in another relaxing activity.

Only use your bed for sleep and sexual activity. Doing work in bed, or even in your bedroom, can cause you to associate your bed with stress, rather than relaxation.

4. Improve Your Eating Habits
Research continues to find clear links between diet and mental health. In fact, there have been so many studies that have shown improving nutrition can prevent and treat mental illness that nutritional psychiatry has become mainstream.

There are many brain-essential nutrients that can affect depression. For example, a 2012 study found that zinc deficiency increases symptoms of depression.

Improving your diet could be key to reducing your symptoms.

But before you make any major changes to your diet or begin taking vitamins or supplements, talk with your physician.

5.. Learn How to Stop Negative Thoughts
Depression doesn't just make you feel bad, it can also cause you to think more negatively. Changing those negative thoughts, however, can improve your mood.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that works to alter common patterns of negative thinking called cognitive distortions in order to eliminate depression. There are also many self-help books, apps, and online courses that can help you learn how to change your unhealthy thinking patterns.

6. Beat Procrastination
The symptoms of depression, such as fatigue and difficulty concentrating, make procrastination tempting.

Putting things off fuels depression. It can lead to increased guilt, worry, and stress.

It's important to set deadlines and manage your time well. Establish short-term goals and work hard to get the most important things done first. Each task you successfully complete will help you break through the habit of procrastination.

7. Get a Handle on Your Household Chores
Depression can make it difficult to complete household chores, such as doing the dishes or paying bills.

But a pile of paperwork, ​the stack of dirty dishes, and floor covered in dirty clothes will only magnify your feelings of worthlessness.

Take control of your daily chores. Start small and work on one project at a time. Getting up and moving can help you start to feel better in itself. But, seeing your progress in the home can be key to helping you feel better.

8. Create a Wellness Toolbox
A wellness toolbox is a set of tools that you can use to help soothe yourself when you are feeling down.

The tools you find most helpful might not work for someone else so it's important to carefully consider what things can help you feel your best.

Think of things you like to do when you're happy. Then, when you're feeling down, try one of those activities.

Cuddling your pet, listening to your favorite music, taking a warm bath, or reading a good book are just a few tools you might find helpful.

Create a list of the activities you might try when you're feeling bad. Then, choose an activity to try when you're having a particularly rough time.

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDITATION » for a positive & productive day (part 1) Increase positive energy, calmness and productivity throughout the day with a short morning meditation. You can also use meditation in the evening to unwind,...

How you can help your kids manage stress successfully.

1. Stop overscheduling.

One of the biggest stressors for kids is being overscheduled, and yet, today, kids are expected to pay attention and perform in school for seven hours, excel at extracurricular activities, come home, finish homework, and go to bed just to do it all over again the next day. “Where’s the downtime?”

Kids need downtime to rejuvenate. Their brains and bodies need to rest. And they might not realize this by themselves. So knowing when your child is overscheduled is important.

Looking at your kids’ schedules over the course of a week and making sure that there’s enough downtime — “when you’re not watching the clock.” Are there several hours on the weekend or a few nights during the week when your child can simply kick back and relax?

Also, pay attention to how your family is eating their meals. Is everybody eating on the run, in the car, grabbing and going? That’s an indicator that too much is going on.

2. Make time for play.

Emphasized is the importance of “play that isn’t pressured.” There’s no lesson, competition or end goal. Younger kids will do this naturally. But older kids may forget how to simply play.

Combine play with physical activity, which is critical for well-being. Some ideas include: riding your bikes, throwing around the baseball, wrestling and hiking.

3. Make sleep a priority.

Sleep is vital for everything from minimizing stress to boosting mood to improving school performance. If your child isn’t getting enough sleep, that’s another red flag that they’re overscheduled.

Again, reducing commitments helps. Also helpful is stressing the importance of sleep, and creating an environment that facilitates it. For instance, keep TV – and other electronics – out of your child’s bedroom. (“There’s no research that says TV is good for kids.”)

4. Teach your kids to listen to their bodies.

Teach your kids to understand their own bodies and the physiology of stress, For instance, sit in the car with your child, and press the gas and brake, and listen to the engine revving. Explain that “our body just revs and revs, and then it wears out and says ‘enough.’”

Encourage them to listen to what their bodies are saying. While it’s normal for a child’s stomach to feel jumpy on the first day of school, leaving class because their stomach hurts or waking up repeatedly with a headache is a sign there’s too much going on.

5. Manage your own stress.

Stress is really contagious. When parents are stressed out, kids are stressed out. If you’re living in an environment with one thing after another, your kid is going to pick up on that.

It is important to be showing your kids how to relax and effectively deal with stress. “They have to see you slowing down.”

6. Make mornings calmer.

A disorganized home is another stressful trigger for kids, and this is especially evident in the mornings. Make mornings smoother, because this “sets the tone for the day.”

7. Prepare your kids to deal with mistakes.

For kids a lot of stress comes from the fear of making mistakes. Remind them that they’re not supposed to know “how to do everything or do everything right.”

Also, while making good decisions is an important skill to learn, the skill that might be even more important is learning how to recover from a bad decision.

We can really stress out our kids by not helping them understand that screwing up is part of the process. Help your child learn to figure out the next steps after a bad decision or mistake. Help them figure out how to fix it, make amends, learn the lesson and move on.

10 Simple Ways to Relieve Stress

1. Listen to Music
If you're feeling overwhelmed by a stressful situation, try to take a break and listen to some music. Calm music has a positive effect on your brain and body. listening to music can lower blood pressure and reduce cortisol, a hormone linked to stress.
Classical Music is commonly recommended, however, if classical isn't your style, listening to ocean or nature sounds work as well, as they have similar relaxing effects to music.

2. Talk With a Friend
When feeling stressed, take a break and call a friend. Talk about your problems. Good relationships with your friends and loved ones are important to any healthy lifestyle.
They are even more important when you are under a large amount of stress.Having a reassuring friend to talk to, even if only for a couple of minutes, can put things into perspective for you.

3. Talk Yourself Through It
There are some times when calling a friend is not an option. in this case, talk calmly to yourself. its the next best thing!
Don't worry about seeming crazy - tell yourself why you are stressed, what you have to do and than everything will be okay.

4. Eat Right
Believe it or not, stress Levels and a proper diet are related. when we are stressed and overwhelmed, we tend to go for those unhealthy, sugary or fatty treats.
Try to avoid these and plan ahead. Fruits and veggies are always a healthy treat . Fish with high levels of omega-s fatty acids are also good, as they have been shown to reduce the symptoms of stress (Yummy Tuna!)

5. Laugh It Off
Laughing releases those "feel good hormones" that improve mood and decrease stress. Laughing tricks your brain and makes your nervous system think you're actually happy.
Find a funny show that you like and get a good laugh!

6. Drink Tea
Tea has less caffeine than coffee. Large doses of caffeine causes a short-term spike in blood pressure and may also cause your hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis to go into overdrive.

7. Be Mindful
From Yoga to tai chi to meditation and Pilates, these systems of mindfulness incorporate physical and mental exercises that prevent stress from becoming a problem.

8. Exercise (Even for a Minute)
A short walk around the office or even just standing up to stretch can offer immediate relief in a stressful situation.
Getting your blood moving releases endorphins and can improve your mood

9. Sleep Better
Everybody knows that stress can cause you to lose sleep and unfortunately, a lack of sleep is also a key cause of stress.
Make sure to get the doctor-recommended 7-8 hours of sleep. Turn off the Tv earlier, dim the lights and give yourself time to relax before going to bed. It may be the most effective stress buster on this list!

10. Breathe Easy
"Take a deep breath" may seem a little cliche, but it holds true when it comes to stress!
For an easy 3-5 minute exercise, sit up in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. place your hands on top of your knees. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply, concentrating on your lungs as they expand.
While Shallow breathing causes stress, deep breathing oxygenates your blood, center your body, and clears you mind!