Mental Health and Well-being 3

“Right away people are telling you, ‘I'm so thankful that you called. I was not expecting any other calls this week.’ They are happy to hear from us.”
That is the way Luisa Castro, the provincial coordinator of the Virtual Support Team describes the reaction of participants in the Friendly Calls program.

Fear, stress and worry are all expected feelings during a crisis. If you’re among the many people who find themselves feeling drained as we enter this holiday season, there are small steps you can take that can help.

Human beings are social creatures, so when someone feels disconnected from that, it can really take a toll on their mental wellbeing. This is where the Canadian Red Cross Friendly Calls Program comes in. It helps people to feel that connection and reminds us that we are all in this together.

The Friendly Calls program was designed to offer a safe, routine place for those feeling isolated or lonely to seek connections. With so many finding themselves feeling lonely, the Friendly Calls program has seen an uptake in participation since the start of the pandemic, with the program itself expanding in many areas across the country.

Marina Dovell has plenty of experience decompressing during Red Cross deployments. She started volunteering with the Red Cross in 2015, after retiring from the Saskatchewan provincial government, and deals with stressful situations when on response. She describes her best practices for self-care and destressing during difficult times.

In a world where a pandemic has prevailed for more than a year, it can be overwhelming to think of children in school and how to best protect them – and ourselves – against COVID-19.
We may not be able to control certain things but we can control what to do to make things easier on us and our families during this stressful time.

While Health Canada is telling Canadians to stay at home as much as possible, they also encourage you to “go outside to exercise but stay close to home.” So how do you enjoy being outdoors in a safe way? Here are our tips to make the most out of spring weather despite the social distancing measures imposed by COVID-19.

For many Canadians, probably every Canadian, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is causing some form of upset in daily life. The cycles of lockdowns and various protocols can be overwhelming at a time when your stress levels are already higher than normal. With so many things out of our control, what can we do about it?