Daily Healthy: stress

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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don’t Over-Tax Yourself Over Tax Season!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the April 15 tax deadline looming, it’s an anxious time<br />for many people. Try these tips to keep your financial stress under<br />control at tax time — and all year round.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2jxsL-zj_8sVsrKyCpwCzTFjduCbR_npOlEG-38x7JsGCk634RdvZUOwjaOZpXtvkw0GMDOk62KLuoCPMMGqOwh00CLFNs1JmuZAbIwjJ-k0u-SXzvbQri7hOu49tF3nxnEokD7DvCgG/s1600/tax+couple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2jxsL-zj_8sVsrKyCpwCzTFjduCbR_npOlEG-38x7JsGCk634RdvZUOwjaOZpXtvkw0GMDOk62KLuoCPMMGqOwh00CLFNs1JmuZAbIwjJ-k0u-SXzvbQri7hOu49tF3nxnEokD7DvCgG/s1600/tax+couple.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Break It Up. </b>A mountain of paperwork for your tax<br />return or for any other financial responsibility, like applying for a college<br />loan or mortgage, can seem overwhelming. Break up the process into smaller<br />chunks, such as gathering pay stubs, finding your home mortgage interest<br />statements, or organizing your receipts. Then tackle each task one by one. But<br />before you do so…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Make a Plan. </b>This is even more important when you’re<br />on a tight deadline (like being just a few days away from April 15). Once<br />you’ve broken down what you need to accomplish into pieces, put those steps in<br />order and write down how and when you’re going to make each one happen. This<br />will help you feel like you have control over the process. Being out of control<br />is very stressful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Keep Mentally Fit. </b>Eat well, get a full night’s<br />sleep, find a way to exercise every day, and connect with friends and loved<br />ones. Financial deadlines may have you feeling like you need to lock yourself<br />away and pull an all-nighter with a bag of potato chips and your 1040, but<br />you’ll just raise your stress level, and you probably won’t accomplish your<br />goal anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Resist Unhealthy Temptations. </b>When stress arises,<br />it’s tempting to cope in unhealthy ways such as binge eating, smoking, or drinking<br />alcohol. Avoid these negative coping strategies. Instead of a cigarette or a<br />glass of wine, take a walk or call a friend to vent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Don’t Go It Alone. </b>It’s not too late to get help. Ask<br />for help from a spouse, a trusted friend, or ideally, a financial professional<br />like a certified public accountant. Some tax professionals will even save you<br />the step of visiting their office and will review your documents and<br />calculations online. Having too much on your shoulders and no help is a recipe<br />for anxiety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Request an Extension. </b>If you’re utterly overwhelmed<br />and you feel like there’s no way you’ll have it all together by April 15, talk<br />to a tax professional about how to request an extension on filing. You’ll still<br />have to pay your estimated taxes on time (or pay interest), but you’ll have an<br />extra six months to get your paperwork in order. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Plan Ahead for Next Year. </b>If you’ve procrastinated<br />about your taxes this year, use the stress you’re experiencing now as you try<br />to get everything together at the last minute for a good cause: Keeping you on<br />track to plan ahead for tax time 2016. Set a realistic budget and stick to it,<br />and keep track of your finances as you go along. Having a plan and living<br />within your means makes your life much less stressful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by <a href="http://nyulangone.org/doctors/1558358457/david-l-ginsberg">David Ginsberg,<br />M.D.,</a> clinical associate professor and vice chair for clinical affairs,<br />Department of Psychiatry, and chief of the Psychiatry Service, NYU Langone<br />Medical Center in New York City.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Don’t Over-Tax Yourself Over Tax Season! With the April 15 tax deadline looming, it’s an anxious time for many people. Try these ...

Are Some Jobs More Stressful Than Others?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKc_ubOJn5aLuvAq3-2GJfPOSWZkit5g1wV68uetkxcku2IVJjPLk_9SN3C3eFdS0-d9NtsBpNlkVL9hQek2NX55XQ9xarBuG1H-T6kzwAxuuvTrLIlFk8hSu3BuPGbk-L9SxI0hkGrrAi/s1600/shutterstock_144582953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKc_ubOJn5aLuvAq3-2GJfPOSWZkit5g1wV68uetkxcku2IVJjPLk_9SN3C3eFdS0-d9NtsBpNlkVL9hQek2NX55XQ9xarBuG1H-T6kzwAxuuvTrLIlFk8hSu3BuPGbk-L9SxI0hkGrrAi/s1600/shutterstock_144582953.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone has bad days on the job—a project that you put hours into bombs or a task you need to accomplish is difficult and stressful. But are some jobs harder overall on our mental health than others? Depression may be more likely to occur in some professions, research suggests. And according to a new <a href="http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797%2814%2900722-3/fulltext" target="_blank">study</a> by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, suicides in the workplace, while not commonplace, are on the rise. Their research, published in the March 16 online edition of the “American Journal of Preventive Medicine,” showed that 270 people committed suicide in the workplace in 2013, a 12% increase over 2012.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Men and those over 65 were more likely to commit suicide in the workplace than others. Law enforcement jobs -- police officers, firefighters, and detectives -- had the highest rate of workplace suicides with 5.3 suicides for every 1 million workers. Farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and forestry workers came in next with 5.1 suicides per one million. The authors also noted that minorities may be at a greater risk for workplace suicide compared to non-workplace suicides. Their research did not include military jobs.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This month’s “JAMA Psychiatry” also addressed the topic in a “Viewpoints” op-ed co-authored by two medical interns from New York who said that being a physician, especially a young intern, may leave some people vulnerable to mental illness and suicide. Doctors are twice as likely to kill themselves compared to non-physicians, and female doctors are three times more likely to do so than their male counterparts, according to the <a href="http://www.afsp.org/advocacy-public-policy/policy-news-updates/workplace-suicides-are-on-the-rise" target="_blank">American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)</a>. According to AFSP, though, the workplace can be an ideal place for suicide prevention programs. Their <a href="http://www.afsp.org/the-interactive-screening-program/about-the-isp" target="_blank">Interactive Screening Program (ISP)</a>, for example, is an anonymous online survey that IDs at-risk people and connects them with support. The NFL and the Boston Police Department have used the program. The authors of the “Lancet Psychiatry” op-ed say some work programs, like one at the U.S. Air Force, have successfully addressed workplace depression and mental illness in a variety of ways. One initiative: The USAF designates certain supervisors as mental health “gatekeepers.” Their job is to identify at-risk employees and channel them to screening and mental health services.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Want more info on managing workplace stress? Read about APA’s <a href="http://www.workplacementalhealth.org/Topics.aspx" target="_blank">Partnership for Workplace Mental Health</a>. Learn more about the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s ISP program by contacting the Program Director at <a href="mailto:isp@afsp.org">isp@afsp.org</a>. Read Mayo Clinic’s article: <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in-depth/work-life-balance/art-20048134" target="_blank">Work-Life Balance: Tips to Reclaim Control</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Mary Brophy Marcus, health writer, APA</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more news and wellness info from APA, follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/apahealthyminds" target="_blank">Twitter </a>and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AmericanPsychiatricAssociation" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</span>