President’s Message – Kathy Harvel

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Pause and Take a Breath

It is no surprise that September is National Self-Care Awareness Month.  The months of October, November and December tend to see increased levels of stress for many of us. Now is the time to learn about the things that may stress you out through the end of the year and how you can minimize those stressors.

Sources of stress in our lives come from work, school, family, seasonal changes and economic challenges - to name just a few. In the next few months, many of our co-workers and team members will take holiday vacations which causes a strain on completing project tasks and meeting deadlines.  There is a push to “get things done” by the end of the year. There are activities to plan for the next year like budgets and strategic plans.  The demands of the holidays take up a lot of our time and it seems we are always on the go. 

I didn’t mean to increase your stress by reminding you of all these things so I want to offer some things you can do to mitigate the effects of stress.  Making just a few changes can make a big difference.

  1. Be intentional about taking care of yourself.
  2. Be proactive with plans and goals for self-care.
  3. Adopt healthy habits – plan for a good night’s sleep and adopt a healthful diet.
  4. Increase physical activity – this improves mood.
  5. Plan for relaxation time – pause and take a breath regularly.
  6. Practice positive thinking - come up with some strategies that can help you turn negative thoughts into positive ones.
  7. Get support from those around you – engage family, friends and co-workers – you can all help each other.
  8. Don’t be embarrassed to seek professional help if you need it.

Now is the time to think about these things before time gets away from you.
Now is the time to think about taking care of you.

Regards,

Kathy

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