Wellness and balance

Lawyers are exposed to high levels of stress on a daily basis. The results can be use, misuse or even addiction to drugs or alcohol, and challenges to physical or mental wellness. Stress is also a contributing factor in many LAWPRO claims. This section of the practicePRO site provides you with tools and resources to help you manage stress, and achieve a healthy and balanced lifestyle. There is also information on addictions, and if you or someone you know needs help, a list of programs that offer assistance to lawyers in crisis.

Our Summer 2006 issue of LAWPRO Magazine focused on the issue of work and wellness for lawyers. It included articles on the following: Balancing life - how to deal with stress and burnout - and how to recognize the first signs of potential trouble Fitness and balance - tips on how to integrate exercise into a hectic lawyer's lifestyle. Technology and stress - how technology can reduce your stress, not increase it Reporting misconduct - a review of obligations imposed on lawyers when they deal with someone with abuse or mental health issues Download entire magazine (PDF format, size: 2.51MB).

I want help now OLAP, The Ontario Lawyers Assistance Program - www.olap.ca - (formerly OBAP, the Ontario Bar Assistance Plan ) provides one-on-one ongoing volunteer peer support and professional counselling to lawyers, judges and law students who suffer from alcohol, drug or other addictions, eating disorders, stress, burnout or mental illness. They will assist with referrals for support, assessments and counselling. If you, your partner or your spouse needs help, please call. All calls are strictly confidential. To contact the Volunteer Executive Director, call John Starzynski 1-877-584-6227. Leota Embleton, Clinical Director, can be reached at 905-238-1740 or 1-877-576-6227. The OLAP 24-hour Helpline is 905-238-1740 and 1-877-576-6227. For more information on OLAP and other programs that offer assistance click here.

Getting Stress Hardy
How are you coping with stress? Click here to complete a self-assessment. If you want more help on the steps you can take to better manage and cope with stress, visit the Getting Stress Hardy workshop in practicePRO's online COACHING CENTRE.

For an even better appreciation of the debilitating effects of stress on lawyers' professional and personal lives review these case studies:

• It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times
• The Circle Of Silence
• Down, But Not Out
• I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can
• This Lawyer Will Be Missed

Tools to Stay Healthy
Taking steps to manage stress is just the start. Staying healthy is also an essential part of maintaining a productive and successful law practice. And there is a bonus: a healthy lifestyle will give you much more than a successful career. You will experience a boost in your energy level, an overall improved feeling about yourself and better-than-ever health. Consider the following three ways you can achieve a better-balanced and healthy lifestyle:

• Staying Fit - There are many benefits of physical fitness, including the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Click here to assess how fit you are and to learn how you can make fitness a bigger part of your life.

• Eating Healthy - You are what you eat! One way to assure a healthy lifestyle is to make informed choices regarding the foods you eat. Click here to assess your diet and to learn how you can make improvements to it.

• Volunteering in Your Community - Working as a volunteer lets you give something back to your community, and can contribute to greater life satisfaction. Click here to review various options you have to volunteer.

Addictions
Personal problems are a part of most lives at one time or another. Being equipped to recognize and deal with performance detractors such as illnesses or addictions can help prevent them from negatively impacting one's personal and professional life. The following are five kinds of addictions that have played a role in the claims against lawyers in their legal practice.

• Alcoholism - Studies indicate that members of the legal profession are particularly prone to developing alcohol dependencies. Click here to assess your dependency on alcohol, and to learn how you can take steps to deal with this addiction.

• Drugs - Dependence on drugs, including tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, and illegal substances, is all too common in today's world. Click here to learn the danger signs, and what can be done to deal with this addiction.

• Gambling - Gambling can be exciting and entertaining. For many it becomes an addiction with adverse affects impacting relationships, family, careers and finances. Click here to assess if you have a gambling problem, and how you can get help.

• Sexual Addictions - Sexual addictions are no less damaging to one's personal and professional life than alcoholism or drug addictions, and are becoming very common amongst lawyers. Click here to assess if you have a sexual addiction, and how you can get help.

• Internet addiction is the excessive, non-essential use of the Internet that causes psychological, social or physical problems for the user. It can involve online gambling or have a sexual component.

• HBO: The Addiction Project - The HBO network has created an extensive web site providing further information on diagnosing, treating and recovering from addiction.

List of Links
Click here to see a complete list of all the resources and treatment centres that appear on the various wellness pages.

LawPRO articles
Click here to see a complete list of wellness and balance articles that have appeared in LawPRO Magazine.