-
Rebuilding My Routine: A Journey to Mental Well-Being in a New City
In the months leading up to my arrival in Toronto, I had been experiencing some trouble with my mental health. There was too much uncertainty, and I was questioning every single one of my choices.
-
Self-Care Tips for Coping with Anxiety During Uncertain Times
The arrival of the pandemic came as a surprise. The world changed overnight. People were suddenly becoming fatally ill due to a virus that no one had ever heard of. One day we’re living our normal daily lives, and the next, we’re locked away at home. It’s hard enough going through isolation, but it’s even harder when you’re dealing with mental health issues. The Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll conducted a study in the middle of June, that showed in the US alone, 53% of adults reported their mental health has suffered due to stress toward the coronavirus. Now imagine the number when we think about the whole world. Dealing…
-
Things to Do If Your Child Tells You They Have Anxiety
So, your child has opened up to you about feelings of anxiousness and you’re wondering where to go from here. You want to be understanding and compassionate to your child, but you don’t want to reinforce their fears and continue the anxious cycle. While every child is different and the specific cause of their anxiety might alter the way it is dealt with, this list is a good starting point for parents that have little to no experience with anxiety in children. Thank Them for Trusting You While parents and children should constantly practice being both grateful and apologetic to each other when necessary, thanking your child is never more…
-
Bell Let’s Talk is Cheap
Bell Let’s Talk is an annual campaign wherein the telecommunications giant, Bell Canada, donates five cents for every text, wireless and long-distance call by customers, and any social media post that includes #BellLetsTalk. On surface level, the campaign is a success–having donated over $100 million to “mental health programs” in Canada over the last nine years. The campaign has also broadened its reach since it first began in 2011; going on to reserve funding specifically for child and youth programming, military family services, and Indigenous mental health initiatives nationally. However, as the campaign has gained esteem, impulsively becoming the pinnacle of a mental health movement in Canada, it has also…
-
Reading through Recovery
**Content Warning: mentions of suicide attempt, abuse, self-harm, borderline personality disorder, and PTSD** The first time I learned how to love, I quickly tied its meaning to manipulation and abuse. From an early age, already too familiar with the world’s indifference to suffering, I externalized the pain that was physically too much for my mind. My behaviour was outed by the very person who drove me to the edge, one pill away from fading to black. And as I sat in a white room, awaiting the psychiatrist who would misdiagnose me, I felt undeniably lost. I went on to receive treatment for months to come. But even when they got…
-
Let’s talk about trauma: Building strength and resilience through safe spaces
Trauma is an experience that differs from individual to individual, affecting lives in diverse ways. While some may be more open to discussing it, others may not wish to bring it up at all, as it can stem from the most upsetting, scarring, or challenging moments in our lives. Around one year ago, both the Danforth neighbourhood and the city of Toronto as a whole experienced trauma as a community—and, for many of us, the scars of these events remain. So, how can we practice the best self-care when we face trauma? How can we offer support to loved ones going through this trying experience? And what can we do,…
-
The Bloor Street Viaduct: The Value of Mental Health Advocacy on our Engineering of Urban Spaces
“Then the new men arrive, the ‘electricals,’ laying grids of wire across the five arches, carrying the exotic three-bowl lights, and on October 18, 1918 it is completed. Lounging in mid-air. The bridge. The bridge. Christened ‘Prince Edward.’ The Bloor Street Viaduct.” In the Skin of a Lion, p.27 In his 1987 novel In the Skin of a Lion, Michael Ondaatje affectionately recalls the building of East Toronto—and the enchantment that surrounded it. At the forefront of this tale is the Bloor Street Viaduct, an architectural wonder of a bridge extending to the corner of Danforth and Broadview. Since its completion in 1918, the bridge over the Don Valley has…
-
10 Fun Things to Do in Toronto When You’re Stressed Out
Sometimes weekends at home are not enough when you need to unwind. It’s hard to stop thinking about all the deadlines, meetings, and upcoming projects when you’re holed up in your room, binging on entertainment.
-
Bell Let’s Talk
Bell Let’s Talk is admittedly the most well-known campaign to assist with mental health awareness. In the spirit of encouraging conversation, I sat down with Ashley Posluns and Ethan Lipson to discuss the details you may not already know about. What do you know about Bell Let’s Talk? Ashley: This campaign is now in its sixth year of supporting mental health initiatives in Canada. On a specified day in January, any text message sent and local or long distance phone call made by Bell cellular service customers’ results in 5 cents being donated to many large and small mental health organizations. Non-Bell customers can still participate by tweeting with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk or…
-
The Work Initiative Network Focus on Mental Health
Serving over 37 thousand people across East Toronto, Woodgreen Community Services has a variety of programs, such as child care assistance, immigration services, and employment resources. The programs fall into a few different sections: Children and Youth, Health and Wellness, Homeward Bound, Seniors, Employment, Housing, and Immigrant Settlement. The Work Initiative Network (WIN) falls into the Health and Wellness section. This program helps people who have dealt with long-term mental health challenges return to the workforce by focusing on employment training. It works on a referral basis, as it is a partnership program with the Michael Garron Hospital, CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health), Alternatives, Woodgreen, and Reconnect. WIN works closely…
