The View From Here – Let’s Talk
It’s Bell Let’s Talk Day. It started in 2010 as a way to focus on building awareness, acceptance and action in mental health. And it seems to be working. Or at least helping.
In a recent survey conducted by Nielsen Consumer Insights in 2019, 84% of Canadians now say they are comfortable speaking with others about mental health, compared to only 42% in 2012.
It’s hard, isn’t it? Having that conversation? Talking about “it”.
So many people are feeling the impacts on their mental health right now. This pandemic has been one of the greatest challenges for even the happiest, most optimistic people.
So let’s talk.
About anything and everything.
What’s on your mind? What are you feeling? How are you REALLY doing?
To be honest, today has been a bit of a mess. Even though I stuck to my morning routine just fine, my focus is off. I’m trying to work but can’t seem to concentrate on any one thing. I’m distracted. I’m scrolling social media. I’ve got 20 tabs open and can’t focus on any one of them. I have a pile of work to do but can’t do any of it.
My mind is racing and thinking about everything that is happening around us right now. Working from home. Online school. Making sure kids are up and “in class”. Getting assignments done. Listening to projects and research papers. Talking them through news headlines, listening to their fears and concerns. Listening to them talk about missing their friends.
I think it’s exhausting.
Just trying to stay positive sometimes. To look after yourself, your family. To try so hard not to show worry or concern. To worry about your job. Money. Paying the bills. And I don’t know about you, but no matter how many times I tell myself “you’re fine” there’s something that lingers beneath the surface, always worried about “what if”.
Fighting something you can’t see is hard. This virus has sure done a lot of damage to so many.
Add to that news headlines lately have been downright scary. It feels like we’re living an episode of Criminal Minds. But this is real.
I think we absorb it. All of it. We feel it. Even if it’s just comments on a page.
It can feel too much on a good day.
That’s why “let’s talk” day matters. To encourage the conversations. To give yourself permission to share what’s on my heart and on your mind. To say “I’m not okay”. To reach out to others. To be there to listen. To be there to show compassion. Kindness. Understanding.
No shame. No judgement. No embarrassment.
Talking about how we are doing and being HONEST matters more than ever. It helps us feel more connected and less alone in the struggle.
So let’s talk. And keep talking. Without fear of what people will think or say. And let’s listen.
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