Mental Wellness
State of the (Re)union
A few thoughts on the the last two years
If you read the news, you might have heard that our mental health system in Canada is at a crisis point.
Our people, our communities, and our systems have never been more vulnerable. The aftermath of these last two years could live on for years to come. We don’t know where we’re headed, but we do know we’re at the bottom of a hill that we aren’t sure how to climb, with old tools that aren’t equipped for this type of journey.
We might be at rock bottom, or we might just be entering one of the biggest eras of transformation humanity has ever seen, with an opportunity to completely reimagine what it means to heal.
Hear me out…
The people in charge of the current systems are doing all they can, but they are breaking down. Healthcare workers, frontline staff, psychiatrists, social workers; they’re all burning out. And the politicians we look to for change are slowly eroding in front of our eyes, one pressure-building press conference at a time.
We know something has to give, but we aren’t sure where or why.
What if instead of waiting for the change to happen outside of us we took it into our own hands to change from within? What if we made the change within ourselves, within our families, within our communities?
What if we looked at this last two years as an opportunity to evolve?
What would it really look like if we worked together to build new systems, explored new ideas for healing and engaged in civil dialogue that was designed to help us grow as a collective instead of separate us and tear us apart?
What would it mean to completely rebuild our mental health system from the ground up?
Don’t confuse this as a knock on anyone involved in the current system, or in defiance of any sort of mandate, or a judgement of anyone for their actions. Look at this is acceptance.
We are here now at the bottom of this hill, all of us. Let’s accept it and own up to where we can be better, together.
Let’s explore a new perspective and build on what we currently have so we can take pressure off the people “in charge” and stop the leaks that have piled up these last two years.
Let’s call politicians in instead of calling them out.
Let’s learn from the frontline staff who see our community at its most vulnerable.
Let’s explore every area of opportunity to heal without our own personal judgements getting in the way of what is possible for others.
What is right for you may not be right for your neighbour, and that’s okay!
We live in the most incredible era of information access. We know now that the way we heal doesn’t have to just live inside a doctors office or on the couch of a therapist.
We have an opportunity, right now, to redefine what it means to be mentally well. With everything we have at our disposal, we can build personalized root-focused healing protocols that truly transform our lives, not just mentally, but holistically: from the way we work, the way we parent, the way we eat, to the way we teach, the way we connect and the way we show up for our communities.
All of this is possible with the acceptance of where we are and with the willingness to work together to overcome.
I’m okay knowing the first year of my daughter’s life was one of the worst years for mental health decline on record, because with every struggle breeds an opportunity to grow, and for all of us today, it means we have an opportunity to work together to create change for the next generation so that they can build on what we’ve overcome to create an even more prosperous world.
We might be at the bottom of the hill right now, but maybe we were meant to be here.
Maybe this is the beginning of great transformation.
Maybe this is a chance to create real, deep connection with ourselves and our communities.
Maybe we are built to overcome.
Maybe we are meant to dig deep.
Maybe we are meant to redefine what it truly means to be well.
Maybe we are meant to be the generation of change.
I like to think so.
