B4
HEALTH & WELLNESS
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 1 - 15, 2016
Back-to-School for post secondary
students: Have a healthy mind and body
The beginning of the fall
semester at post-secondary institutions is quickly approaching,
and for some first-year students,
the transition from high school
to post-secondary education can
lead to increased feelings of anxiety, stress and even depression.
“The first year of a
young person’s post-secondary
education can be an exciting and
rewarding time as they take the
initial step into their adult life,
but it can also be a period when
they feel anxious, stressed or sad
about leaving the familiarity of
high school, friends and family
for a post-secondary institution,”
says Nina Krack, a clinical nurse
educator in Fraser Health’s Early
Psychosis Intervention program.
“While some emotion about this
new phase is normal, parents
and students should address
concerns promptly. When unpleasant or difficult feelings persist for a while and start to interfere with daily activities, this can
be a sign that a problem may be
emerging.”
Suggestions to postsecondary students for coping
with back-to-school stress, anxiety and depression
•
Understand
what is causing your feelings:
Recognizing what can trigger
stress, anxiety and depression is
the first step in learning to manage the symptoms. If you’re
feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to consider what might be
the cause.
•
Know the signs:
When you’re stressed, anxious or
depressed, your body will exhibit
physical symptoms and you may
have negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours that vary in
intensity and interfere with your
daily life. Listen to your body
and your mind to recognize when
you might be experiencing these
symptoms.
•
Equip yourself
with self-care resources: Mindcheck.ca offers an extensive
library of online resources for
managing stress, anxiety and
depression to help you problemsolve, address symptoms, relax
and become more mindful while
effectively managing your feelings.
•
Address social
anxiety: While your post-second-
ary education is a time to experience new opportunities and meet
new people, it can also be a time
of anxiety for students without
the comfortable surroundings
of high school, their friends and
family. For some people, it can
be very anxiety-provoking to be in
new social situations. It’s important to recognize this in yourself
before it impacts you negatively.
Remember, you should make
time for friends and social experiences during your post-secondary education, so if you find
yourself spending too much time
alone or using substances to be
social, ensure you seek support.
•
Have a plan:
Develop a plan for your first semester that includes a friend
you can call if you’re feeling sad,
anxious or stressed. If you are
living away from home, plan a
weekend visit home during the
semester to visit friends and family. Do a stress and/or anxiety test
now on Mindcheck.ca and then
again later in the semester to see
how you are coping.
Know where you can find
help on campus: Prepare yourself now by doing some research
to learn how you can get extra
support if you need it. School
counsellors are very resourceful
with varying problems including
anxiety and other mental health
concerns, with course selection
and for special needs support.
Some schools also have very
active and resourceful student
bodies that support a variety of
student needs. (fraser health)
DOF eyes higher income tax on ‘ultra rich’ people
The Department of Finance (DOF) is planning to impose higher income tax rates on
so-called “ultra rich” individuals
while the government reduce s
the tax burden on regular wage
earners.
Finance Secretary Carlos
G. Dominguez III said yesterday
that the government is looking at
raising the personal income tax
rate on individuals earning more
than P5 million annually from 32
percent to 35 percent.
Dominguez also said
that the government would keep
the current 32 percent tax rate
on personalities who are earning
R3 million to R5 million a year.
However, the finance
chief assured that low income
earners would enjoy significantly
lower taxes.
“We agree with the
popular demand to… reduce
the personal income tax maximum rate to 25 percent except
for the highest income earners,”
Dominguez said.
Under the tax reform
plan, personal income tax rates
will range from exempt to a maximum rate of 25 percent on minimum wage earners and individuals with an annual income of less
than P3 million.
Finance Undersecretary
Antonette C. Tionko said that
the planned higher personal income tax would not affect a sizeable number of taxpayers, saying
there are only less than 1,000
individuals considered as “ultra
rich.”
More than 90 percent of
the country’s income earners have a yearly income
of less than P3 million, the
newly appointed finance official added.
Tionko also said
the government plans to
adopt a modified gross system, where taxpayers will no
longer be allowed to claim
deductions and exemptions against their taxable
income.
Under the present tax system, taxpayers
automatically enjoy an annual deduction of P50,000
from their taxable income.
For each qualified dependent — but only up to four
qualified dependents — a
P25,000 additional exemption can also be claimed.
Dominguez said
the finance department will
submit to Congress its tax
reform proposal before the
end of the month and reassured the public that it provide middle and lower income classes more money
in their pockets.
The planned personal income tax rationalization would result in revenue losses amounting to
R159 billion.
To offset these
losses, the DOF has proposed to expand the valueadded tax (VAT) base by
limiting exemptions to only
raw food and other necessities like education, and
health.
The DOF is also
proposing to raise oil excise
and impose a levy on sugary products, while indexing
these rates to inflation. To
alleviate the effects on poor
Filipinos, Dominguez has
recommended programs
for indigent individuals, like
targeted subsidies.
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM