Tag Archives: mental health

Pulse 2016: All You Need to Know

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“Mental health is tricky because its about really knowing who you are and being able to say that you need help in a surrounding where you think so many other people are stable.”-Sophia Shim

Needless to say, it takes a lot of courage to ask for help.

One of the most challenging parts of dealing with mental health is coming to terms with the fact that no one is invincible. On the outside, we may seem on top of everything, put together, ahead of the game and confident, but on the inside, no one knows how we truly are feeling. Coming to the realization that we must take care of our minds as much as we take care of our bodies is something that society has not come to terms with yet. We’ve seen the major changes that things like the introduction of the Health & Wellness centre at the University of Toronto, as well as the addition of Mental Health Awareness Month – and it’s about time. More and more students seem to catching on to the progress that the university has made. “On campus there are many options if you are in need of help, whether it be provided by your college or UofT as a whole”, says second year student, Sophia Shim.

One initiative, founded by Joanna Huang and Michael Bray of the University of Toronto aims to create a sense of community in the Toronto student population and encourage discussion about mental health in the GTA. Pulse, founded in 2013, has fundraised for three years to bring attention and create a positive space for discussing mental health in our community. “There is nothing I am more passionate about as I am mental health. It’s an issue that touches the lives of everybody, in one way or another.”, says Joanna, “The entire topic is muffled. It’s blanketed by a thick layer of societal stigma, and completely devalued. People don’t talk about it. I’ve struggled with my own mental health, and I find it very difficult to talk about. But I have no trouble talking about a sprained foot, so why should this be any different?”

Since it’s founding, Pulse has been partnered with Oolagen, a Toronto based organization who’s mission is to “listen, engage, assist, and empower young people to recognize their own strength and values”. Located on 65 Wellesley Street East, Oolagen provides counselling services for all ages and provide residential homes for people aged 14-18. Oolagen also provides on site school support in for three different Toronto high schools, giving students access to mental health services when they cannot otherwise. “[Ooolagen is] also planning to expand their services to cover university-aged youth”, says University of Toronto Pre-Medical co-president Alissa Mirochnitchenko. The Pre-Medical Society is partnered with Pulse as one of their main supporters on campus.

www.pulsetoronto,com
Pulse is on the 18th – get your tickets at www.pulsetoronto.com

Both Oolagen and Pulse are promoting mental health and discussion to Toronto, and have been gaining momentum ever since their start. “Pulse 2015 has raised over $2000.00 for Oolagen… This year, we will strive to surpass our previous earnings and continue to further increase awareness for mental health!” says Pre-Medical Society Co-President Victoria Malysmiuk. On March 18, Pulse and Oolagen are partnering again to bring an amazing fundraiser to Orchid Nightclub. As the campaign’s slogan states, “Good music. Good company. Good cause”, it’s sure to be a fun evening for an important charity. “We hope that our annual fundraiser, Pulse, remains a reminder for individuals to critically think about their own mental health and seek help if they feel out of balance.” Says Victoria and Alissa.“I think that my biggest goal this year was to make the discourse around mental health positive- we are all students and we all understand that university can be physically, mentally and emotionally draining at times. In my eyes, events like PULSE are important because it brings students together to have positive, happy experiences.”

Additional information about Pulse, Oolagen, and this year’s charity fundraiser can be found at the following sites:

www.pulsetoronto.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/1537362533224023/

http://oolagen.org/

We hope to see you on the 18th!

Mindfest 2015: Participate. Educate. Celebrate.

On Campus

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As the signature U of T Department of Psychiatry anti-stigma initiative, Mindfest is an annual event that promotes awareness and understanding about mental health and illness, as well as increase awareness of available community resources and services.

But does it offer what you’re looking for?

As a third year student with a keen interest in mental health and awareness, I would like to share my personal experience and understanding of Mindfest, along with other school initiatives to promote awareness about mental health and illness.

Mindfest is a full-day event that will be held at Hart House, in collaboration with U of T Student Health and Wellness, Hart House, and Workman Arts. It is a pan-university event in partnership with Ryerson and OCAD (with the inaugural Mindfest Walk leading from Hart House to the finale celebration at the Ryerson Quad!)

Present at the event will be several guest speakers including Emily Wright, Mark Kingwell, and representatives from the Kids Help Phone. Workshops and booth exhibits will be spread out throughout Hart House. This amazing line-up of speakers, presenters, workshops, and exhibits will have something for everyone. As a student, I am personally looking forward to listening to the success stories of the many, talented guest speakers that will be present. And of course, the yoga workshops and Student Showcase Discussion has me riled up and eager for October 7th!

Mindfest is open to the public, although the focus is primarily on educating students about mental health issues and concerns, while working to erase the stigma that those who live with mental illness face. The various exhibits at Mindfest will have plenty of information about resources available to students—both on and off campus.

So, do I think that Mindfest offers what you’re looking for? Absolutely! With the amazing line-up of speakers, exhibits, and workshops, I believe that Mindfest will offer something for everyone. Note the date in your calendars: Wednesday, October 7th, 2015. Come out and join us at Hart House for a day of fun, food and mindfulness.

Short Story: The Year of Change

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What was that sound? Maybe it’s it again, but Dr. Porter just said to ignore it. It’s probably nothing. It hasn’t spoken to me in a while, which is nice. Gives me a lot of room to think for myself, and I’ve had a lot of thinking to do since mom decided it was time to move. I’ve always liked it here in Parkdale, it’s quaint. I gaze outside the window and see the all the people in the street. People walking to work, people walking with friends, young and old. I wonder what they’re thinking and where they’re going. I wonder about their jobs and their personal lives and the moments that defined their characters.

“Hey, Roe, did you take your meds?”

I turn around and see my mother. She’s a frail woman, and she’s been looking even more gaunt since all this started. She looks tired today. Her long brown hair is tied in up a messy bun and she’s carrying a large box. “Come ‘ere. I wanna show you something.”, she croons.

I walk over to the box. It’s filled with photo albums and children’s books and baby toys. I pick up a pair of bronzed baby booties. “Can you believe you were ever that small?” she asks, smiling and patting my back. She picks up a framed picture. There are three people sitting in front of an emerald coloured background. There’s a young woman, wearing a green dress with short brown hair holding a baby. She looks so happy, so youthful and vibrant. Her smile is encapsulating; the happiness she is so effortlessly exuding is something that I’ve been searching for my entire life. The man in the picture looks just as happy as the mother does. He has brown scruffy hair and you can barely see his blue eyes because of his huge smile. He looks nice. I wish I could have met him.

“This was about a month after you were born.” she says to me. ”Your father was so excited.” She stares at the picture for a few more seconds. She smiles, but her eyes still look sad.

“I like that dress.” I tell her.

She laughs. “I still have that, you know. Roe, you need to take your meds.” She walks over to the kitchen and grabs the pillbox.

“Here.” She says softly as she hands me the tiny white circle and a glass of water. She rubs the back of my head as I swallow.

My father had the same problem I do, but he waited until it was too late to do anything about it. I used to think that I was going to end up like he did, but for the first time in a while, I feel hopeful.

“This is the year of change.” She says triumphantly, as she puts the glass in the sink. “New you, new me, new house, new job…” she pauses and trails off. “You’ll love it in Newmarket, I’m telling ya.” She stares outside the window at the people below.

“How’s, um, how’s everything?” she asks, still staring out the window.

“Good. I haven’t heard anything from it in a while.” I pause. “It’s, uh, it’s just me in here.” I smile and point to my head. She looks at me and smiles back.

“Great. That’s just what I like to hear. I think you’ll really like your new school too, they have a great arts program. You’ll love it.” She sounds like she’s trying to convince herself more than she’s trying to convince me.

“Look Rowan, I know this is a big step for us, but I think the move will help us. This place…this place carries a lot of negative energy. A lot of bad things happened to us here. But now that you’re healthy and we’re making some really great progress, I think that this is the best move we could possibly make.” She stops and starts biting her nails. She always bites her nails when she’s nervous. “We gotta stick together, you know. We’re all that we have.” She looks down. “Your father would be so proud of you if he could see how much you’ve grown in the past few months.” She covers her face.

I rush over and squeeze her tight. “I love you mom.” I step back and look her in the eyes. “Remember,” I say confidently, “this is the year of change.”

 

 

THE END

The Student Voice Project

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This reading week instead of reading or sitting at home, I decided to take part in a program at New College called ‘the Student Voice Project’, a mental health awareness initiative. It ran for three days, there was breakfast and lunch included, and we got a CCR credit for participating in the program. Not too shabby, I thought to myself. If you’re a student trying to get into grad school, you’ll realize the important of having a varied CCR to show your school involvement. Anyways, I realized that it would be a pain in the butt getting to school for 9am when I commute from two hours away, but I thought whatever, I do it all semester, what’ll three days hurt?

When I look back, I was very selfish and unassuming when I first decided to get into the program. All I wanted was the CCR credit; I didn’t realize that I would be getting much, much more out the experience. I arrived on the first day at the Wilson Lounge in New College, and was immediately welcomed by friendly students and facilitators. We started with breakfast and doing a few icebreakers. I was so astounded by the friendly faces and amazing people that were there. Everyone was so kind and caring right off the bat, and it was probably one of the most welcoming and warming atmospheres I’ve ever been in. Next, we were hit hard with a very serious talk about wellness and self care by a speaker named Melissa Corcoran. She talked about cognitive distortions, attitude and language and various wellness tools while also relating everything back to her very personal story that she was so willing to share with us. She spoke about the struggle, the rock bottom and the breakthroughs she had, and it was such an amazing story. Melissa just completely turned her life around and I’d honestly never met someone who had been through so much hardship but really lived to spread the good message about becoming healthy. She showed off mediation techniques and how to get yourself calm and centered, and I really valued that. I mean, at this university it’s hard enough to just get a moment for yourself, and this was a great tool that only took a few minutes.

The next workshop we did was about barriers as to why people don’t seek mental health treatment. It was really something that I had never thought about before, because thank God, I’ve never needed mental health treatment. Hearing the ideas and knowledge that everyone had was so such an enlightening experience. Everyone was sharing ideas and there was no judgment or prejudice. I loved hearing what everyone had to say, especially during the end of the day reflections. The whole process was almost like a group therapy session. We were allowed to learn and experience on our own, but we came together to share our feelings and reflect in a group, and it was something that I had never experienced before.

The second day was based on starting a zine. Going into the process, I had no idea what a zine was but I just sort of new that I wanted to make one. Zines are small, self-published magazine-type works that are used to spread a message. They are usually anonymous, giving the author total control over whatever they want to say. We planned our zines and started creating, and finished up our zines on the third and final day. I have to say that creating the zine was my favourite part of the process. Instead of using computers, we were using crayons and paper, and it was so great to be able to be creative. Being a writer, I usually don’t get be very visual or add illustrations to my writing, so it was almost like I was back in grade school. It was a very freeing experience and I really enjoyed being able to just talk about whatever I wanted to talk about.

Our zines are going to be displayed in the New College library for everyone to see, which is a very exciting thing (I’ve always wanted to be published!). The final day was really hard. I didn’t want to leave, but our group discussion and reflection did give me some closure. I met some of the greatest people at SVP, and it was an experience that I’ll never forget and definitely return to in my coming years. It was really nothing like I’d experienced before. The warmth, the friendship, the camaraderie and freedom of speech without judgment created the most amazing atmosphere we utilized to talk about very important mental health awareness issues. I thought that this experience would be great because I want to go into psychology, but if not that, I got to self reflect and really think deeply about important and controversial topics. That’s something we rarely ever get to do in our everyday lives.

This was really one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had since I’ve been at U of T and I highly recommend to everyone. In early January, you’ll see the application in the emails from Blueprint services. No fear, no judgment and lots of learning – that’s my kind of project.