Life Unscripted - Stories of Mental Health and Addiction

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Pathstone Mental Health’s Back-to-School Prep Tips equips students with the tools they need for a successful year.

The start of a new school year can be extra tough for kids and with Canadian statistics stating that 1 in every 5 children (expected to increase to 1 in every 4) will experience a mental health struggle as a result of the pressures caused by the pandemic, the need for mental health support with children, youth and families has never been greater.

To help parents measure their readiness in identifying and supporting their child’s mental health struggles this school year, Pathstone Mental Health has put together a short quiz as well as a school prep kit full of tips to try to help with the transition to the school year ahead.

Test your knowledge of children's mental health.
Back-to-School Prep Tips

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Megan Glosson is a contributor to The Mighty, an online resource for mental health. In this episode Megan shares tips for people who are lonely during COVID.

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Feeling positive about their bodies has always been a struggle for teens.  Many constantly compare themselves to others and never match up. This can lead to mental and physical health issues. Lee-Ann Smith is a social worker at Pathstone Mental Health and a strong proponent of the Body Positivity Movement to help teens and parents learn healthy, nurturing skills to defeat negative thinking.

 

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2022 brings another startling number of opioid deaths in Canada. Niagara has one of the highest death rates in Ontario. Positive Living Niagara runs a program called Streetworks to connect with people are who are living rough. Talia Storm talks about helping people, including a safe drug supply and noloxone.

It’s important to note that opioids are everywhere and addiction and deaths affect people from all walks of life.

Here are some contacts if you or someone you know needs help.

• Mental Health and Addictions Access Line: 1-866-550-5205
• For youth go to Pathstone Mental Health or call Crisis Services 1-800-263-4944
• Positive Living Niagara: 905-984-8684

 Call 911 if a person is in immediate danger.

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Human and sex traffickers will often bring their victims, mostly women, to Canada from the U.S. at border  crossings like Niagara. Niagara has become the epicentre for trafficking. But Canadian women, the vulnerable and children are also targetted.  YWCA Niagara has a program, including a safe house, to help get people away and safe from their captors. Kayla Mayer manages the program.

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Kelly-Anne Appleton was just 10 years old when her Roman Catholic parish priest began sexually abusing her. The priest started grooming her by making her feel special, inviting her fold flyers and giving her candy. It progressed to sexual abuse and for two years Kelly-Anne kept visiting him. For years she believed it was her fault because priests were thought to be above reproach and even next to God.  She has worked hard to overcome the shame and is passionate about helping other women as a Mindset & Success Coach.  Kelly-Anne has also written about her story in a collaborative book with  10 other women.  She Is Worthy is coming out in Spring 2022. 

In 2006, Charles Sylvestre was convicted of sexually abusing 47 girls, including Kelly-Anne. He was a parish priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario.

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Calming your brain can be as easy as taking five deep breaths when you wake up, at mid-day and before you go to sleep and anytime you're feeling frazzled.  Author Darcy Patrick says falling in love with your breath will help you deal with stress and anxiety.  And guess what - there's no right way to be mindful. Practicing mindfullness can simply be whatever works for you to take you away from the frenzy of life for a while. Darcy writes for people struggling with their mental health but his books are for everyone. His latest book, Managing Wellness, brings together a lot of lessons from his previous four books about his journey, the healing powers of creative writing and meditation and letting go of the bad stuff. As always, Darcy writes in bite sized lessons you can implement right away. 

You'll find out more about Darcy's and his books - darcypatrick.com.

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There are a lot of reasons kids get angry. Sometimes frustration boils over, sometimes it's the stress of being a teenager or it may be conflict at home. For some children the anger becomes ingrained and they can't control it.  They need some time away in a safe place to learn how to diffuse the feelings.  Rotary House has a 12 week live-in program where kids continue to go to school but live with their peers who are also working to overcome anger. A Pathstone Mental Health therapist is on-site to also help them learn new ways to cope and build new connections with their family.

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Our children have lived through unprecendented stress during two years of the coronovirus pandemic. What a relief for many now schools are open, no more masks and the future looks normal. 

Now they've hit with the war in the Ukraine and kids of all ages are afraid there will be a  World War. Therapist Angel Graham from Pathstone Mental Health works with children and says, while kids are resilient they have a lot of questions. Angel has some suggestions for parents to help them alleviate their child's fears.