5 things to do after Bell lets Talk

 Bell Lets Talk day 2021 was on January 28, Bell Lets talk gets people talking about mental health and raised 7.7 Million dollars for mental health initiatives this year the money is raised by people Posting and watching official videos ( check the complete list here ). Its a great day with community members, social media influencers /famous people, Politicians, Professional Sports Players, and pretty much everyone that has social media, posts about their support towards Mental Health Initiatives. it really makes you realize how many people require assistance with people posting about their own experiences. I think its great that we have this day. and gets people talking about it for a whole day(, Although I don’t personally believe that Bell should be using this as a marketing scheme by using their name “bell” “it should be called lets talk”)

However now that Bell Lets Talk Day is over you don’t see people posting their support as openly or checking in on their friends to see how they are doing. This year just like every other year i spent the day and days following it messaging friends to see how they are doing, to just let them know that someone cares for them and that I’m there for them if they need anything ( that they can call or text, Facebook message me, Instagram message me, tweet or snapchat me anytime) and that I’ll be there for them when they need it. I do this several times a year when I see someone online that  I haven’t talked too in a while i shoot them a message ” Hey What’s sup ____ haven’t talked to you in a while hope all is well, whats new and exciting ”

So what can you do now that Bell lets talk day is over? 

1. keep the conversations going,
   continue having conversations with friends, family and co workers on way to support mental health. keep posting on social media supportive messages and how to receive assistance.

   2)Support local initiatives,
   search for local events and talks and attend them to learn more about mental health and how that initiative supports it. they happen all the time ! and a lot of them are fun from rally walks to hockey games !

   3)Donate to organizations that support mental health. Find a local organization to you that supports mental health and donate to it, they could use your assistance, not able to donate money? donate your time if they are running events or fundraisers they could probably use your help in pulling it off.
   4) Continue checking in on friends,
   Message your friends frequently especially the ones you don’t talk to often, a little hello how are you doing could really make a difference in their day.

   5) consider taking a course in Mental Health First Aid,ASIST  Training or Psychological First Aid Training. Do a search to find when the next course is taking place in your city.

ASIST is a 2-day intensive, interactive and practice-dominated course designed to help individuals recognize the risk of suicide, and learn how to intervene to prevent the risk of suicidal thoughts from becoming suicidal behaviours.

Mental Health First Aid 
MHFA Basic was developed to help people provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.

Psychological First Aid
This classroom-based certification course is for those who require more in-depth knowledge and techniques to recognize and assist people in crisis after experiencing loss, grief, trauma, and stress, with an emphasis on self-care and personal protection.