On December 8, 2022, CPA Assist hosted the third annual Virtual Wellness Conference. The conference was full of exceptional wellness advice from leading industry professionals. Four different sessions were held: setting boundaries, burnout, conflict management, and self care were the highlighted topics. Keep reading to learn four great takeaways from this year’s speakers!
1. The real antidote to burnout isn’t what you think it is
The day started with a keynote presentation from behaviour change specialist, Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley, on setting boundaries to balance work and personal demands with consideration of one’s goals and values. According to Dr. Dayna, setting boundaries cannot effectively occur until we redefine our understanding of burnout: “The antidote to burnout isn’t rest, it is re-connecting with your values and re-connecting with what matters to you”.
2. Self care goes far beyond eating well and getting sleep
Clinical psychologist Dr. Jaime Williams dove into the topic of self care and stress, especially in relation to CPAs. Similar to the topic of burnout, self care is a commonly discussed topic, but Dr. Williams noted that it, too, requires deeper reflection: “Many people mistake self-pampering and self-soothing as self-care and this is why self-care is often perceived as selfish.” The presenter also explored the various areas of this topic, including physical health, socialization, spirituality, and psychological well-being, as important elements unique to each individual when practicing effective self-care.
3. Stress is your body’s signal that something needs attention or action
While dealing with many different types of stress is normal and unavoidable, it is important to mitigate the impact of stress to maintain your wellbeing, as trauma-informed coach, Jessica LeBlanc shared: “When you experience a particular stress time and time again, regardless of the type of stress, your body does not understand the difference between perceived stress or real stress. If you have the perception of a threat, your body will elicit the same response physiologically.”
4. “FEAR” is the basis of why you may feel disrespected
Conflict is another uncomfortable yet unavoidable part of life, whether it be in the workplace, within personal relationships, or even within yourself. Joanna Shea, managing partner and co-founder of the Negotiations Collective, suggested the following for individuals who might be struggling to identify why they’re feeling disrespected: “When we are disrespected, an emotional reaction is triggered based on the lack of one of the four elements of FEAR: fairness, empathy, autonomy, and recognition. Which of these FEARs have been triggered?” Identifying triggers can help pave the way for understanding conflict and reaching resolution.
The CPA Assist Virtual Wellness Conference focuses on providing tools that can be used everyday to enhance emotional and physical well-being as well as encouraging people to give themselves a little more grace and space to recharge their batteries. CPA Assist is committed to providing more virtual learning opportunities like this one, as well as other great resources and services that are relevant and useful to help promote mental wellness in the profession. CPA Assist is available to CPAs and CPA PEP candidates from Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as their immediate families.
For more information, check out www.cpa-assist.ca.
