Stock Photo By Melissa Mortimer *All names have been changed When Steve was in his mid-50s, he was struggling to deal with the death of his father and battling with his siblings over the estate. His sleep was badly affected by the stress, and he found that having a few drinks after work and before […]
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PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: A Senior Copes with Mental Health Impacts of Amputation
Stock Photo By Cara Brady & Katherine Mortimer “What was the point of me being here?” She doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow, but Sally G is determined to make the best of what happens today. “I wish more people knew that the way it is today is not the way it’s always going to […]
Continue readingSARAH’S STORY: The Mental Health Challenges of Unhoused Seniors
Stock Photo By Carole Fawcett Our expectations can sometimes trip us up. Sitting across from me was Sarah (not her real name), a petite and feisty senior with her nails and hair done and make-up on. While looking like a fashionista, she’d actually been homeless for 14 months and had lived on and off in […]
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COMPLEX CHRONIC DISEASES: A Senior Finds Beauty in Brokenness
Stock Photo By Cara Brady “I didn’t want to be a bother to anyone.” Sarah knew ‘complex chronic illness’ (also called complex chronic diseases) before she knew it had a name. There has been despair at living with no diagnosis, fear that it might somehow be her own fault, and disappointment with various treatments. […]
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ELDER ABUSE: The Crushing Costs of Financial Exploitation
By Melissa Mortimer *All names have been changed When Mark’s widowed father, Tony, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he wanted to do all he could to help. With 80-year-old Tony in Toronto, and him in Calgary, Mark relied on his sister to be the point of contact. Until then, Tony had been spending winters in […]
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DEPRESSION & SUICIDE: One Senior’s Journey From Hell to Healing
Stock Photo By Kevin Mitchell *Check out discussion questions after article My first and only attempt at suicide didn’t go well. I swallowed a handful of sleeping pills and took two or three gulps of whisky before lying on my bed waiting to join the abyss. Nothing happened. I was a failure. Shortly after, my […]
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SENIORS’ DEPRESSION: A Retired Teacher Shares Invaluable Lessons Learned
Stock Photo By Cara Brady *Check out discussion questions after article Recognizing the Signs Life was good for Paula (not her real name) the year she turned 50. She was happily married, proud of her son, and loved her work as a teacher. She enjoyed spending time with family members and her many friends. She […]
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BULIMIA: A Young Woman’s Story of Healing from the Pain of Perfectionism
How can I be so stupid? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I control my eating? These are questions I continually asked myself for two years while trying to get healthy and fit. This was not easy for me, as I’d always been a perfectionist and believed minor imperfections would lead to catastrophe. Then in […]
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JO’S JOURNEY: A Personal Story of Healing From Fear & Anxiety
SUMMARY HEADS UP producer Jo de Vries shares her personal story of healing from acute anxiety attacks that started when she was 12 years old. Now in her sixties, and after 20 years of taking two psychotrophic medications, she is in the process of healing with the help of two medical professionals. Family physician/psychotherapist Dr. […]
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GRATITUDE VS TOXIC POSITIVITY: Understanding Their Impacts on Your Mental Health
It’s healthy to be grateful, but how much is too much? As a psychology student I wanted to know, so I started digging… In the late 1960s, psychologist and educator Martin Seligman’s discovery of learned helplessness kick-started a field that would later be coined by Seligman as positive psychology. Many mental health professionals have embraced […]
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A Parents’ Guide to Social Media & Youth Mental Health
Without a doubt, social media is a culturally ingrained digital platform among the younger generation. A powerful means to connect and share with others, social media is a part of everyday life even for young children. In fact, a PubMed Central study on social media use reveals that Canadians as young as six years old […]
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JO’S JOURNEY: Finding Freedom from Fear & Anxiety
Please note that I shared my story for informational purposes only to help others. If you’re experiencing mental health challenges or want to taper off medication, please seek advice from your doctor and/or a mental health professional. Imagine you’re lying down… tied to a railway track. You start to feel vibrations in the ties and […]
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SENIORS’ MENTAL HEALTH: Part 2 – Social Influences, Life Circumstances, Personal Choices & Better Care
SUMMARY Senior’s mental health is affected by social threats such as stigma, ageism, and racism, and impacted by individual circumstances such as isolation, loneliness, poverty, poor physical health, lack of independence, and abuse. In Part 2 of this podcast, Marjorie Horne (seniors’ advocate and founder of CareSmart Seniors Consulting), Naomi Mison (caregiver and founder of […]
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SCHIZOPHRENIA: Part 2 – Integrating Bio-Psycho-Social-Vocational-Spiritual Recovery Approaches
SUMMARY In Part 2 of this podcast on Schizophrenia, we’re joined again by Katrina Tinman (peer support worker with lived experience of schizophrenia), Chris Summerville (CEO of the Canadian Schizophrenia Society), and Dr. Phil Tibbo (clinical/research psychiatrist who specializes in psychosis-related illnesses). They dig deep into emerging holistic recovery approaches that integrate biological, psychological, social, […]
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SCHIZOPHRENIA: Part 1 – Stories, Signs, Myths & Recovery Movements
SUMMARY Schizophrenia affects about 80 million people from all countries, cultures, ages, abilities, and genders. This two-part podcast explores their widespread challenges, and the hope and healing opportunities available to them and their families via integrated bio-psycho-social-spiritual-vocational therapies. In Part 1, Katrina Tinman (peer support worker with lived experience), Chris Summerville (CEO of the Canadian […]
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SENIORS’ MENTAL HEALTH: Part 1 – Personal Stories, Professional Insights & COVID Reflections
SUMMARY The over-65 age group is the fastest-growing demographic in Canada, with rates of mental illness for seniors over 70 projected to be the highest of any age group by 2041. Add to that the impacts of COVID-19, and you have a complex and costly national challenge that requires urgent attention from all sectors, in […]
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WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH: Part 2 – Groundbreaking Union & Business Solutions
SUMMARY While Part 1 of this podcast targets trailblazing research and regulatory approaches to workplace mental health, Part 2 chronicles the evolution of organizational policies, practices, and programs at two very different and unique organizations. Join Quentin Steen (CLAC Labour Relations Representative) and Trever Amendt (AECOM Site Safety Lead, Energy Operations & Maintenance in Lacombe, […]
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BRAIN TOUR: A Superhero’s Mental Health from Both Sides of the Cape
SUMMARY If you’re wearing a mask to hide mental health challenges, why not swap it for a superhero cape and brainpowers so strong they’re sure to save the day! Sharon Blady, PhD (comic book geek, former Manitoba Minister of Health, founder of Speak Up: Mental Health Advocates) and Dr. Simon Trepel (a psychiatrist and member […]
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STIGMA: From Stereotyping & Discrimination to Compassion & Inclusion
SUMMARY More than half of the seven million Canadians who face mental health challenges every year, won’t seek help for fear of being stereotyped and discriminated against. To help unravel the complexities of stigma that often bind people with mental illness, we’re joined by Samaria Nancy Cardinal, a Metis woman whose battle with intergenerational trauma […]
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VETERANS’ MENTAL HEALTH: Personal & Scientific Perspectives on Healing
SUMMARY Veteran/advocate Brian McKenna and psychologist Dr. Candice Monson explore veterans’ mental health issues. Drawing on lived experience with PTSD – and the treatments and activism that helped him heal – Brian shares about the psychological challenges and opportunities faced by veterans who’ve served both at home and abroad. Dr. Monson, a clinician and researcher […]
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