By Julia Smith, General Member
Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event organized by the Canadian Mental Health Association to increase openness and awareness about mental health challenges, and has been celebrated since 1951. This year, the event will take place from May 1st to 7th. After three years of pandemic-related restrictions, lockdowns, vaccines, illness, and loss, promoting mental health has never been more important.
Mental health is more than just feeling happy all the time, and like the world is on your side. It includes a person's thoughts, feelings, and experiences that make up their overall mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Several factors can impact mental health, such as physical health, stress at work or school, availability of social support, past trauma, financial insecurity, and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Certain mental health challenges are clinical diagnoses, such as depression, anxiety, or eating disorders. It isn’t a person's fault if they develop a mental illness and they should seek appropriate help to manage and cope with the illness. People can live with a mental illness and still be mentally healthy; just those who live happy, healthy lives with a physical diagnosis.
Several tools can help manage mental health. Being aware of anxiety and accepting it, self-care, engaging in enjoyable activities, practicing mindfulness, talking to a counselor/therapist, and managing media consumption can positively impact mental health. This can potentially aid in the likelihood of developing any predisposed mental health issues. Be real about how you feel and try not to avoid, ignore or suppress anxious thoughts. Instead, be aware of your anxiety and accept that you're feeling anxious in different situations.
Limiting social media time is also a key asset in maintaining/achieving mental wellness. Studies have shown that excessive media use can sometimes lead to attention problems, difficulties in school, sleep and eating disorders. A good rule of thumb is one to two hours per day. Youth should also try and choose high-quality content that is age-appropriate. Asking parents for supervision can also help prevent or address cyberbullying. Another important thing to do is taking breaks; our brains tend to work better after being allowed to shut down, rest and reset. Feeling constantly connected is not good. Having some designated “no social media” times during your day and changing your settings to put limits on your apps is a helpful strategy to help create boundaries. By implementing these strategies they will help to positively affect your mental health. Try to seek information from reliable news sources.; don't go down rabbit holes and limit your social media.
This year's Mental Health Awareness Week will spotlight community-based mental health care champions, programs, and communities showcasing the importance of securing universal mental health care. The Canadian Mental Health Association encourages people to share their stories by using hashtags #MyStory and #MentalHealthWeek .Promoting mental health and removing the stigmas surrounding mental health challenges are crucial. It is important to reach out for support when needed and to remember that mental illness is not about feeling good all the time, but knowing how to cope and how to reach out for help when needed. Let us all work together to promote mental health and well-being.
Useful resources;
CMHA main website- https://cmha.ca/
Suicide prevention- https://talksuicide.ca/
CMHA in your area- https://cmha.ca/find-help/find-cmha-in-your-area/
Kids Help Phone- https://kidshelpphone.ca/get-info/kids-help-phones-wheel-of-well-being/