Mental Health Tips: Conversation, Tools and Motivation

More than ever we need to take care of our mental health. But do we know how?

Let’s start by being kind to ourselves, a notion that yogis have learned to include in their daily practice.

Taking some “me time”

Give yourself little breaks, don’t try to perform in every aspect of your life. Do things that make you feel good and try to include physical activity in your routine. Research has proven time and time again that being physically active helps you better manage your mental health.

In need of motivation? Register for the Pharmaprix Walk/Run for Women which will be held in July across Canada.

Learning to say: I am not feeling okay

Although it is not always easy to discuss the hardships or emotions we are experiencing, we encourage you to try. Our tip: Try using “I” in your sentences.

I am not well.
I feel depressed, anxious, nervous.
I need to talk.

If you acknowledge that you are going through a difficult time, the people around you will be able to offer you their support and an attentive ear, and if their approach doesn’t suit your needs, don’t be shy to tell them. For example, you could say:

Thank you for listening. I just need to clear my heart.
I would like to find solutions or tools that could help me.
I think it would help me if we rationalized the situation together.

Asking about the mental health of a loved one

Despite our best efforts, mental health remains a relatively sensitive topic to address. If you don’t know how to approach a loved one in order to get a true sense of how they are doing, you can try using one of those sentences:

I have noticed that you have been more distant lately, is everything okay?
Your eyes do not have the same spark today, how are things going?
It is not easy for anyone right now and I bet it is not always easy for you either. If you feel like it, I would like us to take a moment to talk about how you are doing.

No matter what approach you use, the key is to show compassion. Quite often, people just need a sympathetic ear. However, if you feel that professional help is needed, don’t hesitate to call on the various resources available:

The Info Social 8-1-1 line (mental health component of Info Santé) offers free and confidential services from professionals in psychosocial intervention.

Crisis centers are also established throughout Quebec. They can be reached by phone at 1 (833) 456-4566 or by sending a text message to 45645.

If the situation is urgent, do not hesitate to call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency room. At the Montreal General Hospital, an emergency team is dedicated to mental health care.

For more resources and advice on how to talk about mental health with your loved ones and your colleagues, we invite you to visit the Bell Let’s Talk website.

The Montreal General Hospital Foundation was fortunate enough to receive $400,000 from the Bell Let’s Talk initiative in 2018, which allowed us to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for rTMS therapies.