GUELPH POLITICAST #418 – Mental Health Week

Earlier this year, Statistics Canada reported that there has been a five per cent increase in positive responses in the proportions of adults who reported excellent or very good mental health, a strong sense of belonging to their local community, and a high level of life satisfaction between 2021 and 2023. And yet, considering that still less than three out of five adults report excellent or very good mental health, we still have a long way to go.

If you’re listening to this on Wednesday, then we’re halfway through Mental Health Week, which is an annual commemoration by the CMHA to promote better overall mental mental health in communities across Canada, and boy does that need some promotion. The theme of this year’s Mental Health Week, and yes there is a theme, is “Be Kind.” Meaning that we're focusing on "the healing power of compassion" and appreciating that "kindness is equally intrinsic to our humanity."

It’s hard to think of a better time to send out a message about kindness and compassion. Have you been on the internet lately? To say that there’s a lot of anger and hate and vitriol seems like an understatement. Then we’re seeing online hate and disgruntlement affect us here in the real world as more politicians are seeing anger and division as powerful campaign tools, and foreign governments see dividing a people against each other as a way of achieving their own transnational goals. 

It really feels like we need to call a time out and ask each other sincerely, "Are you okay?" which is what Helen Fishburn is here to do this week on the podcast. She's the CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington and she's going to discuss the overall mental health condition of the Guelph community right now, what it means to have “mental health literacy”, what the various levels of government could be doing to lend a hand, and how you can work to improve your own mental health.

So let's talk about getting better, mentally speaking, on this week’s Guelph Politicast!

You can see all the programs and events that the CMHA has planned for Mental Health Week at their website. If you do find yourself in immediate crisis you can call the Here 24/7 helpline 1-844-HERE247 or 1-844-437-3247 for one-stop access to 11 different local agencies that work in mental health and addictions, and you can also call the Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8. If you feel like you need help, do reach out and ask for it. 

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