COCHRANE— Cochrane's Social Recovery Task Force remains focussed on supporting the mental health of Cochranites and is launching a series of initiatives designed to foster well-being in the community.
Councillor Susan Flowers said everyone has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Social Recovery Task Force has been exploring ways to help people keep or regain their mental health. It has been tricky finding ways to support people as face-to-face interactions are not possible under the current public health restrictions.
“All of us, we’re in it together, each one of us has to watch out for mental health because this a stress we have never experienced before,” Flowers said. “We’re resilient. We just have to look at our special qualities and make sure we use them and stay positive.”
Flowers encourages Cochranites to reach out and help others, as the activity makes people feel better and is rewarding. It can start with friends, family members or work colleagues but can grow and actions can take place to help the whole community.
“There are so many little things we can do day-to-day just to perk people up,” Flowers said.
The Task Force has launched several activities to promote mental health in the community.
Flowers said she was especially excited about the talk hosted by renowned leadership speaker David Irvine and the positive message he has to share with the community.
Irvine hosted the online event “Bouncing Forward into Well-Being.” The video went live Monday (May 3) and was posted on the Social Recovery Task Force page for those who were unable to watch.
The conversation foccused on the importance of building connections between people and fostering resiliency and optimism in the community.
To compliment Irvine's presentation the Task Force has also been handing out stress balls in the community to encourage a feeling of “bouncing forward into well-being.”
Flowers said her hope is the stress balls will bring a smile to people’s faces.
“Keep smiling and help your neighbours, help your friends and do something little each day to make the world a better place,” Flowers said. “We’re doing that for the whole month just to keep people talking."
She praised the work of Cochrane Family and Community Support Services and the organization's dedication to helping the communities' mental health during the pandemic.
There was an impetus to support mental health in the community after the completion of the most recent Social Recovery Task Force survey results, said Cochrane Family and Community Support Services manager Kim Krawec.
“We noticed that in all areas people’s mental health, the results were shifting from the first survey [completed in June]— By December we’d seen a pretty big decrease in how people were feeling, their level of optimism, their feeling of being connected to the community,” Krawec said.
Mental Health Week, running from May 3 to 9, serves as a chance to tackle and promote mental health in the community.
Krawec said the goal is to see the event serve as an opportunity to open up conversations about mental health while helping people better understand the resources, supports and strategies that are available to promote positive mental health.
One of the silver linings of the pandemic is mental health has become an important topic of conversations as people parse the impacts isolation, fear and anxiety had had over the past year.
“We’ve made strides— It’s opened up the conversation, but more work still needs to be done around the stigma,” Krawec said. “Be gentle with yourself, these are tough times— Self-compassion is a big piece of positive mental health”
A statistic released by The Canadian Mental Health Association indicates one in five people struggle with mental illness, but five out of five people struggle with maintaining positive mental health. The bright side of the rising number of those struggling to maintain positive mental health are people are becoming more comfortable talking about their experiences.
“I think as long as we can stay positive and we’re looking for the good things, that increases our chances of finding the good things,” Krawec said.
Mental Health is something that can be protected and maintained using strategies and energy.
“We don’t think of our mental health because it isn’t visible all of the time,” Krawec said. “There’s lots of self-care and a focus on what you can do in these times to make sure you’re staying strong, health, resilient and positive.”
The Task Force is also creating a Facebook page focussed on Mental Health. They have partnered with a variety of different partner organizations to co-host and create a feed that tackles tips for promoting mental health.
“We’re hoping that it will be a bit of a forum to start the conversation and get people talking and reaching out,” Krawec said. “We’re trying to engage the community in a conversation about mental health."
Key mental health resources
Community and Social Service 211
AHS Mental Health support 1-844-943-1500
Distress Centre (24 hour crisis line) 403-266-HELP
Connecteen 403-264-8336
Connecteen Text Line 587-333-2724
Woods Homes 1-800-563-6106
Kids Help Phone text support, text CONNECT to 686868
AHS Addiction and Mental Health Help Line 1-866-332-2322
Child Abuse Reports 403-297-2995
Family Violence Info Line 310-1818
Sexual Assault Line 1-977-237-5888
