Shore Therapy

Bringing your holiday vibe back to work

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After the much-anticipated Festive Season and the joy of the school holidays comes to an end, the first day back at work starts to loom. Many of us start to dread going back to the daily grind up to a week before our first day back which often impacts our final week of holiday. Stress levels often rise, sleep deteriorates, we feel depressed and we begin to wonder how we can better manage our work/life balance from this point on. We have all done the ‘New Year, New Me’ resolutions only to have it fail two weeks into January. So below we have put together some easy tips on how to create a better work/life balance so we can take a little of our holiday lifestyle into our work life.

 

  1. Organise or research something fun to look forward to.

This could be the next holiday, a short weekend away, a festival or concert. But by having something positive and exciting to work towards can give us the motivation to get back into the swing of work-mode. It also removes the monotony that most of us experience in the routine of work and offers up something fun to day-dream about or secretly use the work computer to plan out.

  1. Finish work on time.

Plan your day so that you can finish work at your scheduled time, this means you can take advantage of the late summer nights and still have a social life that doesn’t feel too exhausting. Mid-week picnics, movies in the park, an evening fish or meeting friends/family for an after-work drink can help section your week into small bite-sized chunks.

  1. Keep Phone Free after work.

Usually on holiday our phone or device use deteriorates as we spend more time interacting with those around us or enjoying our holiday environment. When we return to work, we usually also return to checking our emails, constantly calling or texting people and end up never putting our work away. By keeping our device use to a minimum like when on holiday we can reduces stress, increase connections with others and overall feelings of happiness.

  1. Maintain a healthy sleep routine.

While we are holiday we tend to sleep much better, mainly because our stress levels are reduced. We use our energy productively, we are socialising more and we spend more time managing our own needs. However when we return to work  this all goes out the window and we rely on caffeine to keep our eyes open during the day. Developing the below routine is very beneficial to increasing health sleep habits and if done for 21days can increase quality and quantity of sleep. Check out our article on Sleep Routines

Mental health & Exercise – how do they interact?

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We are officially into spring and as the weather warms up it is a perfect time to be heading outside and doing some exercise – but what’s the point?

While there are a myriad of physical health benefits related to exercising, there are also many mental health benefits too. From lifting your mood to reducing symptoms and health risks, exercise is great for your entire wellbeing.

Exercise will often cause our body to release chemicals called endorphins – these are what cause us to feel good after we have been exercising. They are released into the blood stream both while we exercise and afterward and it is believed that this can enhance our mood for up to 12 hours from just 20 minutes of exercise (1). Endorphins interact with our pain receptors so when these are released our perception of pain can be diminished. Neurologically – endorphins bind to the same receptors as what several pain medications bind to. The result is experiencing less pain, which in turn can put us in a better mood. Blood supply also increases while we are exercising – that is why we sometimes notice our faces becoming rosy during activity. The same thing happens to the brain, this improves the oxygenation of the tissues which then helps our neuronal activity (2). Increasing the activity of the brain in this manner can then strengthen those positive pathways in the brain, meaning they are easier to use. Having those positive thought pathways strong could mean that they are used more frequently – perhaps regulating our mood easier.

Exercise is often a good stress-relieving technique. Many people in high stress lives will make sure that they have included exercise in their routines as it often can help them focus and become more clear headed. By focusing on exercise for short periods of time, we are having a break from the sometimes constant stresses of life. Often, exercising will give us a boost of energy so it means when we return back to our daily tasks we are more capable and ready to face our tasks head on.

It is thought that regular exercise can help to reduce the likelihood of depression, and many mental health professionals will include exercise in their treatment plans for their clients. Certain types of exercise are thought to improve our cognitive function which is believed to help prevent the onset of some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and Dementia. These types of exercise include things like dancing which uses both sides of the brain and includes some cognitive thought as well as using the body physically (3).

Self-esteem can be improved with regular exercise – not only do we feel more positive when we exercise but we can feel better about ourselves. Naturally, when we continue to exercise we will notice that we are becoming stronger, fitter, more capable of certain activities. This all helps build self-esteem so can help with issues like anxiety and depression. In this way, exercise can also give us a sense of control over our lives. It is a perfect example of being able to see progress when work and effort is put into certain tasks. Many exercise regimes have small achievable goals to work toward but which are manageable and can be regularly met. In this way, this can teach us how to apply goal setting to other aspects of our lives.

We know that exercise helps us physically, but this in itself can help with our mental state. If we are constantly in pain or have a continuing ailment it can cause a lot of negative thoughts and feelings to arise. If exercise can help these physical issues, it then follows that our mental health can be aided just by feeling better physically.

There is a world of different forms of exercise available – not all of which have to cost a huge amount of money. Northland and Auckland have some of the best walking tracks through forests, mountains and urban settings which are easy to access and available to use when suits you and your schedule. There are plenty of outdoor parks which are great to work out in. Northland and Auckland also has a wide range of gyms, personal trainers and bootcamps that can be signed up to as well as yoga, Pilates, dance classes etc.. that you can also become involved in. Northland has a great run/walk series which includes walks/runs of varying lengths around the region spaced at intervals throughout the year – this is a great way to get not only you but your entire family involved in getting out and about and improving overall wellbeing.

It is thought that the length or type of exercise that you do is not as important as frequency. Exercising in any form several times per week and including this in your weekly routines is thought to be the most beneficial. So gather the family, get them on board and get out there. Find an exercise type that you enjoy doing and implement it into your life. Place as much importance on exercise as you would on sleep, food, social interaction and work. Use exercise not only to improve physical health but as great wellbeing and mental health techniques too.

 

1https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/physical-activity/physical-activity-mental-health/

2(https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-works-and-why/201803/why-exercise-is-so-essential-mental-health

3 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170825124902.htm

 

The Dangers of being a Workaholic

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WorkaholicWhat is a Workaholic?

Current Research:

Current research from the University of Bergen has shown a serious link between being a Workaholic and psychiatric disorders. It seems that those who are identified as a workaholic scored higher with psychiatric symptoms than those who are not workaholics.

The University have released some preliminary results showing how big the association between psychological issues and workaholism is:

When the study compared both workaholics and non-workaholics they found that 32.7% of workaholics met the criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) while only 12.7% in the non-workaholics group. Similarly, 25.6% of workaholics met the criteria for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) while a mere 8.7% were non-workaholics. This trend continued with 22.8% of workaholics meet the criteria for anxiety compared with 11.9% of non-workaholics, and 8.9% of workaholics versus 2.6% of non-workaholics for the depression criteria.

Perhaps this study is suggesting that workaholism may be a sign of more serious psychological or emotional issues.

It is important to note that this study, at this stage, does not indicatively prove that workaholism is a cause of such disorders. It is however showing a strong link between them.

 

So Are You a Workaholic?

If you or those around you have labelled you as a workaholic, then the below test may be a helpful indicator as to whether you are a workaholic and should seek professional support.

Please circle the most appropriate answer to the best of your knowledge.

Over the past year how often have you experienced the below:

1 You think of how you can free up more time to work. Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
2 You spend much more time working than initially intended. Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
3 You work in order to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness or depression. Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
4 You have been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them. Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
5 You become stressed if you are prohibited from working. Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
6 You deprioritize hobbies, leisure activities, and/or exercise because of your work. Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
7 You work so much that it has negatively influenced your health. Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always

Scoring Often or Always on four or more criteria identify a workaholic.

If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one being identified as being a workaholic and would like more information or support please contact a mental health professional in your area, or us at Shore Therapy.