OTTAWA, ON, May 5, 2021 /CNW/ - The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is a proud supporter of Mental Health Week. This year, as we face a third, taxing wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are urging people across the country to take stock of their mental health, name their feelings, and seek the support they need.
Many studies, including research we conducted with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, tell the story of declining mental wellness since the onset of the pandemic.
During the last year, our COVID-19 resource hub has quickly grown to house a range of useful, timely, and relevant information that people can count on. In concert with other tools, like Wellness Together Canada, which offers free self-assessments and federally funded mental health resources, and the text and phone support available through Kids Help Phone, there are many avenues that will lead people toward help.
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How are you?
We all get asked this question, but how many of us respond truthfully? I’m fine is a typical response, but in many instances we aren’t fine and we rarely acknowledge that or ask for help.
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Stigma can lead to feelings of shame about mental-health struggles, preventing people from opening up to those closest to them and asking for help. But bottling up trauma or difficult emotions can make them grow and come out in ways that disrupt our lives like snapping at loved ones, losing sleep and struggling at work, or turning to more risky forms of coping such as substance use.
Proceeds will support the 2,000 families who stay at Ronald McDonald House B.C. and in the dedicated family room at Surrey Memorial Hospital each year. In operation since 1983, Ronald McDonald House B.C. is a 73-bedroom house on the grounds of B.C. Children’s Hospital. It allows family members to be close to their children as they receive medical care. For more information, go to give.rmhbc.ca/stepupforfamilies. Youth orchestras play together online Watch as 350 musicians with the Apollo Initiative, a collection of youth orchestras from across B.C., perform a free virtual concert to celebrate Youth Mental Health Day on Friday.