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DELIVERY LOCATIONS
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Calgary - Head Office
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Camrose
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Drayton Valley
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Edmonton
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Edson
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Grande Prairie
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High Prairie
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Hinton
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Lac La Biche
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Lethbridge
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Medicine Hat
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Peace River
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Red Deer
Rocky
Mtn. House
Spruce
Grove
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St. Paul
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Whitecourt
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CMR Canada - Employee and Family Assistance Programs
Head Office: Suite 600, Bow Valley Square 4, 250 - 6 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P3H7
Telephone (403) 263-2200 Fax (403) 256-8291 E-mail: cmr@cmrcanada.ca
September 2001
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Note:
This article presents only one perspective on a body of information
on the subject and is not intended to be definitive. CMR Canada
recommends you seek additional perspectives on the subject.
|
Depression and Stress
Depression
A major depression is also referred to as
a major depressive disorder or clinical depression. It involves
a severely depressed mood that persists for at least two weeks.
Episodes of depression may start suddenly or slowly and can occur
several times during life.
Causes
A specific cause for depression has not
yet been identified, but here are some of the factors likely to
be involved.
 | Heredity - It is likely that the tendency
to develop depression is inherited; it seems to run in families.
But whether you actually develop the disorder probably also depends
on the other factors that follow. |
| Physiology - There may be changes or an
imbalance in certain chemicals in the brain. For example, reduced
daylight hours are believed to affect the production of some
brain chemicals, such as serotonin, that are important in controlling
mood. |
| Psychological factors - Factors such as
low self-esteem and self-defeating or distorted thinking styles
are thought to be connected with depression. Such thinking may
include viewing the world as threatening, felling unable to deal
with life's challenges, and believing that the future is hopeless. |
| Early experiences - Events in early childhood
which may increase the likelihood of depression in later years
include:
o the death or prolonged absence of a parent;
o being abandoned or rejected;
o neglect or lack of loving care
o chronic illness
o severe psychological, physical or sexual abuse. |
| Life events - Depression often affects
people who have experienced physical, psychological or sexual
abuse. It is also common in individuals experiencing job loss,
financial difficulties, loss of family members, or marital or
family problems. |
| Medical conditions - such as the flu,
hepatitis or mononucleosis, and conditions such as stroke or
thyroid problems may contibute. |
| Childbirth - Post-partum depression.
|
| Alcohol or drug abuse |
| Living with a depressed person |
Symptoms of depression include:
| persistent sad, anxious or empty mood
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| feelings of hopelessness and pessimism
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| loss of interest or pleasure in activities
once enjoyed, including sex |
| sleep disturbance |
| appetite disturbance |
| decreased energy, fatigue |
| thoughts of death or suicide |
| suicide attempts |
| restlessness, irritability |
| difficulty concentrating, remembering
and making decisions |
| persistent physical symptoms unresponsive
to treatment |
In the workplace look for:
| difficulty in making decisions |
| decreased productivity |
| inability to concentrate |
| decline in dependability |
| unusual increase in errors in work
|
| being prone to accidents |
| frequent tardiness, increased "sick"
days |
| lack of enthusiasm for work |
How to Help
Support and encouragement provides a stable
foundation for growth and development. We all want to feel there
are people who accept and care about us.
| Treat the depressed person as an adult
|
| Emphasize the positive |
| Acknowledge effort |
| Use humour |
| State clear expectations |
| Deal with problems sooner rather than
later |
| Offer help judiciously |
| Don't lose hope |
| Recognize that stigma exists |
If you think a co-worker may be experiencing
depression, you should continue to show them respect. Help make
the person aware of their value in the workplace. Offer encouragement
and pay genuine compliments every day.
Finally, use the trust between you to encourage
the person to seek help. Encourage them to contact the Employee
and Family Assistance Program.
Stress
 We all
talk about stress, but we are not always clear about what it is.
This is because stress comes from both the good and the bad things
that happen to us. If we did not feel any stress, we would not
be alive! Stress becomes a problem when we are not sure how to
handle an event or a situation. Then worry sets in, and we feel
"stressed."
The things that cause stress for you may not be a problem for
your neighbour, and things that bring stress to your neighbor's life may not worry you at all. It is how you think about and react
to certain events that determine whether you find them stressful
or fairly easy to deal with. Your reaction to stress can affect
your mental and physical health; so it is important for you to
learn how to deal effectively with stress as it occurs.
UNDERSTANDING STRESS
Your feelings about the events in your life are very important.
By understanding yourself and your reactions to stressful events,
you can learn to handle stress effectively. The best place to
start is by figuring out what produces stress in you, such as:
| major events in your life: getting married,
changing jobs, moving your home, getting divorced, or coping
with the death of a loved one, |
| long-term worries: concern about your
children's future, financial or economic problems, or an ongoing
illness, |
| daily hassles: traffic jams, rude people,
or machines that just don't work when you want them to. |
THE STRESS RESPONSE
When you find an event stressful, your body undergoes a series
of changes, called the stress response. There are three stages
to this response. They are:
Stage 1 - Mobilizing Energy
At first, your body releases adrenaline, your heart beats faster,
and you start to breathe more quickly. Both good and bad events
can start this reaction: the night before your wedding or the
day you lose your job.
Stage 2 - Consuming Energy StoresIf, for some reason, you do not
escape from the first stage, your body begins to release stored
sugars and fats from its resources. At this stage, you will feel
driven, pressured and tired. You may drink more coffee, smoke
more, and drink more alcohol than is good for you. You may also
experience anxiety, memory loss, catch colds or get the flu more
often than normal.
Stage 3 - Draining Energy Stores
If you do not resolve your stress problems, the body's need for
energy will become greater than its ability to produce it, and
you will become chronically stressed. At this stage, you may experience
insomnia, errors in judgement, and personality changes. You may
also develop a serious sickness, such as heart disease, ulcers
or mental illness.
COPING WITH STRESS
Because each of us is different, there is no one "correct"
way to cope with stress. However, there are a number of different
things that can be done, and it is helpful to look at both short
and long-term solutions to reducing stress.
| Identify your problems. Is your job, your
relationship with someone, or money worries causing you stress?
Are unimportant, surface problems masking real, deeper ones?
Once you are fairly sure you know what the problem is, you can
do something about it. |
| Solve your problems. Start thinking about
solutions. What can you do, and what will be the consequences?
Should you be looking for a less stressful job? Do you need marriage
counselling? Should you talk to a financial expert about money
management? What will happen if you do nothing? If you follow
this problem-solving strategy, you should be able to make some
changes to take the pressure off yourself. This long-term way
of reducing stress in your life is something everyone, sooner
or later, will need to do. |
| Talk about your problems. You may find
it helpful to talk about your stress. Friends and family members
may not realize that you are having a hard time. Once they understand,
they may be helpful in two ways: first, by just listening to
you vent your feelings and second, by suggesting solutions to
your problems. If you need to talk with someone outside your
own circle of friends and relatives, your family doctor may be
able to refer you to a mental health counsellor. |
| Learn about stress management. There are
many helpful books, films, videos and courses to help you cope
with stress. There are also counsellors who specialize in stress;
ask your family doctor for a referral to one. There may also
be community college courses and stress management workshops
available in your community. |
| Reduce tension. Physical activity can
be a great stress reducer. Go for a walk, take up a sport, dig
in the garden, clean the house. You may find it helpful to learn
some relaxation exercises. These can be as simple as deep breathing
- slowing inhale through your nose until you cannot take in any
more air, and then exhale through your mouth. Another simple
exercise is stretching - stretch and relax each part of your
body, starting from your neck and working downward; exhale as
you stretch, and inhale as you release the tension. If you make
a habit of taking pressure off yourself by getting rid of your
tension, you will find yourself less stressed and more able to
solve the problems that caused your stress in the first place. |
| Take your mind off your problems. You
may be able to get rid of stressful feelings temporarily by getting
busy. If you get involved in hobbies, sports or work, you can
give yourself a "mental holiday" from your stress.
Not thinking about your problems for a while can give you a little
mental distance from them and make them easier to solve later
on. |
PREVENTING STRESS
Once you have lowered your stress level, it is wise to look for
ways to prevent excessive stress from building up again. The best
way to cope with stress is to prevent it. Some good ways to do
this are:
| Make decisions. Not making them causes
worry and, therefore, stress. |
| Avoid putting things off. Make a weekly
schedule, including leisure activities as well as chores. |
| Delegate. Get others to do tasks that
they can handle so that you are not trying to do everything by
yourself. |
Remember, it is impossible to have a completely
stress-free life. Your goal should be to avoid getting to the
third stage of stress where your energy stores are drained. As
long as you do not get stuck in the third stage of the stress
response, you will avoid becoming chronically stressed.
Stress
The Heart and Stroke Foundation report card
found that workplace stress was the most common source of stress,
with almost one in three employed respondents (30%) reporting
difficulty coping with the demands of their jobs on a regular
basis. Family and money worries were not far behind: one quarter
of respondents (26%) reported regular family stress, and one in
five (21%) said they had financial stress.
Gender Issues
| In Canada suicide is the leading cause
of death for all males between 10 and 49 and the fourth leading
cause for women. |
| Four times as many men than women commit
suicide. Women attempt suicide 2-3 times more often as men. |
| Canadian men and women with children at
home are more stressed than those with older children or without
children. |
| Woman are especially apt to feel that
maintaining mental health is very important, 95% versus 88% for
men, |
| Women are more willing than men to let
friends know if they or one of their family members were getting
counselling for depression. 60% of woman would definitely or
probably want their friends to know compared to only 40% of men. |
| Anxiety disorders are the most common
of all mental health problems. It is estimated that they affect
approximately 1 in 10 people. They are more prevalent among women
than among men, |
| Women spend significantly more time than
men in: (recent survey in Saskatchewan)
o childcare (16.5 hours per week for women versus 13.4 hours
per week for men).
o home chores (15.0 hours per week for women versus 10.7 hours
per week for men). |
References and Resources
1.CMR Canada - Employee and Family Assistance
Programs 1-800-567-9953 or cmr@cmrcanada.ca
2. Canadian
Mental Health Association
Click here for a complete archive of Interventions®
Joey walked into
his dad's study while his dad was working on the computer.
"Dad,"
said Joey, "Remember when you told me you'd give me twenty
dollars if I passed my math test?"
Dad's ears perked
up and he excitedly looked over towards his son.
"Well, I've
got some great news!" exclaimed Joey.
"Really?"
replied his dad.
"Yes,"
said Joey, "I just saved you twenty bucks."
|
Note: This article
presents only one perspective on a body of information on the
subject and is not intended to be definitive. CMR Canada recommends
you seek additional perspectives on the subject.
|
For more information
on this and other subjects go to
Interventions
Archive. The EFAP assists you and your family resolve personal
problems and maintain healthy and productive lives.
Counselling Services
Provided
| Aging Parents |
Bereavement |
Career Issues |
| Emotional
Problems |
Family Problems |
Harassment |
| Health Concerns |
Marriage
Preparation |
Marital Problems |
| Physical or
Sexual Abuse |
Relationship
Issues |
Single Parenting |
| Stress |
Substance Abuse |
Addictions |
| Trauma |
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How do I arrange for
counselling and/or get more information?
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Simply phone CMR
Canada at 403-263-2200 in Calgary, or 1-800-567-9953 from elsewhere. |
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Or, click on Request
for Service. |
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Or, e-mail CMR
Canada. |
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All arrangements will
be made for you. |
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Permission is not
needed to use the EFAP. It is voluntary and strictly confidential. |
Your
Confidentiality is Guaranteed
CMR Canada
PROFILE
CMR Canada, a national EFAP management
firm founded in Alberta in 1990, delivers programs and services that enhance the
health and performance capability of individuals and organizations.
The firm delivers services to individuals plus their families in
organizations located throughout Alberta - Municipal Governments, Hospitals,
Unions, Universities, and Corporations and the General Public.
Interventions, the EFAP Journal of CMR
Canada, is available to clients without cost.
CMR's organization is simple,
efficient, and highly effective leaving the majority of resources, financial and
human, to provide service to clients and their families. The firm has extensive
experience in designing, implementing, resourcing, evaluating, and managing Assistance Programs.
CMR has an unlimited supply of
qualified professionals to engage as needed. Professionals are partnered or on
contract to CMR. Included are Psychologists,
Registered Social Workers, Family Therapists, Crisis Counsellors, Career
Counsellors, and Certified Human Resource Professionals.
Working principles: keep the
business small; deliver extraordinary personal service; keep the costs low. This highly efficient and effective
business model allows CMR to deliver high quality programs and services at lower
cost with increased accountability - and select the most experienced and capable
professionals.
To request more information or a
counsellor, click on Request
for Service.
CMR Canada -
Employee
and Family Assistance Programs
Head Office
Suite 3500, Bow Valley Square 2
205 - 5 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P2V7
Telephone (403)263-2200 in Calgary, or
1-800-567-9953 from elsewhere
Fax (403)256-8291
E-Mail: CMR Canada
Athabasca,
Barrhead, Calgary,
Camrose, Drayton Valley, Edmonton, Edson, Fort
McMurray, High Prairie, Hinton, Jasper, Grande Prairie, Lac
La Biche, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Peace River,
Pincher Creek, Red Deer,
St. Paul , Wainwright
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