Series of Free Wellness Seminars Launched
Odile Morrison, Communications Manager

On June 12th, 2007, Burnaby office hosted the first in a series of free Wellness seminars being offered by Dupuis Langen Financial Management Ltd, Dowco’s employee benefits program advisor. This event was recorded and webcast to staff in all Canadian offices the following day.

Theresa Basque of the Disability Management Institute discussed how to identify the symptoms and sources of stress in our lives and emphasized the importance of finding a balance in life. She pointed out that the symptoms of psychological or emotional stress vary between people, but include headaches, tense muscles and digestive problems. If left unheeded, more serious symptoms may emerge, such as breathing difficulties, inability to focus on a single task or short term memory problems.

Sources of stress are also highly individual and can include finances, commuting, children, home tasks, volunteer commitments, work, or simply juggling all the elements in our busy lives!

Theresa spent many years rehabilitating people with physical disabilities. Over the past few years she has employed that same skill set to treat non-physical disabilities, such as depression and anxiety. She takes the approach that, just as repeated exposure to a physical activity, such as typing, can cause repetitive stress injury (RSI), repeated exposure to a source of stress can prompt a negative psychological or emotional reaction. Theresa encourages her clients to act early. It’s important to identify at what point the symptoms of stress about a particular element in your life appear. Then work out a plan to change your behaviour to reduce your exposure to that source of stress. It can be something as simple as getting up 30 minutes earlier to reduce the stress involved in getting yourself and your kids to school and work on time.

Another way to reduce sources of stress in your life is to set realistic goals for yourself and ensure that other people’s expectations of you are also realistic. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the number of tasks that you have in your home and work life, it’s likely that you just taking on too much. Ask your partner, kids or co-workers to take on some of those tasks, advised Theresa, and make sure you schedule some time for yourself. She also emphasized that quality sleep, healthy nutrition and regular exercise are also very important in managing stress.

Theresa identified several sources of professional help, such as online resources, self-help books and your family doctor. A list of these resources is available on the Dowco intranet, where staff can also view the webcast presentation.

The Dowco management team is currently working closely with Dupuis Langen to expand this series of Wellness seminars.

As part of their benefit program, Dupuis Langen has invited staff in Dowco's BC offices to attend a free seminar on financial planning for critical illness. The event will take place on 25th September at Dupuis Langen’s office. It promises to be a frank and open discussion of what it takes to survive a catastrophic event with your soul and sense of humour intact. More details are available on the Dowco intranet and staff notice boards.