Sometimes, work can be satisfying and fun. A project completed before the deadline. An important deal that goes through smoothly. Profits are up, and the team mood is great! Yet at other times, work is challenging, frustrating or downright stressful. This is normal, and expected. It might even be a good thing. After all, a little bit of stress is motivating. It can drive teams to pull together, push themselves harder and perform better. The problem starts when stress becomes overwhelming or chronic, then it is no longer healthy or helpful. When an individual is under a lot of stress, they beco ..read more

When anxiety strikes, it may seem to overtake your life.  First, there are physical symptoms associated with anxiety, such as headaches, fatigue, chronic pain, and digestion problems. Then, there are the mental and emotional aspects, like insomnia, inability to concentrate, moodiness, and a sense of detachment from yourself and others. Although your whole being is affected, anxiety actually starts in the brain. More specifically, deep in the base of the brain, in the amygdala, where most emotional processing happens. When the amygdala becomes overactive, the “fight-or-flight” response get ..read more

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Do you wake up feeling tired, even after seven hours of shut-eye? Or do you jump up refreshed when the alarm rings? The answers to these questions will be different for you than for your partner, sister, or best friend. That’s because everyone has individual sleep patterns and needs, directed by their own internal ‘sleep clock’. If your sleep clock gets disrupted, you will definitely feel the effects. Why? Because sleep is an essential building block of a healthy body and mind. Let’s explore why that is, how your sleep clock works, and how to fix a messed ..read more

If you’re feeling tired – not just regular tired, but completely exhausted – then you might have stress fatigue. Lots of people do. Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of stress. Faced with stressful situations or feelings, your mind and body naturally need to rest and recuperate. Stress fatigue is when that process goes into overdrive. Too much ongoing, unrelenting stress becomes overwhelming, and it can have profound effects on your wellbeing and joy of life. Getting rid of stress fatigue is possible. But it first requires understanding what it is, what causes it, and what are the sym ..read more

There’s a tightness in your chest that won’t go away. Or you’re having frequent headaches. Perhaps you are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Maybe you are burnt out at work, and can’t seem to pull yourself out of the rut. Once you’ve checked with your doctor, and ruled out illness or a physical cause of these problems, you are most likely dealing with the symptoms of anxiety – as are many people all over the world. Anxiety is common; incredibly common in fact. And normal. You might feel anxious about paying a big bill, or the extended family gathering for the holidays, or whethe ..read more

Had a hard day? Or a hard week? Everyone struggles sometimes at work. High pressure, deadlines, salary cuts, that colleague who gets on your nerves…all of this is normal and even to be expected. The problem is when there are too many hard days or weeks, and work stress becomes overwhelming. Then you might be headed to the more challenging situation of job burnout. What is job burnout exactly? A candle burning at both ends is a good metaphor for job burnout. When there is an overload of stress at work, and when that stress is not managed properly, your energy, enthusiasm and performance get use ..read more

Every person has a unique fingerprint. And unique brain anatomy. The human psyche is awesomely complex, a mix of genetics, physiology, and the individual’s social environment. There are also emotional and spiritual components – the intangible ways that each person cultivates their personality, and experiences being in the world. Is it any wonder that everybody’s mental health is completely different too? Is all mental stress the same? No. Just as everyone’s psyche is different, we each have a unique experience of stress. Anxiety, for example, manifests in several ways, from extreme panic attac ..read more

For many many people, pain is a big problem. Headaches affect around 40% of the population, while 10% suffer from migraine. At any given time, over 500 million people worldwide are suffering from back pain. Pills, physical therapy, dietary changes, even surgery…these are just some of the ways that people try to cure their pain or get some relief. Although the pain management industry was valued at around $80 billion in 2020 (and expected to double by 2030), people still struggle to control their pain. That’s because pain is a complex, multi-sensorial phenomenon. The problem with pain When a pe ..read more

If you are feeling a lot of stress lately, you’re not alone. According to the Stress in America survey, most Americans say they are under “overwhelming” stress levels. The fact is, dealing with stress is a natural part of being human. It is now known that people have been stressed since prehistoric times. The problem is not that stress exists; it always has and always will. The problem is when stress becomes excessive or chronic, it can wreak havoc on the body, mind and spirit. The answer is not to eliminate stress altogether. It’s learning how to manage stress and keep stress levels balanced ..read more

The holiday season is supposed to be a time of love, light and joy. But for most people, it’s also a time of stress. 88% of Americans are stressed out by the holidays, and the average couple will have seven (!) arguments around the holiday period. It’s not difficult to imagine why mental health at Christmas is challenging for so many people. Extended families gather together, triggering complicated dynamics and relationship issues that might otherwise be dormant. The holidays are expensive. The costs of entertaining, decorations, travel and gifts put a strain on finances for many families. Th ..read more