Ep. 129: Mental Health for Workaholics with Nabeela Ixtabalan (Encore Episode)
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When Walmart Canada’s executive vice president and chief operating officer first joined the company in August 2020, she introduced herself to her new 90,000 associates as a “recovering workaholic.” Since experiencing anxiety, postpartum depression and burnout in her 20s, Nabeela Ixtabalan has transformed the way she balances work and wellness—and is working to help Walmart Canada employees do the same. In this encore presentation of her conversation with Medcan CEO Shaun Francis, Nabeela discusses her self-care and employee wellness strategies.
Nabeela Ixtabalan’s Baseline:
A list of priorities Nabeela protects to secure her personal wellbeing and mental health. At the end of each week, the Walmart Canada executive looks back on the previous days to make sure she has accomplished each part of her baseline. Not meeting her baseline is a sign she is out of balance, prompting her to examine “what do I need to change?”
Protecting time for spiritual health: meditating once a week and praying daily
Eating all my meals and not skipping them to work or catch up with chores
Maintaining my sleep schedule and having restful, uninterrupted sleep (seven hours to function at peak)
Having breakfast and dinner with my kids
Working out three times a week
Getting outside to enjoy nature at least once a week
Making time for things unrelated to work: writing, reading, spending time with family or friends
Paying attention to what I pay attention to: Being selective with what I consume in media and who are in my social media circle; limiting my time to negative news and social media
LINKS
Visit Nabeela’s LinkedIn profile, follow her on Twitter and follow her on Instagram. Read her bio.
Nabeela was named one of The Globe and Mail’s 2022 Best Executives.
Want to improve the mental wellbeing of your employees? Medcan’s Medical Advisory Services team is designed to help you optimize employee health. Check out the services offered and the experts available to help.
Read some blog posts by Ixtabalan:
Know Your Baseline” — a more fulsome description of her baseline and the concept in practice.
INSIGHTS
Since she was in high school, Nabeela has had a lot of success through her habit of “filling [her] plate as much as [she] could.” [1:19]
Nabeela’s life never really transitioned from her studies to her career. “I always did both,” she says. [2:52]
When Nabeela first became a mom, she started to struggle with balancing her career and her life at home. Eventually she experienced her first anxiety attack, and was diagnosed with postpartum depression. [3:54]
“I don't want to minimize postpartum depression or anxiety. If you're facing those things, you need the right expertise,” she says. With the help of medical professionals, she recovered from postpartum depression and began looking into coping mechanisms to help her manage stress and achieve a more balanced lifestyle. [8:06]
With the help of cognitive behavioural therapy, Nabeela created her “baseline”—a set of binary things that she must maintain to best take care of herself. [9:04]
Nabeela’s baseline includes making time for spiritual health, eating three meals a day, getting enough sleep, exercising three times a day and “paying attention to what [she is] paying attention to.” [10:49]
When Nabeela started at Walmart Canada in August 2020, she had a very important reason for introducing herself to her 100,000 associates as a recovering workaholic. [14:25]
Nabeela believes that “employees expect their employer to take an active role in their mental health and mental wellbeing by providing the right benefits and services.” To her, that goes beyond a simple EAP (Employee Assistance Program) provider. [16:15]
Nabeela worked closely with Ariana Huffington to bring her employee wellness company, Thrive Global, to Canada and all Walmart associates. [19:57]
How is Nabeela working to protect the safety and wellbeing of Walmart associates and customers? [22:21]
*LEGAL
This podcast episode is intended to provide general information about health and wellness only and is not designed, or intended to constitute, or be used as a substitute for, medical advice, treatment or diagnosis. You should always talk to your Medcan health care provider for individual medical advice, diagnosis and treatment, including your specific health and wellness needs.
The podcast is based on the information available at the time of preparation and is only accurate and current as of that date. Source information and recommendations are subject to change based on scientific evidence as it evolves over time. Medcan is not responsible for future changes or updates to the information and recommendations, and assumes no obligation to update based on future developments.
Reference to, or mention of, specific treatments or therapies, does not constitute or imply a recommendation or endorsement. The links provided within the associated document are to assist the reader with the specific information highlighted. Any third-party links are not endorsed by Medcan.