The annual Mental Health Awareness week has ended, and more and more people are beginning to talk more about their own mental health.
Myrna Hutchison of the Get In Touch For Hutch foundation, says they're noticing that conversations about mental health awareness are becoming more normal and frequent.
"That's what we're finding when we're out and about, that it's easier to start those conversations. We never know what's going on in someone's life, so I think it's important for all of us to be ready for when those conversations start, and have an idea of what we need to do to support that person."
Myrna says that it's important for people to know about mental health groups in their area, like Get In Touch For Hutch and Wes For Youth Online, and that it's always okay to reach out for help. She notes that their yearly events are seeing more people attend, but more importantly by different people every year.
"We just held a large event at the Arthur Arena on Thursday night, and we were lucky to have former NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk come and speak. I was thinking about the crowd that was there, and the big majority was people I hadn't had the opportunity to meet before, so that meant a lot."
Myrna, whose eldest son Steven took his own life in 2013 while attending Brock University, says it's extremely important that people continue talking about mental health. She says their organization stands behind a special tag line.
"Our tag line for Get In Touch For Hutch is 'Never Alone', and that means a couple things to us. The first thing is there's someone out there who will support you, no matter what your issue is, there's no problem too big to not be able to solve together. So I want people to understand that they're never the only ones dealing with that."
Myrna says the other key part for people to know if they're struggling with mental health is to know there are organizations that want to help in your area, and people should familiarize themselves with those groups.
