Over the past few years, North Americans have been having more and more real conversations about mental health. I’ve been lucky enough to work and host a few events for youth working on mental health programs in schools, programs that definitely did not exist when I was a kid, and I’m always so blown away by how serious and important this topic is for them.
For years, we’ve been taught that mental health is for crazy people or serial killers, which makes us feel shameful for perhaps feeling depressed or anxiety. “Well, I’m not that crazy.” I think people probably say to themselves.
But the more we talk about it, the more we normalize it, which is a really good thing.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever been depressed, I’ve certainly felt like it. I’ve definitely suffered from anxiety and have a good panic attack a few times a year. Life is messy, complicated, weird, strange and hard. So yeah, I get overwhelmed, we all do.
The most important thing we can all do is take care of ourselves, which is interestingly enough the person we take care of last. But if you aren’t feeling your best, what’s the chances you can help and care for those around you.
To help encourage individuals to take a temperature check on their mental health and seek help if needed, for the last ten years Calgary Counselling Centre has been spearheading National Depression Screening Day (NDSD), an initiative to help defy depression in our community.
As part of NDSD, the Calgary Counseling Centre will be offering a free, anonymous and online depression screening test, accessible to anyone, from October 2nd – 8th, 2017 at test4depression.com
