Digital devices play an indisputable role in modern life. In our private lives, we use them to stay informed, to communicate with each other, to shop, to access services, and to be entertained. In our work lives, they serve even more roles. For all their utility, digital technologies are responsible for many ill effects, including physical ailments such as repetitive…
Burnout and depression have some similar symptoms but different causes, outcomes, and treatments. Knowing how depression and burnout differ is important to getting the right diagnosis and the best treatments. In the paragraphs below, we will talk about the key differences between these mental health challenges and how you can move forward if you have one (or both) of them.…
Starting post-secondary education is very exciting but can also trigger negative emotions such as anxiety, stress, depression, and loneliness. In the paragraphs below, we will talk about the major stressors students encounter when they enter this phase of their education and how you can mitigate the effects to navigate through them successfully. What Causes Post-Secondary Stress? When you’ve been looking…
Have you had symptoms of anxiety when you don’t feel anxious? This can be worrying, especially when you don’t know how to control it. What causes this phenomenon? If anxiety is a feeling, how can someone be anxious without consciously experiencing anxiety? Is unconscious anxiety harmful? We answer these puzzling but important questions in the paragraphs below. What is Anxiety?…
The Link Between Food and Mood: How What You Eat Affects How You Feel The connection between food and feelings is a highly complex one that involves not only the nutritional value of food, but its effects on inflammation in the body, the microorganisms that live in the body, and interactions between different systems in the body. There is a…
Self-care advice seems to be everywhere. There are dozens of monthly magazines about mindfulness and meditation alone, not to mention books, retreats, and wellness apps. If you’ve never engaged in self-care, this flood of information may be overwhelming. Let’s go back to the start: What is self-care? Why is it important? How can you establish a routine of self-care that…
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were already grave concerns about the mental health of children and teens in Canada. In 2017, a poll in Canada reported that 50% of Ontario parents were worried about anxiety in their children, and 33% said that their child had missed school due to anxiety.1 The pandemic added additional stressors to the lives of children…
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many of us to reevaluate our relationship with our work. Some have begun working from home permanently, others have moved to different roles, and others have quit working entirely, opting for early retirement or a new, more cost-effective lifestyle. Quiet quitting is one of the workplace trends that has emerged from the pandemic, but its…
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have heard a lot about compassion fatigue and burnout, particularly how they have affected people in the healthcare industry, other human services, and education. Compassion fatigue and burnout can also severely impact parents of young children, caregivers of older adults, volunteers who work with vulnerable members of the community, and people who…
Inflation makes it more difficult to afford staples, but it also has deeper, more indirect effects that we may not always acknowledge. For example, inflation can cause family strain if you have to cut back on extras, job stress if you need to work more hours, and downstream health effects if the stress becomes chronic. How can we best understand…