Over 400,000 Canadians deliberately hurt themselves every year. And only about 50% of all Canadians enduring mental illness actually admit that they suffer. In all likeliness, you are surrounded by people suffering from mental illness in your everyday lives, at home, at school, at work, and you probably don’t even know it.
This Sunday, September 30th – October 6th, is Mental Health Awareness week in Canada. This week’s aim is to open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. But as stated by the Canadian Mental Health Association, “It’s more than being happy all the time. It’s about feeling good about who you are, having balance in your life, and managing life’s highs and lows. Everyone deserves to feel well, whatever their mental health experience. And we all need a support system to lean on.”
In honour of all the Canadian youth and adults who suffer silently, sometimes heroically, but often with the hard crushing stigma and shame of mental illness in our society, I have compiled a list of some of the greatest works I have come across that bring light to this important issue.
- Slam Poem: I Will Not Write Your Obituary by Nora Cooper- written and presented at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational in 2015
It reflects the struggles of people who experience this illness every day as well as the struggles of their loved ones, who suffer along with them, although in different ways.
2. Facebook Post: Re: The Death of Kate Spade by Claudia Herera
After the tragic news, that 55-year-old designer, Kate Spade was found dead after reported suicide last June, the Internet and social media broke out with people offering their mourning. One of these messages was a Facebook post that went viral written by Claudia Herrera who posted a photo of her Kate Spade bag along with a profound message about mental health. Click here to see what she wrote.
3. This Video created by Newfoundland and Labrador Musician, Amelia Curran along with filmmaker Roger Maunder and recording engineer Don Ellis
In this video, Curran asks a very crucial question – in a time when mental health is one of the biggest challenges facing our society, why aren’t we doing more about it? Starring many celebrities, Curran says when she first started, this video was meant to tell her own story, but that things just kept getting bigger.
4. The Huffington Post: Why We Don’t Have Walk-in Clinics for People with Mental Illness by Arthur Gallant
This thought-provoking article addresses the topic of how essential it is to have immediate free access to psychiatric care. As Gallant puts it, “The health care system keeps telling us to keep our physical health in check… Isn’t it about time, we do the same for mental health?” Click here to read the full article.
5. Youth Central: Speak Your Mind Project
Finally, take a few moments to check our Youth Central’s Speak Your Mind Photography Project with young volunteers in your community trying to normalize and get the conversation around mental health started.
Remember, you are not alone.
