Bell Let’s Talk Day a Success

On Jan. 27, Bell Media hosted Bell Let’s Talk Day. According to Bell, the day is an initiative “focused on raising awareness and encouraging dialogue about mental health”.

This year, the initiative broke a record: altogether, there were 125,915,295 phone calls, texts, tweets, and shares which contributed to nearly $6.3 million in donations to Canadian mental health work.

Bell Let’s Talk was started in 2011, and has become increasingly popular over the last several years. The funds raised during the annual event are given through grants and donations to a wide variety of non-profit and medical mental health facilities and programs.

For the 2016 event, well known individuals such as Howie Mandel, Michael Landsberg, Serena Ryder and even Justin Trudeau stepped up to tweet and talk about how mental health has affected their own lives, or the lives of people they love.

Mental illness is said to affect one in five individuals at some point during their life, but each and every one of us has mental health that needs caring for.

If you are currently experiencing any emotional distress, reach out for help. On campus, we have many resources available to you including peer support, certified counsellors, crisis and distress support and academic support. Even if you don’t feel up to visiting the Wellness Centre (U216), there are a wide variety of online resources hosted through Mount Royal’s website.

You are not alone, and you are not weak. Having a mental illness may feel like a burden, but it does not make you a burden.