World Mental Health Day – October 10th, 2024
Statistics Canada reports as of 2022 that over 5 million Canadians (18% of our population) who are aged 15 or older met the criteria for a mood, substance use or anxiety disorder in the previous 12 months.
If you fit this criterion, you are NOT alone. There are millions of us.
Mental Health can often feel like a battle we are fighting alone. Anxiety and depression can often lead to feeling like the best course of action is to isolate until you feel better. But mental illness doesn’t just go away. It actually can get worse with isolation. We, as human beings, need community. We need a support system. While suffering with a mental health crisis it can be easy to convince yourself that your friends and family don’t need any extra stressors and you therefore shouldn’t reach out for help. However, a new study shows that helping others actually increases the helper’s mental wellbeing as much as the person being reached out to (source: Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics). One significant finding was that providing emotional support to others significantly decreased the harmful health effects of certain kinds of stress among older people.
This World Mental Health Day – reach out to someone you haven’t heard from in awhile. Check in on a friend or family members. Talk to a friend and allow them the opportunity to share the burden you may be carrying.
If the above isn’t possible for you, there is also EFAP. The Employee Family Assistance Program through the City of Calgary.
• 1-877-700-1424 (24 hours, confidential)
• Visit one.telushealth.com
Your benefits as a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583 and City employee, allow you to use this service which includes counselling and more.
We are all fighting a battle. Whether it’s depression, anxiety, stress, family/health worry or something else. What’s important to remember is that it takes very little to be there for one another. Start with a phone call or text. Keep reaching out to the people in your circle and remember that you are not alone.
