Last week was Mental Health Week, and the focus will continue with May being Mental Health Awareness Month.
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People from across Canada were told to #GetReal by the Canadian Mental Health Association. Kim Simoneau, the former mental health program coordinator for Sask Abilities Partners of Mental Health and Well-Being, explains what they mean.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 talking about promoting everybody to recognize their emotions and the feelings that they experience. They want people to open up and have open and honest conversations about how they are feeling with others. They are trying to enforce not to bottle up everything inside and trying to hide our feelings but instead talk openly about it so we can destress, de-escalate, and decompress,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen we talk about our feelings and our emotions, we feel a lot better, and we feel like weights are being lifted, and it really is a contributing factor to positive mental health.鈥�
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Simoneau said that though she feels it has always been important to talk about mental health, how the pandemic has affected everyone is more important than ever.
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鈥淩ight now is such a time of uncertainty and constant change. We never really know what is happening around the corner, so it can create a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress, a lot of frustration for many people,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o to be able to open up and talk about your feeling and accept them as they are, then it really is helpful for us to be able to cope with our emotions and how we are feeling.鈥�
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She said that she feels the stigma of talking about mental health is fading away over the past number of years.
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鈥淚 think everybody is doing a really good job of normalizing mental health, especially in this new generation. I think everybody is becoming more open to talk about it and talk about how they are feeling, and talk about the concerns or issues that they are having, which is really promoting that end of stigma against mental health,鈥� Simoneau said. 鈥淚 think the more people promote and support and advocate for their own mental health, the more that stigma is going to reduce, and I think we are constantly in the right direction.鈥�
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For people looking for supports in Yorkton, Simoneau said people have plenty of options.
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鈥淲e do have the Saskatchewan Health Authority Mental Health and Addictions services that they can call, they can call Partners at Mental Health and Well-Being, they provide a range of services and programs that are for individuals living with mental health barriers, as well as personal and professional development that can teach and train some coping strategies that will help address that. They can also call the SIGN walk-in counselling service, and they can always access 811.鈥�
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Saskatchewan Health Authority Mental Health and Addictions - 1.306.786.0558
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SaskAbillities Partners at Mental Health and Well-Being - 1.833.444.4126
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SIGN Walk-In Counselling Service - 1.306.782.1440 or visit www.counsellingconnectsask.ca to book an appointment
