Healthy Workplace is taking place from October 1 – 31, 2022
This year, the theme for the Canadian Healthy Workplace Challenge is “Together for a Better Workplace.” Throughout the month of October, we will be providing you with different ways you can help build a healthier workplace, to take care of yourself, and help others.
Check out the Health Workplace Calendar here to see how you can participate!
Saving as much as you can for the day you stop working makes sound economic sense. And you may have options you hadn’t considered. Depending on your goals, you may want to take a fresh look at your spending habits, revise your savings plan, or get help from a financial advisor or debt-counselling service. The most important thing is to make saving a top priority and keep looking for new ways to save until you find the way that works best for you. Read more click here: Ways to Save More for Retirement – Canada (lifeworks.com)
Algonquin College recognizes that dealing with personal challenges can have serious effects on our employees’ health, well-being and personal life, as well as their involvement and performance in the workplace. The Employee and Family Assistance Program (EAP) has been developed to help you and your family deal with personal issues, tensions and stressful situations before they lead to more serious problems.
The College has commissioned the services of LifeWorks to provide professional, confidential counselling, support and information services for all of our full-time employees and their immediate family members.
LifeWorks provides employees with access to a wide range of services, including:
It is easy to keep fit and eat nutritiously at Algonquin College.
Summer is finally on its way and that means it is time to shed the bulky sweaters and layers of clothing, and bring out the shorts and t-shirts. It is at this time of year we all start thinking more about our eating habits and getting in shape before bathing suit season is here.
Algonquin College has a few great healthy food options to turn towards:
Getting in shape is also something you can work into your daily schedule while on campus.
Students at Algonquin College also have some great sports to participate in: Basketball, volleyball, soccer are among some of the most popular for both men and women.
If you are interested in a more in-depth study of nutrition and/or fitness regimes, why don’t you try out one of the courses Algonquin has on offer, such as:
Time to step up! Summer is around the corner!
We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. Both change throughout our lives. And, like our bodies, our minds can become unwell. Although you can’t readily “see” someone who suffers from a mental health illness, the effects are as real as a broken arm or someone suffering the after effects of a brain injury, like a stroke.
We know definitively that depression is an illness in the brain, and this is documented through extensive research. Essentially, what is known is that eventually the hippocampus in the brain shrinks in people who are clinically depressed, and the longer an individual suffers from depression, the greater the effect on brain function.
The hippocampus is responsible for forming new memories, and loss of volume in this area leads to loss of emotional and behavioural function. We need to understand that an individual’s whole sense of self depends on continuously understanding who she or he is in the world. His or her state of memory is not just about remembering a password, it is the whole concept that she or he hold of themselves.
It’s important to note however, that the effects of depression on the brain are reversible with the right treatment for the individual. With this in mind, early intervention is vitally important in treating depression since the hippocampus is one of the most important regenerative areas of the brain.
Getting treatment makes sense, right? It’s clearly really important to the individual on many levels, so why don’t people get treatment? I think we can all answer that one. Part may be a lack of knowledge about mental illness or understanding what is going on and why s/he are experiencing these symptoms.
However, a bigger factor is stigma. Many people with mental health illness experience stigma, which is the negative attitudes and behaviours others display around them. Stigma spreads misinformation, fear and perpetuates stereotypes. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, more than 60% of people with mental illness won’t seek the help they need and stigma is the main reason. People living with mental health disorders often say the stigma they encounter from family, friends, coworkers and peers is worse than the illness itself. Science doesn’t lie people, neither do MRI’s or neuroimaging. Depression is a physical and mental illness and treating it and people who suffer from it like it isn’t is unacceptable.
Mental health problems are actually more common than you think. Stats show that one in four of us will be affected by mental illness in any year and it is likely that one day you, one of your friends, colleagues or family members will experience a mental health problem. Yet mental illness is still surrounded by prejudice, ignorance and fear.
It’s time to start talking about mental health, break down the stigma associated with it and help people who are suffering but afraid to get help. Human Resources, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, have created a video on mental health and how to start the conversation, support your friends, coworkers and family. Please check it out, you just might help someone or be helped yourself one day.
You have many options when it comes to selecting oils for cooking. There’s avocado oil, canola oil, coconut oil, corn oil, olive oil, palm oil, peanut oil and sesame oil.
There’s something you should know, oil changes its original taste and nutrition content in the cooking process. When you’re cooking at a high heat, you want to use oils that are stable and don’t oxidize or go rancid easily. Not all oils are created equal. In fact, no one oil can be used for all things. With oil, you can bake, fry, sauté, burn, or just keep as is.
When it comes to high heat cooking, coconut oil is your best choice. Over 90% of the fatty acids in it are saturated, which makes it very resistant to heat. Coconut Oil also contains a unique combination of fatty acids with powerful medicinal properties. Almost 50% of the fatty acids in coconut oil is the 12-carbon Lauric Acid. The fats in coconut oil can also boost metabolism slightly and increase feelings of fullness compared to other fats. It is the only cooking oil that made it to my list of superfoods.
The oil you dip and dress, and then consume are usually not altered after its purchase. (Unless it expires, in that case, its properties definitely do change).
Flax, olive, peanut, toasted sesame or walnut oil are delicious and can be ready for consumption as is.
Sources:
Share with us your what you like to cook with oil in the comments below or by emailing wellness@algonquincollege.com for a chance to win a $100 Bryson Farm’s gift card!
Spring is upon us. This means the snow has melted to reveal cigarette butts, and to unravel your allergies. It’s not all bad however, Spring means warmer weather and happier faces. Spring means enthusiastic cyclists, blooming flowers and flying kites. Also, get excited for PoutineFest, Tulip Festival and the Farmer’s Market!
What will you be doing this Spring?
Share with us your exciting Spring activities in the comments below or by emailing wellness@algonquincollege.com for a chance to win a $100 Bryson Farm’s gift card!
Did you know that an attitude of gratitude can improve your emotional and physical well-being, help you to sleep better and be less susceptible to illness, including depression? I’m not making this up, science shows it can also map new pathways in your brain that makes it easier to be happy and actually forces people to overcome the innate tendency to dwell on problems or injustices.
For the month of March, our “One Thing” is for you to tell us what you are grateful for today. Tell us every day, because you get an entry to win a $100 gift certificate from Bryson farms grocery home delivery each time you let us in on what’s great. You can be grateful for the potential of having groceries delivered to your front door, grateful for indoor toilets, that your kids made the bus, that it’s Friday, that someone held the door for you, opposable thumbs, your dog… or that your dog doesn’t have opposable thumbs. ;-)
Enter your “One Thing” in the comments section below, or send us an email at wellness@algonquincollege.com.
Hope you win and that you continue to be grateful every day.
After the rousing success of our January “Healthy Eating” initiative, this February we are continuing to ask you to pick “One Thing” you can change today, to improve your overall health and wellness. Again, it doesn’t have to be something huge or all-encompassing or overwhelming. Just one thing that you can do, for yourself, that can help increase your overall wellbeing.
This month we are focusing on mental health.
With The Bell “Let’s Talk” campaign working to break down the barriers associated with mental illness, there are 5 simple things they suggest that you can do today to take the first step to help end the stigma around mental illness.
Words can help…but they can also hurt. Pay attention to the words you use.
2 out of 3 people suffer in silence, fearing judgment and rejection. – Canadian Medical Association.
Myths exist about mental illness that contribute to stigma. Learn the facts.
On any given week, more than 500,000 Canadians will not go to work because of mental illness. – Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Small acts of kindness speak volumes.
Only 49% of Canadians said they would socialize with a friend who has a serious mental illness. – Canadian Medical Association.
Sometimes it’s best to just listen.
Once depression is recognized, help can make a difference for 80% of people who are affected, allowing them to get back to their regular activities. – CMHA.
Start a dialogue, not a debate.
You can find more information about the Bell “Let’s Talk” campaign here: http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/
What “one thing” can you do to help move towards meaningful change and building greater awareness, acceptance, and action when it comes to your own mental health and well-being?
Email us at wellness@algonquincollege.com with your “One Thing” for your chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Bryson Farms Organic Home Delivery (www.brysonfarms.com).
Beginning this month we will be asking you to pick “One Thing”, just one, you can change today, to improve your overall health and wellness. It doesn’t have to be something huge or all-encompassing or overwhelming. Just one thing that you do, for yourself, that can help increase your overall wellbeing.
This month we are focusing on healthy eating.
Welcome to January 2015! After enjoying the excess of the holidays many of us make the resolution to focus, or re-focus, on healthy eating. Healthy eating is not to be confused with “dieting” because healthy eating means making changes we can live with and enjoy for the rest of our lives.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed with all the information out there about healthy eating but eating healthy simply starts with learning new ways to eat, such as adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to our plates, and cutting back on foods that have a lot of fat, salt, and sugar.
Send us your “One Thing” about healthy eating and be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Bryson Farms, an organic home delivery service, for the Ottawa area who specializes in organic, heirloom vegetables of the highest quality (www.brysonfarms.com). Alternatively, you can share your “One Thing” by commenting below!
Here are a few of our favorite simple ways to start eating healthier this year….
Drink more water