Bell Let’s Talk Day on Jan. 31 raised nearly $7 million for mental health initiatives across the country.
“From midnight in St. John’s to midnight in Victoria on January 31, people in Canada and around the world sent 138,383,995 total messages of support – up over 5% over Bell Let’s Talk Day 2017,” said the Bell Let’s Talk press release.
Opening up this dialogue is very important says James Brayshaw who offers mental health first aid to companies and individuals across the province through Saskatchewan Mental Health Training and Support Teams based out of Saskatoon.
Bell Let’s Talk opens the conversation for so many, he says.
“When a conversation is open and questions can be asked then we can start looking for answers together. That benefit is quite clear.”
Bell Let’s Talk has created this empathic look at mental health since we can talk about underlying problems, says Brayshaw. Their goal is to take on mental health stigma head on.
“By all means, conversation and dialogue and asking very meaningful questions about friends, family, and colleagues’ mental health is starting to come as a result of Bell Let’s Talk. And that a side from the money they’ve raised,” says Brayshaw.
Research into the causes of mental health issues is a wonderful trickle down effect from the Bell Let’s Talk fundraising efforts, says Brayshaw.
“When money goes into research through the Bell Let’s Talk programs, it benefits all of us because we gain a greater understanding of how mental health issues develop.”
Niamh Menz with the Humboldt and District Community Services sees the need for mental health understanding as she works with people with disabilities on getting them into the workforce.
Mental health issues are something that Menz wants everyone to talk about in both personal and professional capacities.
Working with clients, Menz says they are always encouraged to disclosure their mental health issues with employers since that will create a better dialogue between them and the senior staff.
“It would be nice to see that employers recognize that there are 1 in 4 individuals who have a mental health interruption or issue at sometime in their lives.”
Checking in with employees on how their day is going and seeing how they can help their employees be more productive can help to relieve that pressure and stress of having to hide their feelings throughout the day, says Menz.
“When you help them release that guilt or that burden around them having a bad day or a time when they’re struggling, when you say, ‘I understand, I’m going to check in with you at the end of the day,’ they aren’t struggling all day to hold it all inside,” says Menz.
Even working with them on how they want to be more productive and manage their mental health is important, says Menz, with someone having a day where they just want to do desk work.
People want to have productive days and that can be done even if they are having a challenge day with their mental health, she says.
For many with mental health challenges, Brayshaw says that is leading to other things because of the stigma that is still surrounding mental health, says Brayshaw.
In Saskatchewan, we have one of the highest rates of substance abuse in Canada and there is a much deeper underlying issue with that, he says.
“In most cases, anytime a region has a high use of substance use disorder, that should be a strong indicator that there’s probably some underlying mental health conditions driving it,” says Brayshaw.
The comorbidity of substance abuse being used to “treat” underlying mental health issues is becoming quite high, says Brayshaw.
“The substance abuse disorder is something that gets added in as we try to cope with our mental health conditions or disorders. The symptoms become something that aren’t manageable without some sort of extra support.”
Nobody should be using substances for support for their mental health but stigma toward mental health are keeping people from seeking treatment, including healthy interactions that promote positive thoughts and treatments, he says.
He and his team work with people to give them the tools they need to address mental health issues when they see it, says Brayshaw and comorbidity just starting to be understood.
“About 70 per cent of substance abuse disorders, there is a secondary mental health disorder that’s underlying it,” he says, since substance abuse is “teaching” the brain that alcohol or drugs are the method for feeling better during times of mental health crises.
“If we look at so many of the cases, it’s related to what the neurochemistry is doing,” says Brayshaw.
