Squeezy stress balls, cookies and Bell Let’s Talk bandanas were just some of the giveaway items during Mental Health Awareness Week events held across Portage College campus locations from January 19-23. The free items helped to draw students and employees to booths and presentations where Portage Wellness and Counselling Department staff shared information.
Wrapped around the Bell Let’s Talk nation-wide mental health campaign, the Portage College awareness week offers a welcoming introduction to mental health services offered on-campus while helping to reduce the stigma of mental health issues on a wider-scale.
“Campaigns like this are extremely important. Normalizing conversations about mental health along with students building some familiarity with the counselling and wellness staff does make it easier for students to reach out when they need to,” says William Gill, a Student Services counsellor at Portage College’s St. Paul campus. “I think sometimes we underestimate how stressful attending post-secondary school can be for some students.”
Gill says that highlighting resources available for mental health during the awareness week helps to keep it in mind throughout the year.
“Having tools in the toolkit is extremely important. Mental health is not a steady state and fluctuates,” he says. “You never know when you might be struggling and need the extra boost that the skills taught during weeks like this provide.”
Helping to balance
Debbie Jansen knows all too well about juggling a busy life and managing stress. She’s a full-time student who is about to complete her Bachelor of Social Work before moving onto her master’s degree. Jansen also works full-time as a Portage College Mental Health Support Worker in the Student Services Department.
“When students come to me and say they are struggling or having a hard time, I fully understand and relate,” she says, adding that reading and sewing are the ways she removes stress.
She knows that everyone’s approach to wellness is different and encourages people to follow this year’s Mental Health Awareness theme of Taking a Moment for Mental Health.
“It can be meditation or yoga, walking or listening to music,” she said, explaining that the most important part is to be aware of their own self-care needs. “You don’t have to be struggling to seek assistance, it’s that pro-active care. So just going and seeing somebody…talking about it…can help to take care of your snowballs before they become bigger.”
Jansen was pleased to see students and employees taking an interest at the awareness activities offered during the Mental Health Week events.
Jansen and the counseling staff at each Portage College campus are always available.
“Our doors are always open. You can pop your head in and talk, or book an appointment at your own time,” she said. “We hope that awareness events like these help people to pay attention to their mental health and to seek out help when they need it.”
Contact information
More information about counselling and wellness can be found on the Portage College website and through Moodle.
The Portage College Counselling and Wellness department has partnered with the Bell Let’s Talk campaign for more than a decade to promote Mental Health Awareness Week.