Bell Let’s Talk Day is about breaking the silence around mental illness and supporting mental health across Canada. The theme for 2022: supporting ourselves and each other.

For people leaders, business owners and entrepreneurs, maintaining positive mental health is complex: leaders often struggle to prioritize their own mental health while watching for warning signs among employees, family and friends. This has become even more challenging through the pandemic, with, social isolation, threats to business vitality and uncertainty about the future creating additional stresses that can strain physical and mental wellbeing.

WHY PRIORITIZE MENTAL HEALTH?

Mental health challenges are no longer the experience of an acquaintance or distant colleague. Feelings of anxiety and depression are likely to impact you, or someone you’re close to.

• Statistics Canada’s Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health indicates one in four Canadian adults screened positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. Among those, 94 per cent said the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health.  
• Poor mental health can also contribute to reduced productivity, higher turnover and lower work quality.  Every week, 500,000 Canadians are unable to work due to mental health issues, and costs our economy $6.3 billion per year in lost productivity. 
• The annual economic impact in Canada is estimated at $50 billion per year in direct costs like health care, social services and income support.  That’s $1,400 for every Canadian. 
• Mental health issues account for 30 to 40 per cent of short-term disability and 30 per cent of long-term disability claims in Canada, with claims climbing every year. 

Now is the time to address the mental health crisis and Bell Let’s Talk day reminds us of the importance of supporting ourselves and others through these challenging times.

Fortunately, there are many resources for businesses and individuals to keep the conversation going and ensure mental health remains a priority year-round.

TOOLS & RESOURCES

Listen-in on our conversation with CEO of the Calgary Counselling Centre, Dr. Robbie Babins-Wagner as we take a deeper dive into how business owners, entrepreneurs and people leaders can think about mental health as a business priority. Watch the full conversation here.

For businesses

Mindfulicity, powered by YW Calgary, brings a series of bite-sized skill-building modules online to help employees better manage stress and conflict.

Adaptive YYC offered in partnership with United Way of Calgary and headversity offers personalized resilience training to help the workforces of small businesses and non-profits address stress and build emotional well-being.

headversity also offers individual and team training that focuses on building resilience skills through daily practice tools, micro lessons and self-directed reading materials.

Bell Let’s Talk Toolkit includes free guides to help kickstart conversations on mental health and workplace resources such as the national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace.

CMHA articles offer content at no cost on an array of conversation-worthy topics ranging from emotional regulation to a survival guide to social distancing. The articles are a great starting point to strike up a conversation on mental health with your team.

Chambers Insurance plan offers Chamber members group insurance plans for organizations with one to 300 employees. Contact our membership team and find out how you can support your employee’s physical and mental health without breaking the bank.

For individuals

Calgary Counselling Centre has a free depression screening test for individuals to check-in with their emotional well-being.

If you are in crisis right now, the Distress Centre offers a crisis phone line and confidential text and chat options 24/7 along with free crisis counselling. Call 403-266 HELP (4357) or visit their website to connect online.

CMHA Calgary delivers free training through its School of Peer Support and a full suite of free classes through its Recovery College, with education on topics like sleep, personal boundaries, body image, nutrition, self-care and more.

Calgary Public Library’s Wellness Desk brings free access to mental health and addictions support from a mental health professional through the Wellness Desk at Crowfoot and Central libraries. Services can also be accessed by calling 403-299-9699 or texting 587-315-5000.

The Gloom Monster brings an interactive mental health experience to Calgarians. The installation, located in the Create Space at Central Library, has participants write down their gloom and feed it to the Gloom Monster as an act of catharsis and community resilience building. The monster will grow over the coming month as it gobbles up Calgary’s gloom.

Calgary Counselling Centre, Calgary Institute of Counselling and Virtuous Circle Counselling are examples of Calgary-based companies with a range of counselling services for youth, families and couples with options for online, by phone or in-person.

Pocketwell is a digital app that connects to Wellness Together Canada, which offers mental health and substance abuse support including learning resources, skill-building courses, peer and counsellor support and wellness assessment check-ins.

THE SCIENCE OF SELF-CARE

An effective self-care routine has many physical and psychological benefits, according to the World Health Organization. It’s also a way you can set yourself up for success in supporting, leading and mentoring others. While self-care looks different for everyone, here are some key elements to consider:

Get moving

Physical activity has been proven to reduce symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression. Whether it’s getting your sweat on with a class at YYC Cycle or building new physical skills with one of WinSport’s many adult lessons, moving your body, even for just 30 minutes a day, has many benefits to mental and physical health: sharper memory and thinking, higher self-esteem and better sleep to name a few.

Connect

Have you ever noticed how a great conversation boosts your energy? Yet, physical distancing, gathering restrictions and other public health measures have made it difficult – and often awkward – to authentically connect. Fortunately, solutions don’t have to be complicated: meeting up with a friend at a local restaurant or grabbing a Cadence Coffee to-go and walking with a friend might just be the mood-boosting social connection you need.

Give back

‘The helper’s high’ physically manifests as lower blood pressure, lower stress levels and less incidence of depression. With the second highest volunteer rate in Canada, giving to others is something we, as Calgarians, are great at. Propellus (formerly Volunteer Calgary) has a Volunteer Connector to help engage with local opportunities to give back based on your skills and interests. With thousands of non-profits in Calgary working to address every issue imaginable – from hunger and education to animal welfare and nature conservation, achieving the helper’s high has never been easier.

Slow down

The pace of running a business can be dizzying. But physically slowing down has been shown to reduce stress and blood pressure, enhance decision making and improve other cognitive functions. For busy business leaders, slowing down is usually a non-starter. Consider carving out time for slow down self-care by booking a spa treatment, finding a new favourite read at your local book store, or finding that new favourite self-care product like a Hippo Hug weighted blanket or aromatherapy blend from Neal’s Yard Remedies.

Personalize your self-care

Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical and mental health. These tips offer additional insights to help you establish a self-care routine that’s right for you.

MENTAL HEALTH IN PRACTICE

While your latest new year’s resolution may fade by February, initiatives like Bell Let’s Talk Day and Mental Health Week aim to catalyze conversations to help ourselves and each other through the tough moments, build empathy and foster greater understanding of mental illness year-round.

With the benefits far outweighing the potential costs, 2022 can be the year when mental health is more than a priority of the moment – it becomes an investment in our people, ourselves and our businesses.