Wellness Initiatives

Snowy mountains reflected in a lake

Anxiety is a normal reaction to uncertainty and things that may potentially harm us. This is a stressful time for many of us, and it’s normal to feel more anxious than usual. This is an important time to prioritize relaxation and rest in order to cope with the uncertainty.

In addition to the resources below, try and use helpful coping strategies such as ensuring sufficient rest and respite during work or between shifts, eat sufficient and healthy food, engage in physical activity and stay in contact with family and friends.

Mindfulness resources

Mindfulness helps to decrease stress, increase resilience, improve personal productivity, develop connections with others, and augment the ability to experience more joy and peace.

Mindfulness is all about encouraging awareness of oneself in the present moment, and without judgment.

Mindfulness resources at PHSA:

Access the mindfulness resource guide (PDF).
Register on the LearningHub to receive emails with access details for the upcoming virtual Mindfulness Meditation sessions at PHSA:“Living Wellness - Mindfulness Meditation”
Yuk'wa ko'pa tum'-tum: Here with mind and heart (Chinook jargon)
Yuk'wa ko'pa tum'-tum (PDF) is a Peer Mindfulness Project designed to provide mindfulness on demand at PHSA. Created by your peers across the health authority, this library of mindfulness recordings can be accessed at any time. Consider starting or ending a team meeting with mindful moments or taking a pause in your day to become fully present, allowing your mind and body to settle and experience a sense of ease and wellbeing.

We would like to thank and acknowledge Harlan Pruden for sharing The Dictionary of Chinook Jargon compiled by Frederic J. Long for naming this project. Harlan is Knowledge Translation Lead, Chee Mamuk, BCCDC and member of the Psychological Health and Safety Community of Practice. Chinook Jargon was a simplified language based on Chinook, French, English and other Indigenous languages and used in BC in the 1800s and early 1900s. It enabled people from widely diverse cultures and completely different languages to communicate and trade with other. We would also like to thank our colleagues across PHSA and the BC Children's Hospital Centre for Mindfulness for their collaboration and generosity. We welcome additional contributions to this mindfulness library by connecting with us at psychhealthsafety@phsa.ca

Wellness webinars

Register on the LearningHub for the following sessions to practice daily mindfulness meditations, learn strategies for managing stress, and learn ways to increase your well-being.

E-courses and other web-based education resources are available for those interested in developing skills and knowledge in topics to support their health.

Upcoming Wellness Sessions:

View upcoming wellness courses and workshops on POD.

Topic: Resilience in the Workplace – Co-Existing with COVID-19: What is your plan?

Date and Time: Various dates and times.

Topic: Mindfulness Meditation

Date and Time: Various dates and times. Register on the LearningHub

Self-Care

1. Access a Self-Care Starter Kit to help you identify your self-care needs and build a self-care plan.

2. Check out the Five Days of Self-Care and Inspiration Cards

3. Take a 21 day Self-Care Challenge:

This resource is intended to help you build and enhance your daily self-care practice. What can you do today to care for yourself? How can you bring resiliency into your daily life during this challenging time? You can view a handout of all 21 days of the Self-Care Challenge.

Self-Care Challenge Day 1:

The self-care challenge is informed by the Resilience at Work (R@W) Individual Model developed by Kathryn McEwen (organizational psychologist) and Dr. Peter Winwood. Take a look at the R@W Building Your Resilience Workbook by Kathryn McEwen.

Virtual fitness

Curtis Health online fitness resources

PHSA's onsite fitness provider, Curtis Health, provides online resources for workout handouts and videos, running tips, meditation and mindfulness, recipes, and at home activities with the family.

Yoga and group fitness class recordings are being posted to the Curtis Health Thrive site on a weekly basis.

www.curtishealth.com/thrive

password: Phsa

Sign up for free Virtual Fitness Classes from November 2021- March 2022

This November 2021 to March 2022 join us to maintain, enhance, or just shake up your fitness routine! PHSA's Psychological Health & Safety team is partnering with Curtis Health to offer free monthly virtual fitness classes. A variety of classes will be offered, including: Zumba, Pilates, yoga, stretch breaks, power circuit, high intensity interval training (HIIT), and more! Sign up on the LearningHub to receive a class schedule and steps on how to register for any classes that interest you.

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Working Well Column Articles & Newsletters

Working Well Newsletters:

December 2020
January 2021
February 2021
March 2021

April 2021
May 2021
June 2021
July 2021

August 2021

September 2021
October 2021

New Article:

Access previous Working Well articles here.

You can go to POD and search 'Working Well' in the News section to view recent articles.

You can also read the new resource for Tips on TIP for a general introduction and overview of trauma-informed practice. Trauma-Informed Practice (TIP) is a 'way of working' that helps create a psychologically healthy and safe workplace that benefits everyone -employees, patients, clients and families.

PHSA’s Psychological Health, Safety and Wellness team supports the mental health of all employees in any PHSA program, service, or division. Questions? Email psychealthsafety@phsa.ca.