A lot of the time when I’m delivering mental health training, people tend to forget or overlook their mental health, because they think it doesn’t affect them.
Similar to physical health, it is very important to remember that we all have mental health. A lot of the time when I’m delivering mental health training, people tend to forget or overlook their mental health, because they think it doesn’t affect them. A distinction we need to remember is we all have mental health but not everyone has mental health problems.
Over these past few months, I believe it’s safe to say that our mental health has been affected by various, unexpected stressors that we’ve all faced caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today I want to write about the importance of checking in on yourself.
In our mental health training program The Working Mind, we teach participants about the mental health continuum. The continuum shows us that it’s normal for our mental health to change and gives us tips on how to work towards moving our mental health back to the healthy (green) column.
Let’s think about our mental health as a thermometer. When our “mental health temperature” is stable or 37 C, we’re seen as being in the “green” column. When we’re in the green, we’re able to deal with the stressors that life throws at us. Lately, we’ve been asked to deal with different challenges we may not have been prepared for, such as being an essential worker, physical distancing, homeschooling or financial difficulties. Facing all of this can lead us into having a low-grade fever or being in the “yellow”. When in the yellow, we may find we are more irritable, have less motivation or we may not be sleeping well. This is a normal reaction to an abnormal event, the pandemic being the event. We have not lived through a pandemic before, so it’s important to remember to be kind to yourself.
As our mental health declines, or our mental health temperatures rises, we may find ourselves moving into the “orange” column. This is where we may see an increase of symptoms that were present when we were in the yellow column. At this point, it is very important to start using our coping skills and self-care tips to try to move back towards the yellow and eventually the green categories. The longer we stay in the orange, the more at risk we are to move into the “red” column which may lead to a serious mental health problem or what we could consider a mental health temperature of 41 C. When in the red, it is recommended that you seek professional help in order to start working your way back along the continuum.
Tending to our mental health is just as important as caring for our physical health. Over the past few months, I know my mental health has fluctuated between green-yellow and even yellow-orange a time or two. The important thing to remember is that we all have the ability to get back to the green by practicing self-care, using our supports and coping skills, and most importantly, being kind to ourselves. We’re doing the best we can one day or even one hour at a time.
Talk soon,
Denise
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Louise Bradley in conversation with Minister of Health Patty Hajdu
On May 20, I sat down for a candid, wide-ranging virtual discussion with Health Minister Patty Hajdu. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has become a familiar face in living rooms across the country as she faithfully provides daily briefings to keep the people in Canada up to date on the tireless public health response mounted by the federal government.
It’s fitting, then, that our meeting began just as fire alarm testing in her building got underway. Apologetic and with wry wit, the minister admitted that working from home isn’t the idyll we’d all imagined.
As the siren wails periodically, I’m reminded that she has been answering the call of a national emergency without respite since January 15. I wanted to know what that experience has been like for her, not only as a politician, but also as a person.
I begin by asking her how she’s doing. Her frank response mirrors a reality many of us can relate to. “Honestly, it depends on the day. And I think it’s so important to normalize feelings of fear, frustration, anger, and anxiety. Those feeling aren’t exclusive to a pandemic either. We’re liable to experience them just about any time. But right now, of course, everything is heightened.”
Not only has Hajdu worked with vulnerable populations as the head of a shelter in Thunder Bay, she’s also walked the lonely road of single parenting and knows that half the battle of accessing care, when your own resources are about to run dry, is just getting there.
“I used to have to haul my kids out of school and disrupt my own work to get our family the counselling it needed,” she explained. “Virtual care hurdles so many of these barriers, and it also guards against people feeling their privacy might be compromised. As someone who has lived in a rural community, I know how hard it can be to get professional advice from someone you haven’t seen at the hockey rink or run into at the school.”
“We’re really striving to let people know this care is available,” said Hajdu. “When I hear about communities pooling their funding to raise money to access psychotherapies, I wish there was more we could do to alert people that we’ve got an entire toolbox at their disposal.”
But the minister is quick to point out additional resources aren’t a panacea. “I think the pandemic has revealed, broadly speaking, what those of us toiling in the annals of mental health have known for a very long time. If you don’t have the basic dignity of a house to live in, if you don’t have a job from which you derive self-worth, and if you aren’t connected to community, all the tools in the world aren’t going to fix your problems.”
An impassioned advocate for the most vulnerable, Hajdu became visibly distressed at the suggestion that counselling can be of service to those whose basic needs are not being met.
Content Warning: sexual abuse
“I’m going to go out on a limb here,” she said, clearly speaking as someone who has seen the gritty reality of homelessness. “It’s bordering on unethical to offer counselling to a woman being raped at a shelter she’s got no choice but to stay at. We need to get her out of that environment and get her safe. Then we can talk about dealing with her trauma.”
Hajdu’s authenticity is palpable, even through Zoom. And I’m not alone in feeling it. When I ask her what has given her hope during these difficult times, she doesn’t hesitate.
“You know, I have hard days. Days when I miss my spouse and my kids. Days when, like everyone else, I am just craving that human connection,” she said, explaining that the demands of her job have upended her routine, keeping her in the nation’s capital for weeks on end and preventing her from seeing her family in Thunder Bay. “But then I get an email from someone who tells me I’m doing a good job.” Here, her eyes shine, and I don’t think it’s from the screen’s glare, though I can’t be sure.
“When someone reaches out, despite whatever it is they may be dealing with, and offers me kind words of encouragement, I’m reminded that, while it might be harder to do right now, being kind is just the essence of what is going to get us through this. We might be a little tattered and torn, but it’s the connection, the sense of community we have as a country, that’s going to be our saving grace.”
Speaking of community, Hajdu reflects on the efforts of an organization in her hometown that successfully pivoted from its gardening program for at-risk youth to creating a lunch program for kids without access to school meals.
“They didn’t know if they were going to have funding for this. They just mobilized volunteers and stepped into the breach. It’s inspiring.”
One could argue that Hajdu herself has done much the same. “I was never prepared for this,” she admitted. “And we’re learning as we go. But I think we’re learning some really important things. We’re learning how to innovate faster. We’re learning how to work better together across jurisdictions and across party lines. And we’re learning that we’re all maybe a lot stronger than we thought we were.”
I end by asking the minster to describe her experience at the helm of what is arguably the most important and challenging portfolio in all of government . . . in three words.
She pauses. But, as ever, rises to the challenge. “Today, I would say intense, inspiring, and optimistic. Intense, I think is obvious. Inspiring because we’ve pulled together, and optimistic because I believe we are resilient enough to emerge from this not just different, but better.”
The fire alarm is still sounding when we finish our call, reminding me that the minister’s job is far from over.
If you are in distress, please contact your nearest distress centre or rape crisis centre. If it is an emergency, call 9-1-1 or go to your local emergency department.
Louise Bradley
As we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and begin to think about how to recover our operations and the economy, it is critical to think about how to build mental health into our emergency management and business continuity plans.
In this webinar we will cover:
- Potential impact of emergencies and disasters, (COVID-19 in particular) on the mental health of workers
- Worker mental health needs when dealing with emergencies and disasters, including infectious disease pandemics
- How to use the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace to build mental health into your organization’s emergency management and business continuity programs.
We can’t continue to provide the best support to others unless we make sure we take care of ourselves first during these unique times
My last blog focused on the importance of checking in on others. As important as this is, the truth is we can’t continue to provide the best support to others unless we make sure we take care of ourselves first during these unique times.
But what does this mean taking care of ourselves?
It’s no surprise that some of us tend to be natural helpers, the ones that friends and family often turn to in time of stress or crisis. Keeping this in mind, it’s important not to underestimate the effect that this can have own our own mental health. Being the person on the receiving end of phone calls, emails or texts from loved ones or friends takes a toll, and it’s important we can be our best self in order to be the best support possible.
When we talk about self-care, we need to realize that not everyone enjoys the same self-care activities. When people tell me that gardening is their self-care, my usual response is “ugh”, followed by an offer for them to do all my gardening. Funny enough, no one has ever taken me up on my offer; to me, gardening is work not fun. But it’s not about me, it’s about what others do to “refill their cup”.
Given our current situation, some of us may not be able to do or participate in our favourite self-care activities which means it’s time to get creative. For those who recharge their batteries by socializing with friends, we’ve seen an influx of online platforms that provide us with an opportunity to connect. I’ve seen people having dinners or trivia nights via video chats and one of my friends even organized a virtual “dance night”. I’ve also seen gyms hosting free, virtual workout classes which is an amazing way to stay active while being at home, if that’s something you enjoy doing.
For others, they may require some quiet time to reenergize, which is completely okay. I’ve seen friends implementing a quiet time in the house, which could be another effective strategy. If you have children at home, remember, parents can take a timeout, too. Colouring, reading and writing are all other effective self-care strategies.
You need to do what helps improve your mental health, however that looks.
Please remember, none of us have lived through a pandemic before and we don’t have a handbook. Keep yourself in a good place by practicing self-care daily and please be kind to yourself.
We invite you to share your self-care strategies with us on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to check out the Mental Health First Aid Self-Care and Resilience Guide.
Be well,
Denise
Interview with Christine Devine, Wellness Specialist, Michael Garron Hospital on sharing Best Practices for Supporting the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers During Covid-19.
Mental Health Commission of Canada Interview with Christine Devine, Wellness Specialist, Michael Garron Hospital on sharing Best Practices for Supporting the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers During Covid-19.
As healthcare workers grapple with providing care to patients with Covid-19, there is a need to protect their mental health as well as their physical health.
Liz Horvath, Manager, Workplace Mental Health, Opening Minds, Mental Health Commission of Canada interviewed Christine Devine, Wellness Specialist at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.
Christine shared the practices that her hospital has put in place that may help other healthcare organizations, as well as organizations in other sectors that may be dealing with similar challenges.
Here are the topics addressed in this interview:
- The challenges that the response to COVID-19 is having on the mental health of staff
- Advice for leaders to help to calm the nerves of healthcare workers
- What healthcare workers who are dealing with some very difficult circumstances and decisions should be doing to care for themselves and protect their mental health
- Advice on protecting the mental health of other staff in healthcare organizations during COVID-19
- How to help healthcare workers with their off-the-job mental health (those with families at home and those who live alone)
- The National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace has made with respect to supporting the mental health of workers during this pandemic
- Focus of the leadership team going forward. Learn more about mental health resources for healthcare sector visit our website: https://theworkingmind.ca/healthcare-resources
Introduction
Can you please put into context the challenges that the response to COVID-19 is having on the mental health of staff?
What advice do you have for leaders to help to calm the nerves of healthcare workers
What impact did these steps have on the workers
What should healthcare employees be doing to care for themselves and protect their mental health?
What advice do you have on protecting the mental health of other hospital staff during COVID-19?
What healing will look like after COVID-19?
How can we help them with their off-the-job mental health?
What advice what you have for the healthcare workers with families and aging parents?
What effect did the adoption of the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in your hospital have with respect to supporting the mental health of workers during this pandemic
What is your leadership team focusing on?
Are there specific tools that you’re using to help manage through this time?
The purpose of today’s blog is to help us all remember the importance of checking-in on one other as we continue to deal and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of us are facing challenges that we may have never encountered before, which can be extremely difficult to manage. However, with this is mind, we must try to remember that in order to be able to provide support to others, we need to take care of ourselves first and foremost.
Some of us may tend to be natural helpers; the ones our friends and family turn to in times of stress, and it is very important that we’re able to be at our best when supporting those around us.
One topic we discuss in depth during a MHFA course is the idea of checking on others. We know that self-isolation can lead to poor social health, which directly impacts one’s mental heath. That’s why today, I am encouraging you to check-in on those around you to see how they’re doing. Make sure they have any supports necessary in place, ask if they have family, friends, neighbours who they connect with daily, whether in person, respecting physical distancing of course, or online. Ask them what they’re doing to pass the time or even schedule a regular phone or video call to see how they’re doing.
We especially want to be mindful of seniors living alone, as they may benefit from being checked-in on a bit more often.
When you’re asking someone how they’re doing, it’s very important to remember it’s not just about their physical health but their mental health as well. Ask them how they’re dealing with everything and take the time to listen and validate any concerns they may be having. There are uncertainties during this time but provide facts, i.e. if someone is worried abut grocery stores running out of food, remind them the shelves are being stocked daily and stores remain open. Let them know that you’re there for them if they need anything, and that they can always reach out to talk.
Sometimes, we all just need someone there to listen to us, and truthfully, this is one of the most important types of support we can provide. We can all do our part to help create a safe place and stay present – by providing empathy and an understanding. You’d be surprised to see the positive impact this can have on someone.
If you get a sense that someone may be struggling with a mental health problem and may benefit for additional supports, be sure to familiarize yourself with local/national resources and provide them with that information. Research if your area has a Distress Centre or local crisis line, or resources to a specific age group such as Kids Help Phone.
Let’s work together to take care of ourselves as well as those around us.
Denise Waligora has a Bachelor of Science Degree and over 20 years of working in the mental health field. Prior to joining the Mental Health Commission as Training and Delivery Specialist for Mental Health First Aid in 2011, Denise’s professional experiences included psychiatric nursing, Residential Program Director, IBI Therapist at CHEO, Crisis Worker and Case Manager in a justice program. Denise has been facilitating MHFA since 2008 and The Working Mind since 2019.
Author: Unknown
Webinar Interview with Catherine Wilcox, manager of Health and Wellness at Island Health in Vancouver BC
As we continue to navigate work and life during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can more challenging to ensure high levels of employee engagement. Using the guidance in the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace can help. In this interview, Catherine Wilcox of Island Health stresses the importance of diversity and inclusion and building relationships in workplace systems as a key component of psychological health and safety. This interview Catherine explains the tremendous work that Island Health has been doing with the Standard to ensure that all workers feel supported and included. The conversation touches on activities around several key topics:
- Diversity and inclusion
- Psychological support
- Clear leadership and expectations
- Other chronic stressors as identified by workers
- Organizational culture
- Peer support
- Community support
- Civility and respect
Watch the webinar
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National suicide prevention week in Quebec
For the last 30 years, l’Association québecoise de prevention du suicide (AQPS) has devoted the first week in February to fostering conversations on suicide prevention.
Yet, as you read this over your morning coffee, today, three people in Quebec will die by suicide and 11 more will be hospitalized.
They are our friends, loved ones, colleagues and neighbours.
A lot has changed in thirty years, and as our understanding has grown thanks to the effort of pioneers like the AQPS, we’ve debunked a lot of myths.
For example, we know asking someone if they are experiencing suicidal thoughts won’t “plant an idea in their head.”
But much more work is needed.
Research has shown us that almost everyone who dies by suicide visits their family doctor in the six months before they take drastic action.
What questions aren’t primary care providers asking, and why? And how can we better equip them to respond to the mental health needs of their patients?
In addition to engaging with public health practitioners, we know that growing public awareness is key – a role for governments, civil society as well as media.
We no longer believe it’s constructive for the media to hush suicides for fear of contagion. But we do know that responsible reporting on the topic is critical.
From eschewing sensationalist coverage, to restraint around revealing method, there are important ways to frame a public dialogue about suicide that can save lives.
Above all, what we know is that while suicide results from a complex confluence of social and biological factors, we can work towards a society where prevention is a shared priority.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada has long made suicide prevention an important part of our work and continues to be grateful for opportunities to collaborate with and learn from our partners in Québec.
With the proliferation of Roots of Hope, our community-based suicide prevention project, we are reaching some 1.8 million people in eight communities across Canada and confirming that solutions must consider context and be community driven.
Roots of Hope principal researcher, Dr. Brian Mishara, an internationally renowned expert on suicidology, Professor at l’Université du Québec à Montréal, and co-founder of AQPS, said it best at the program’s launch in September 2019.
When describing the efforts of psychiatrists and psychologists who descended on Rwanda following the genocide, he explained that their interventions did more harm than good. As it turns out, everything about how they approached trauma, from isolating patients, to having them relive their experiences, and treating them indoors, was the opposite of what was culturally appropriate. To feel safe, they needed to be outdoors in the sunshine, surrounded by family, recalling happy times.
So, while the how of suicide prevention may be different in every community, what we share with our partners in Québec and across Canada is the resolve to reduce the devastation wrought by suicide, and a blueprint to leverage the strengths they know best.
30 years from now, it’s my hope that suicides will be the rarest of events, because we will have been successful in encouraging open and caring conversations and in building life saving supports and resources.
Today, in Canada 11 people will die by suicide. We know that by working together, it doesn’t have to be that way tomorrow.
This article originally appeared in Le Droit on February 11th, 2020.
Louise Bradley
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In March, we celebrate Social Work Month and acknowledge the contributions of social workers. Whether they’re connecting someone who has lived experience of substance use to supportive housing, helping a survivor of gender-based violence find accessible childcare options, or working on mental health policies for post-secondary students, no two days are alike. But each day requires the kind of selflessness that few professions demand.
Of course, selflessness has its own set of perils. Social workers are faced with situations of childhood poverty, sexual assault, and bear witness to the structural inequality in our world. Such experiences expose them to ongoing vicarious trauma and often lead to compassion fatigue. Yet, as Polly Leonard, Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) program manager and registered social worker, noted, “There can be an attitude of stoicism among social workers who feel like their distress pales in comparison to that of their clients.”
Who, for example, can social workers turn to for support when their friends or colleagues double as the therapists they’re encouraged to talk to? “If you do seek external support, you have to search high and low to be sure that you don’t end up talking to a friend or colleague who also works as a private therapist,” said Leonard.
Louise Bradley, MHCC president and CEO, concurred. “Social workers are truly the unsung heroes of the caring professions. While firefighters and police officers may make headlines for grand displays of courage, social workers must dig deep into their well of compassion every day. Not only do they advocate for the underserved and the vulnerable, they are regularly exposed to the kind of vicarious trauma that can lead to the operational stress injuries often associated with other first responders.”
Leonard summed it up plainly: “When we’re finished talking about our cases, it doesn’t feel like there’s space left to talk about anything else.”
That’s one reason the Canadian Association of Social Workers encourages registered social workers to develop a clear understanding of how their work affects their well-being.
Few people are surprised to learn that health-care workers and other first responders face similar challenges to those of social workers.
Chronic stress and burnout are common in health care, with many workers reporting stress-related conditions like depression and anxiety or substance use disorders. The MHCC’s Caring for Healthcare Workers assessment tools can help organizations identify areas of vulnerability and improve their workers’ psychological health and safety.
Paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, who experience PTSD at two times the rate of the general population, also have an increased risk of depression, substance use, and thoughts of suicide.
For paramedics, who have some of the highest rates of mental illness in the country, the CSA Group developed the Paramedic Standard, whose dedicated workplace standards can help them shine a light on stigma, identify psychological hazards, and promote mental wellness.
For other workers in emergency response settings, The Working Mind First Responders (TWMFR) course is designed to promote mental wellness, build resiliency skills, and reduce the stigma of mental illness. Based on the mental health continuum model, TWMFR helps first responders recognize psychological injuries in themselves and their peers. There’s also a Family Package to help relatives open an informed and constructive dialogue within families.
Fortunately, through carefully developed tools and resources, these front-line workers have access to mental health resources as unique as the situations they face — whether they’re being featured on the front page or buried in the fine print.
