Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.
This month, ICBA Wellness is focused on reflection – considering what we’ve learned as a way to help us look ahead to 2022.
Resolutions. We all make ’em with the best of intentions. And most of us have given up on them within a couple of weeks.
But as we roll into 2022, there are some things we can do to improve our mental health, and they don’t have to be onerous. Over on the Mental Health First Aid website, I came across these five resolutions for improving mental health, and they seem very doable:
- Make time for self-care. This can be as simple as taking a daily walk or some other exercise. Just find something that makes you happy (and/or destress) and add it to your routine.
- Be kind to yourself. Change can be hard and often takes time. As the site says, “Allow yourself to have feelings and forgive yourself for mistakes. You are here and doing your best, and that’s what counts.” Fair enough!
- Make sleep a priority. Did you know as many as 90% of people with major depression experience sleep problems? This year, move your bed time up a few minutes.
- Limit your screen time. Somewhere, you can hear my wife yelling, “YES!” to this resolution or me. Spending a lot of time on screens disconnects us from the people closest to us, and can exacerbate mental health issues.
- Learn more about mental health. If you’re in our ICBA Wellness program, you can already tick this one off! And if your company isn’t involved – encourage them to!
Happy New Year!
ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 50 companies, and thousands of construction professionals, better understand mental health. The program is free for ICBA members — see icba.ca/wellness.
