5 Tips to Take Better Care of Your Mental Health This Spring

May is mental health awareness month. The timing is fitting. Spring weather can bring a boost in mood and inspire a refresh of mind and body. But taking care of our mental health is a year-round commitment. If you feel your mental health could use extra focus right at any time, you’re definitely not alone. Millions of Canadians struggle with mental health issues, excess stress and burnout. Here are some tips to kickstart a healthy routine.

Make a Plan

Just like taking care of our physical health it’s best to have a plan for our mental health. This can involve a regular self-care ritual, going to therapy, starting an exercise routine, daily meditation, adding more healthy foods to your diet, setting boundaries to manage stress, and more. Don’t try to tackle too much at once. Instead, focus on one or two areas that you think will have an impact, and start small.

Get Outside

As the temperature rises and the days get longer, there are more opportunities to spend time outside. Just being in nature can relieve stress and improve mood, among other health benefits. The boost of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin you get from moving your body, whether from a bike ride, hike, or walk around the block, can calm anxiety, and improve concentration and memory.

Prioritize Sleep

In our busy lives we often undervalue the importance of sleep. But consistently getting enough high-quality sleep (7-9 hours per night) improves both physical and mental health outcomes. Poor quality sleep is linked to higher levels of anxiety and depression, difficultly controlling emotions, and reduced attention and problem-solving skills. And while sleep needs vary from person to person, research suggests women may need slightly more sleep on average than men.  

Connect with Others 

Community is a powerful tool in our mental health toolkit. A safe, accepting, and supportive community can include family, friends, neighbours, healthcare providers, and colleagues. All can provide a positive support network and help build resilience. The benefits are doubled when you also practice compassion to those around you.

Do Some Spring Cleaning

Many people use this time of year to refresh their space as well. There is a link between a clean home and improved mental health. Clutter can contribute to stress, negatively impact focus, and increase tension. Cleaning and decluttering can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re struggling with depression or other health issues. Remember to start small. Tackle a single space or task or set a timer for a quick tidy. Even 10 minutes can make a big difference.

Mental Health Resources from Health Plus 

If you’re a Health Plus plan member, login to your Telus Health One account to connect directly with a professional counsellor who can help develop a plan for you. The app also includes hundreds of digital resources you can use on your own. The physical and mental health topics included stress management, nutrition, fitness, nurturing positive relationships, and more.

Human beings are social creatures. We thrive on connections with others. Regular positive social interactions and strong social connections benefit us physically and emotionally and can actually lead to a longer life. But nurturing those connections is easier said than done, particularly with the prevalence of remote work and a full load of personal responsibilities. The cold, grey winter months make it even harder to get ourselves out of the house or out of routine. Here’s why it’s worth the effort.  

The Benefits of Social Connection

Multiple studies have shown that people with strong social bonds are healthier. The effects are significant and wide-ranging, from helping to maintain a healthy body mass index and decrease the effects of depression, to increasing cancer survival rates, not to mention the simple boost to overall mental health by spending time with people we enjoy. A strong social network can help you recover faster from illness or injury and better deal with stress. So, how do we nurture and strengthen these connections to lead a healthier life?

Nurturing Social Connection

THINK COMMUNITY

A hub of social connection, a healthy, safe, and resilient community offers support and inclusion to its members. Participating in a neighbourhood, school, church, hobby or interest group can help you feel connected to others. In turn, your involvement strengthens the community itself. Luckily, there are countless small ways to engage with or give back.

BUILD HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

Meaningful and diverse connections with others are central to our emotional wellbeing. Our ties to friends, family, coworkers, and neighbours give us a sense of belonging, and these social networks can provide emotional and practical support and step in when we need help. Offering help to others boosts our health too. Strengthening relationships is an ongoing process but simple interactions can have a big impact.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Building healthy relationships starts with ourselves. The saying ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’ is a great image to remind us to nurture our own wellness, especially if we’re taking care of others, or need help ourselves to muster the energy to be social. Self-care is crucial, whatever that may look like for you.

Take a moment to check in on your wellbeing. The more connected we are with ourselves, the more we gain from and give to our connections with others. 

This Wellness Moment is from Health Plus Insurance. Read our past Wellness Moments. From our family to yourself, take care. If you're a Health Plus plan member remember you have access to free professional Wellness Resources.

5 Tips to Create a Healthy Workspace

We spend a huge part of our days  and lives working. It’s estimated that the average person will spend one third of their lives at work. That means creating a healthy work environment is essential for overall health, but it’s easy to get in a rut at work, sitting and staring at a screen all day. Here are some tips to be a little more intentional about your health, even while you’re working.

Take Screen Breaks

It’s not news that excessive screen time can be bad for our health, causing eye strain and impacting mental health. If you work in front of a screen all day, make sure to follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look away from your screen at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to give your eyes a break.

Stand Up

Sitting is linked to countless negative health effects, including back pain, weight gain, and a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease. But what can you do if your job involves sitting at a desk all day? Try a standing desk, a walking meeting, or make a point to get up and stretch throughout your workday.

Connect With Other People

It’s easy to get lost in the tedium of day-to-day tasks, especially if you work from home. Developing and nurturing a sense of community combats isolation and helps you feel supported. Try reaching out to a colleague to grab a coffee or check out an industry event.

Declutter Your Space

We all work differently, including when it comes to organization. And that’s okay. But bringing some order to your workspace can boost your productivity and mood. Try a 5-minute tidy to refresh your space.

Take a Break

Burnout is a very real problem for Canadian workers. One way to combat overload is simply by taking a break, whether that means a vacation, staycation, or just regular time to yourself scheduled in your day. Taking a break will positively impact both productivity and mental health.

Bonus Tip: Utilize the benefits that come with your insurance plan

Health Plus Priority and Optimum plans include Telus Health (formerly LifeWorks) Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Available to all plan members, no matter where you work, your EAP provides confidential online counselling, digital resources for mental and physical health, and much more.

This Wellness Moment is from Health Plus Insurance. Read our past Wellness Moments.  From our family to yours, take care.  If you’re a Health Plus plan member remember you have access to free professional Wellness Resources.  

How to Use Your Benefits for Self-Care

A lot goes into good health. Luckily, you probably practice self-care whether you realize it or not. If you're looking to ramp up your self-care routine, the benefits provided with your insurance plan can help. 

Mental Health

Paying attention to our mental and emotional wellbeing is crucial to self-care. Mental health impacts our physical and social wellbeing. Accessing professional counselling through LifeWorks Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a great step for staying healthy. LifeWorks is available to all Health Plus PRIORITY and OPTIMUM plan members, no matter where you work. You and your dependents can connect virtually with a trained counsellor who will assess your unique needs, and access a wide range of digital resources.

Physical Health 

When your physical health is suffering, it impacts all areas of your life. Sometimes taking care of ourselves can feel like a challenge. Simple proactive steps can make a difference.    

• Visit a practitioner to help deal with a nagging injury before it becomes chronic
• Schedule your regular dental cleaning to help keep your teeth and gums healthy.  
• If you are struggling with medication, see if you are eligible for pharmacogenetic testing. Available to all Health Plus plan members, it tests your DNA drug compatibility.

Fitness

Physical activity helps manage stress, boost your mood and immune system, and reduce the risk of developing chronic illness. Increasing your level of activity can be as simple as going for a walk. Or try the LIFT online platform offered through LifeWorks. Complete an easy fitness evaluation then get access to a library of online workout videos targeted to your goals.

Financial 

Finances are a significant source of stress for many Canadians, especially in recent years. The simple decision to purchase health insurance is an act of self-care. It helps protect you from the often devastating financial impact of future health issues.

The Financial Wellbeing Toolkit available to Health Plus members in the LifeWorks portal provides excellent resources, whether you are currently struggling or just want to better prepare yourself for the future.

Knowledge

Learning more about how to improve physical, emotional, financial, and social wellbeing is an act of self-care. It doesn’t have to be a chore. Browse the Resources section of the LifeWorks portal for a topic of interest, whether that’s nutrition, leadership skills, coping with trauma, mindfulness, or balancing family and work life.

The ultimate reason for insurance is to protect yourself in case of serious illness or injury. But, that doesn’t mean it can’t be part of your self-care toolkit today. Learn more about Health Plus Wellness Benefits. Self-care is personal. Choose the resources that are best for you.

The Surprising Benefits of Books in Your Winter Wellness Plan   

Whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast or cocoon-inclined, we’ve noticed that winter wellness plans often include time for a good read in a cozy spot.  That, as it turns out has way more health benefits than you might think.  Even if picking up the latest best-seller is not top of your relax list, you can benefit from books. Read on to see what we mean.   

First the Research 

Studies show reading boosts mental and physical health. By helping us escape from everyday concerns, books help reduce stress and the associated health risks. Apparently as little as 6 minutes a day or 30 minutes a week spent reading a book, newspaper or magazine slows heart rate and reduces muscle tensions. Research has also determined that reading improves memory, boosts creativity, aids sleep, helps ward off depression and dementia and significantly, it has been shown that people who read regularly live longer.   
 
Bookworms already know a good read does wonders for mindset and mood. Who knew it does so much more! And even if you’re not typically a reader, you can benefit just by hearing the ideas that emerge from books and become a topic of good conversation or often referred-to source of advice.  Here’s one example that recently caught our attention. It makes a thought-provoking and practical contribution to winter wellness, whether you actually read this book, or just consider an idea or two.    

4000 Weeks

This is the time on planet earth in an 80-year lifespan. Subtitled Time Management for Mortals, the book is not about the usual productivity hacks. Quite the opposite. First, the author says we can’t ‘manage’ time. It marches relentlessly on, no matter what, so we should give up trying. Frantically working to ‘get more done’ is a mistake because much of the time all those checklists and efficiency fixes simply help us cram more of the unimportant into our lives, while we postpone what’s really worth our time - in business and personally.     

4000 Weeks is about doing things differently. Here’s just one suggestion: Replace FOMO with JOMO. Instead of making choices based on fear of missing out, savour the JOY of missing out that comes with choosing what is really worth your time.  Say no to as much lower-ranking ‘stuff’ as possible (even though admittedly some of it might be pleasant) so you can focus time and energy on your top priorities and what you truly value. In this season of reflecting on 2021 and planning for the new year, it’s the perfect time for these words of wisdom.   

4000 Books & Counting

While of course most of us love a good story, there are health benefits from all kinds of reading.  Follow your bliss.  Books about hobbies and interests from art to gaming to zen gardens. Sports: tips for the amateur and stories of success. Think food: kitchen star, bar chef or really good at making reservations, the pictures alone often inspire healthy eating or remind us of happy times around the table. Think travel: reminiscing, planning future adventures or just an armchair trip, travel books help us “escape” for a time. War and Peace. Just kidding. Not that the classics aren’t worthwhile.  
 
The point is ... pick any topic you’ll enjoy. It’s the time spent in the escape, the delicious downtime of being fully absorbed in a story, a subject or the visuals, then enjoying the after-effect of the renewed energy to tackle your responsibilities and goals. A good read is good for your health!   

This Wellness Moment is from Health Plus Insurance. From our family to yours, take care.  If you’re a Health Plus plan member remember you have access to free professional Wellness Resources.  

How to Restore Balance When You've Hit the Pandemic Wall

While we’re all looking forward to a better summer, we’re not quite there. On the good days, we’re thinking about travel – some around the globe, some across town to see loved ones. On the bad, COVID fatigue and distress can make it hard to muster the energy for anything at all. Re-openings are no guarantee of instant relief and the ongoing stress and demands can stop us in our tracks. If you’ve hit a pandemic wall, whatever form that takes for you, here are a few ways to restore resilience. And as you move forward, these strategies will help keep you going. 

Don't Look Down

A lesson from aerialists: when you’re on a tightrope, look straight ahead, not down at the distance to solid ground. Unfortunately, when we’re anxious and exhausted, looking down is exactly what we tend to do. We catastrophize and imagine the terrible what-ifs. While worry in tough times is natural, psychologists point out there are two kinds. Constructive worry is when we’re faced with problems, risks and uncertainty but choose to focus on what we can do rather than what we can’t. Destructive worry is when we loop the unknown and worst-case scenario over and over in our heads and regard disaster as inevitable. Do your best to recognize the difference. Awareness will help you catch yourself before worry brings you down. 

Take one step forward

Tackling an entire problem or big project may not be possible, at least not right now. Taking one simple action in the direction of a larger goal can nudge us out of a hole. Psychologists confirm that the sense of accomplishment from a single small step leads toward a more optimistic outlook and provides motivation to do more. Think about your goals and wish list, then think of one thing you can do. Getting exercise and fresh air is one step that benefits emotional and physical health. Even a 10-minute walk or a short stretch break relieves stress and boosts energy and focus. If you haven’t already, book your vaccine. It’s a small step with a very big impact. 

Reach out

Just when we’ve needed our support systems most, this year has disrupted contact with the people, places and activities that nourish our well-being. Our connections are lifelines but despite good intentions and virtual options, some may have slipped as the pandemic continued. When we’re in a dark and discouraged mood, it’s tempting to retreat even more.

Now is the time to reach out to friends, family and colleagues. Reconnect with a community you’ve missed –a club, team, class or favourite coffee shop. Some people in our lives offer a strong shoulder and understanding ear when we need to talk. Others give us a lift with a laugh, a memory and escape from our cares. Both kinds of connections are good for our health.

Sometimes our personal circle is not enough. Sometimes we need the advice, support and coping tools a professional can provide. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re feeling overwhelmed. 

Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

If you’re a Health Plus plan member, you have access to extensive free professional Wellness Resources including confidential individual and group counselling, and self-directed resources for stress management.

Despite hope on the horizon, the pandemic wall is real. The best way through is to do what we can and take care of our mental health. It’s essential to regain the ability to thrive.

This Wellness Moment is from Health Plus Insurance. While we offer information about healthy living, it is not meant to provide professional advice. If you feel you need medical advice, please consult a qualified health care professional. From our family to yours, take care. If you have a comment on these ideas or more to share, please send us a note. We’re always glad to hear from you info@healthplusinsurance.ca.

How a Spring Financial Refresh Can Boost Your Health 

Spring is typically a time for renewal. Birds chirping, flowers blooming. But this year with lockdowns and pandemic burnout, it can be hard to see the bright side. Financial uncertainty has taken a toll on Canadians, and not just our bank accounts. Studies link financial stress and anxiety to physical and mental health issues. That’s why a spring financial refresh is so important to wellness. A simple check-in on your financial habits will have a surprisingly positive impact on your overall wellbeing. 

Consider Your Savings

2020 forced many of us to reevaluate our savings and prioritize building (or replenishing) a healthy emergency fund. If you set savings goals for 2021 maybe it’s time to check in to see how you’re doing. Making savings or investments automatic is a great way to keep on track but it’s always useful to check in periodically to see how your savings goals fit your real-life budget.  

Practice Mindful Spending

Finding a spend-save balance that’s right for you can be a challenge. Here’s where mindful spending comes in. Taking the time to consider your spending will lead to more meaningful purchases that align with your goals and values and lessen the guilt and stress that can accompany large or impulsive purchases. Beyond essential expenses, mindful spending also means spending within your means, supporting local business and donating to charity if that’s what matters to you. And as the pandemic stretches out farther than we ever imagined, as important as saving, taking care of ourselves is equally important. Mindful spending also includes making room in the budget to occasionally treat ourselves. 

Review Your Insurance

When was the last time you looked at your health, dental, life or disability coverage? Have recent life changes left you underinsured or uninsured? Checking insurance off your to-do list adds to your resilience. Good insurance you can depend on provides huge peace of mind, knowing you’re protected against the unexpected.   

Tackle Your Taxes

If you haven’t filed yet, the deadline is almost here. Make sure to claim your health insurance. And remember, if you earned less than $75 000 and received at least one COVID-19 benefit in 2020 the government is providing interest relief; you don’t have to pay interest on any amount owing until April 30, 2022. But do make sure you file on time because late filing fees still apply. 

Health Plus Financial Resources

If you’re a Health Plus plan member your Shepell Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) provides free financial resources. These include debt and estate planning support as well as confidential counselling. More resources are available from the Government of Canada. You’re not on your own if you are facing undue stress or anxiety surrounding your finances.  

Even if 2020 threw you way off course, financial planners stress that keeping our finances in order is a work-in-progress. It’s not about perfection. It’s about the peace of mind that comes with taking charge of challenges and taking the right steps, even the tiny ones.  While a financial refresh may not rank with a massage on your relax scale, you can rest assured it’s good for your overall wellbeing, especially this Spring.    

This  Financial Wellness Moment is from Health Plus Insurance.  From our family to yours, take care and stay safe.  A Health Plus advisor is always available for any questions about your insurance needs.