Children's Mental Health Blog

As the province ramps up its vaccination efforts once again, it can bring about a range of emotions, especially for youth. It could bring excitement that there is now a more clear path for the return to “normal”, but it could also bring about anxiety and questions.

This time of year can often put a strain our mental health. Less sunshine, colder weather and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can make things more difficult at the best of times, but throw in the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders and things get even harder.

Self-compassion is about extending the compassion that we feel for others and applying it to ourselves. It’s about allowing the love, kindness and grace that we show to others during times of failure or suffering to apply to our own.

As another COVID related lockdown is pushing return to school dates later into January, it’s fair to say we’re in a bit of a different world. So, I have some very different advice for parents and families this year.

Is there a way to use music to improve your mood? Can music even help with physical symptoms that you feel when you’re anxious or depressed?

As it turns out, yes it can!

In a world where anxiety and stress are at an all-time high, our sleep is beginning to suffer even more than usual. Knowing that – how can we make sure not only ourselves, but our youth are getting enough sleep?

The warm weather this week has given us a great opportunity to enjoy a little bit more physical activity outdoors --but we all know that winter weather is coming soon!

With the new normal of wearing a mask and the reality that many of us and our children need to attend our jobs and school, a whole new area of anxiety has come to be – mask anxiety.

As the number of local, provincial and national COVID-19 cases continue to rise, we are all bracing for the second wave. It’s completely natural to fear what this means for our families and our collective mental health.

Talking about racism with youth can be one of the most difficult conversations you have. This blog post is designed to find a few entry points into these challenging but necessary conversations. As we near the end of 2020, these discussions have never been more urgent.