Strengthening Our Mental Health

Jan 27, 2019

3 min read

January is known as a blue month. The excitement and pandemonium of Christmas is over, everyone is back to work and school. The weather is usually cold (although this January has been awesome in Calgary) and spring seems a very long ways away. It’s easy to see how our mental health could take a hit at the beginning of the new year.

Bell Let’s Talk Day was introduced in 2011 as a way of combatting the stigma surrounding mental health and to bring awareness to mental health issues. It’s generally held at the end of January and since it’s inception it has raised over $100 million.

This year, Bell Let’s Talk Day is on January 30th and as we lead up to the day I wanted to share a number of stories this week about some of the different ways mental health is being taught and dealt with around Calgary.

I’ve had the chance to interview Claire, a teacher that has been recognized as one of the leading 150 people in Canada on mental health. She’ll share with us how children deal with mental struggles and how she helps to strengthen their mental health in her classroom. She’ll also offer her insights on what parent’s could do at home to help. I’ve also had the chance to talk to Matt, founder of Man Enough YYC an organization that focuses on experiencing , exploring, challenging and changing the perception on what it mean’s to be “manly” and “man enough.” He’ll talk about Man Enough YYC as well as his blog DadBud and his experience with mental health issues after becoming a dad. Something I think all parent’s can relate to.

Look for their stories in the next couple days.

My mental health journey

As I mentioned in Like Father, Like Son we tragically lost my dad over 13 years ago. This sudden event brought a multitude of feelings and mental health issues for myself that continue to this day.

Personally, I have never had a stigma against people that seek to get mental health help. In my opinion, no one can be an expert on everything so if you need help with something you get it. Don’t know how to change a toilet? Call a plumber. Don’t know how to fix your car engine? Call a mechanic. Don’t know how to get in shape? Call a trainer. Don’t know how to not feel sad anymore? Call a mental health professional.

My mental health journey took me down a number of wrong paths – including self coping (drinking too much), anti-depressant medication – until I found the right ones for me like medical marijuana, meditation, mindfulness, and therapy.

Ultimately what worked for me may not work for everyone, but I think what’s important to note is that if you need help there are a lot of different paths you can take. If that feels overwhelming, the best thing you can do is just start. Talk to someone that you think can help.

Being a parent can be overwhelming and at times can cause you to lose yourself if you’re not careful. It’s important as parent’s that we look after ourselves so that we can be our best version for our kids. I’m happy to listen or to tell you more of my own story if you think it will help you. You can contact me here or via DM on any of my social platforms.

Bell Let’s Talk Day

This year Bell Let’s Talk Day is focusing on ending the stigma around mental health with five simple steps.

And as always every text message and phone call made on the Bell network will see Bell donate 5 cents to mental health initiatives. Additionally, every tweet using the hashtag #BellLetsTalk will donate 5 cents and every video view on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat will also donate 5 cents. For more information you can check out the Bell Let’s Talk Day website.