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<\/a><\/p>\nWallace says that a significant proportion of Canadians avoid seeking help for mental health issues, because they fear they will appear as weak or abnormal to other people, but this is in fact a very common struggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re definitely not alone. We want to make sure people know that we\u2019re here for them, and we\u2019re a part of the community, and we\u2019re also members of that community, too,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve all gone through lived experience, if not currently living through that experience of severe depression, or whatever it is. We\u2019re always there, so never ever be ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace says that it\u2019s easy for people to get involved in the initiative and get active.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat people do is they register on the Defeat Depression website, they sign up and it\u2019s a $25 charge, and for that they receive a T-shirt and a number of other items in a swag bag,\u201d she says. \u201cThen we send them out an email each week with 10 different wellness activities, so that way if a person doesn\u2019t feel like doing one task there\u2019s 10 of them; they can easily choose whatever resonates the most with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says that some of the activities focus on physical exercise, while others are more fun, or are intended to find a sense of calm, and will cover a wide range of strategies for overcoming depression.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them are just to make sure that you\u2019re in the present, like walking along the beach\u2014that always seems to help to ground a lot of people,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s just those kinds of activities to hopefully liven things up, and simply to have a little bit of fun, and a bit of a change of pace, and at the same time raise funds for Mental Health Recovery Partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace encourages people to share their involvement on social media in order to spread the word about the event. However, people who don\u2019t want to be directly involved in the 30-day challenge can still donate the traditional way, through the website.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping everybody feels it\u2019s a win-win,\u201d she says. \u201cNot only are they helping a local non-profit with their mental-health supports and changing people\u2019s lives, but they\u2019re also hopefully recognizing that they can reawaken, like the rest of us are trying to find a way do with COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace encourages discourse around mental-health experiences as a way to bring the discussion out into public awareness. She feels that the more a society addresses an uncomfortable issue, the easier it becomes to create change for the better.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a much bigger conversation, and for some reason people just don\u2019t feel comfortable talking about it,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it would just be fantastic to start really opening up and having those conversations with everybody so we can start changing the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n