Remember it's the last day of Mental Health Week, but there's still plenty of time to take action!

This year, mental health week's focus is on the long wait times Canadians experience when seeking publicly funded psychotherapy, counselling, and support form community-based mental health services and programs. 

Early diagnosis and treatment are critical for individuals with mental illness and are crucial to improving overall prognosis. So consider getting involved by writing your MP to push for increased funding for mental healthcare, as well as donating money to local initiatives, or simply speaking up about mental health and the great demand for increased services and supports.
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#SickofWaiting #Getloud

In November, brother and sister duo Kelvin and Tunchai Redvers began an online campaign designed to share messages of hope and resiliency to Indigenous youth across Canada. Having experienced and been witness to hopelessness, suicide, addiction, bullying, abuse, and addiction themselves in their home community in the Northwest Territories, the pair felt it was important to remind youth that they are not alone, that their lives matter, and that they are surrounded by love, hope, and support in their communities and beyond.

Their project, We Matter, allows individuals from across the country to share video messages, artwork, and poems to Indigenous youth, which offer words of encouragement and positivity, stories of lived experience, and messages of resiliency and strength. More than that, the project aims to build stronger communities and help youth break silence, find help, and speak out about the hardships they face. 

"At 15, Redvers almost became a statistic herself, ingesting a toxic amount of pills before phoning her mom.

“Me taking the pills was hitting rock bottom and was my cry for help,” says Tunchai. “I began to learn the importance of breaking the silence and reaching out for help.”

Now 22, Redvers is hoping a national non-profit she founded with her brother, Kelvin Redvers, will help other aboriginal youth do the same.

The pair launched We Matter last month, a website with video messages of hope from First Nation youth and leaders, as well as heartbreaking stories from community members who tried to take their own life, or thought about it."

Check out the We Matter campaign and help forward these messages to those in need by visiting and sharing the sites below:
https://wemattercampaign.org
​https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/12/03/two-northern-siblings-who-made-hope-go-viral.html

Since being hospitalized on a 5150 hold, where individuals are detained in hospital for up to 72 hours for further psychiatric assessment, Kanye West has been a trending topic on various social media pages as people around the world begin to weigh in on the topic.

A scroll through Twitter revealed comments such as: 
- "Kanye in hospital with temporary psychosis, name one genius that ain't crazy?"
- "Kanye West is said to be recovering well in hospital after a nine hour operation to remove his head from his arsehole."
- "Kanye west, Kid Cudi and Orlando Brown should drop a mixtape called Asylum."
- "Kanye West cancels tour amidst public temper tantrums and emotional instability. His bid for the White House 2020 is shaping up nicely."
- "Kanye west hospitalized, our thoughts go out to all the hospital staff at this difficult time."

It's remarkable that in those early days following the news breaking how few comments there were empathizing or sending messages of hope, strength, or recovery; rather, social media pages were filled more with comments minimizing, joking, or making diagnostic presumptions with little but a TMZ report or personal opinions to base it on. 
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In the article below, reporter Andre Picard is quick to remind us all of a few powerful messages regarding mental health that really should be what we take away from West and other celebrities' such hospitalizations. The first, that mental illness does not discriminate; it affects 1 in 5 individuals each year and sometimes this even includes celebrities; they are human and are no more immune to mental illness than we ourselves are. The second, that mental illness is no laughing or joking matter; it can significantly affect one's daily function, livelihood, and of course their family and relationships. By minimizing or making fun of West's recent hospitalization and mental stability we only serve to perpetuate stigma and make light of the pain and suffering that others who have once lived through or experienced similar difficulties have . Thirdly, be cautious of playing doctor or therapist and giving your own diagnostic impression. It is unfair to make a diagnosis given the limited information or relating it simply to West's recent comments regarding Donald Trump or his "creativity". Be mindful and simply consider how you would react to such messages should you or a loved one be faced with a similar situation. For anyone, being involuntary detained in hospital for psychiatric assessment can be a terrifying, confusing, and ultimately distressing time.

To read the full article, visit:
​www.theglobeandmail.com/life/celebrity-news/what-we-can-learn-from-kanye-wests-public-struggles/article32990775/

Don't forget that this week (October 2 - October 8 2016) is Mental Illness Awareness Week, a public education campaign run annually by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health.

"This year’s MIAW theme is Spreading Awareness, Reducing Stigma. As one in five Canadians live with mental health issues, the campaign encourages Canadians to share their personal stories about stigma and how it negatively affects them in their personal life, in the workplace, or in their community."

To find out more about this campaign, watch videos from Canadians impacted by mental illness share their stories, and get in on the online conversation you can use #MIAW2016 on Twitter or visit http://www.camimh.ca.

In honour of #WSPD and TWLOHA's theme "And I Kept Living' this year, suicide survivors were asked why they kept living. Their answers are beautifully honest, and serve as a real and raw expression of hope, love, and drive for life. 

“I kept living because I realized no matter how I saw myself, there were people who loved me and believed in me. I learned pain wasn’t all there was and that pain meant I was still alive. I still struggle today, but no matter what, I will continue to keep on living.”

“I kept living because a guy I loved couldn’t be in this world anymore. He died by suicide two weeks ago. I’m living for both of us now.”

“I keep living because I am not done breaking the stigma of mental illness by openly, unabashedly telling the story of my struggles with depression and anxiety. I keep living because I know I’m not alone in this fight and I want others to know they aren’t alone either.”

“I kept living because I was meant to. And so are you.”

For the full article, click here: https://themighty.com/2016/09/suicide-prevention-reasons-to-keep-living-ikeptliving/

Did you know that as part of #WSPD, you can get involved by wearing an orange/yellow ribbon which helps to raise awareness for suicide prevention, as well as, show support to those who are suicide survivors or have lost a loved one to suicide.

2016 marks the inaugural year of the universal suicide prevention awareness ribbon.  "Yellow and orange were shown to be the two most frequently used colours in suicide prevention awareness around the world. The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) also believes orange and yellow colours illicit feelings of hope, like the dawning of a sunrise on a new day." The IASP also uses these colours as it reflects the burning flame of a candle, reflecting hope and offering a light in the darkness.

As part of National Suicide Awareness Week, suicide survivors were asked what they wished others understood about their experiences with suicide and suicidal ideation. 

For those of us who have not contemplated suicide ourselves it can be incredibly difficult to understand the mindset of someone who has. Thus, the hope of this article is to shed light on individuals' experiences with #suicide to help eradicate judgment and stigma of suicide, and learn instead how we can help our loved ones who have been through or are going through these troubling times. 

“I don’t really want to die. I just want to kill the way I feel, shut up the incessant chatter in my brain, have a break from feeling like the worst most unworthy and unlovable creature on earth. It is not selfish nor cowardly. It is not to hurt you. It is pure unadulterated desperation.”

“Attempting suicide is not weakness. It can be a cry for help, which takes much strength to ask for when your mind does not want you to. It is a lack of understanding within yourself and from others. It is confusion when you constantly feel like a failure. It is a permanent solution to a temporary feeling that doesn’t feel temporary at all. It is so much more than a mere escape from suffering, and it is sometimes the only conclusion our brains with illnesses can make for ourselves when we don’t know what else to do.”

“I wish my friends and family could understand that it’s not their fault. It wasn’t that I didn’t know they loved me; it was because I was buried so deep. It was too dark for me to see or feel their love. It’s a totally different reality. I just wanted all my struggles and their feelings of helplessness to end. I didn’t want to leave them. I just didn’t have it in me to keep fighting my monsters.”

For the full article, click here: https://themighty.com/2016/09/what-its-like-to-try-to-kill-yourself/

Did you know that today, September 10th, is World Suicide Prevention Day?

Every year the International Association for Suicide Prevention holds #WSPD to raise awareness for suicide, which takes the life of an individual every 40 seconds around the world, including that of 4000 Canadians every year.

This year the theme is "Connect, communicate, care", three vital ingredients in addressing and preventing suicide in our communities.

To learn more about this year's WSPD and how you can get involved, check out the links below. You can also get involved by joining the conversation on Twitter by using #WSPD.
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https://www.iasp.info/wspd/index.php
http://suicideprevention.ca/wspd/