Submitted. It’s 6:30am and the alarm is ringing. Like many of us, “Mary” rolls over and hits snooze. Ten minutes later, the alarm rings again, but this time Mary doesn’t get up. Instead, she picks up the phone and calls in sick, unable to muster the strength to face yet another day. This is the third time this week she has missed work.
Mary suffers from depression and is like more than 500,000 Canadians who miss work every day due to mental illness.
Fraser Health is launching a social media campaign aimed at providing information and resource materials about mental health and substance use issues.
“It is time to recognize this is not just something that happens to ‘them’,” says Andy Libbiter, Interim Executive Director of Mental Health and Substance Use at Fraser Health. “Mental health and substance use issues impact our co-workers, our families, our friends, and our children. Through social media we can engage our communities in conversations about services, supports and on-going challenges.”
During the month of February, follow Fraser Health across all our social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, for information and resources on issues ranging from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) to psychosis to addictions.
The campaign begins with Eating Disorder Awareness Week (February 3 – 9th) where we challenge you to stop the “Fat Talk”, learn what it is like to be a man who suffers from binge eating and take a quiz to see if you have a healthy body image. Here is a podcast with Elspeth Humphreys, Regional Coordinator, Fraser Health Eating Disorders Program about the services Fraser Health provides, and what you can do to promote healthy eating and a positive body image in your home.
The time has come to break the silence.