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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A pr il 15 ,2 02 1 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeav @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Ryan Maraj CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM Housework, groceries, errands -- it may some- times feel like we are con- stantly rushing around, with little time to rest and relax. While hurry and stress are often glamorized as signs that we are accom- plishing things and mak- ing the most of our time, they can also be signs that we're overwhelmed and not taking time to care for ourselves. If you regularly find yourself rushing and wor- rying about fitting every- thing in, you may notice more frustration or impa- tience with others or your- self, decreased concentra- tion and focus, edginess, changes in appetite and sleep, trouble relaxing and feeling that everything is urgent. It all adds up to overload and what has sometimes been called 'the hurry ef- fect'. The good news is that these habits are change- able. How? Consider these tips: • Give yourself permis- sion. If you are taking time to relax, assure yourself that you are accomplishing something by slowing down for the good of your overall wellness. • Have reasonable ex- pectations. Limit what you try to fit in and don't sched- ule everything down to the minute, which doesn't give any flexibility for unex- pected delays. Do not set yourself up for failure by expecting too much. • Avoid trying to squeeze in "one more thing." If you have something to do in five minutes, do not make one last phone call that could end up taking more than five minutes. Use that bit of extra time to leisurely get on to your next task or take a quick break. • Accept that everything does not have be done now. Sure, it would be nice to get many tasks done at once, but it may be better for your balance to spread them out. Focus on what is actual- ly urgent rather than what you'd like to have done. • Monitor your body and mind for symptoms of stress. Take a minute for some deep breaths and tell your- self some positive thoughts to bring down the sense of urgency. Melanie McGregor is the communications and advancement specialist at the Canadian Mental Health Association Halton Region Branch, which provides mental health/ addiction community sup- port and education. Visit www.halton.cmha.ca for more information and follow @cmhahalton on Twitter. BEWARE OF THE 'HURRY EFFECT' DOWNTIME VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOUR OVERALL WELL-BEING, WRITES MELANIE MCGREGOR There are three dimen- sions to a stock market de- cline. ONE. THE GOOD Expected returns on stocks are significantly higher than expected re- turns on less risky asset classes like bonds. If you want a higher ex- pected return, you must ac- cept higher risk. That is how markets work. Yes, stock market values can decline and looking at the S&P 500 Index over the last century, stocks lose money about one year out of every four years. There has never been a stock market decline that has not fully recovered and gone on to reach new highs. TWO. THE BAD Most humans are not well suited to losing mon- ey. Even if losing money is just part of the journey to- wards making money over a longer period of time. Stock values can go up and stock values can go down. Intellectually that is a simple and understand- able concept. Emotionally it can be a terrible experience. Fear, anger, remorse, frustration. THREE. THE UGLY Investors watch their portfolio value plummet. Then they sell at a signifi- cant loss. While they re- main out of the market, they watch the stock values rebound fully and continue to rise. Emotionally and fi- nancially, that is the worst outcome. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment products are provided by ACPI. ACPI is a member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth management services through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at watsoninvestments.com. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY STOCK MARKET DECLINES CAN LEAD TO DIFFERENT EMOTIONAL AND FINANCIAL OUTCOMES, WRITES PETER WATSON PETER WATSON Column A hawk searches for its next prey in the Glen Abbey area. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Jan Nevins photo SNAPSHOT MELANIE MCGREGOR Column