Mayor Melissa Blake said she will keep encouraging a mental wellness moment at the start of council meetings to highlight the fact this entire community has been through a traumatic event and that it’s okay to need support through this difficult time.
“We absolutely need people to know that they are not alone,” she said following Tuesday night’s meeting. “There are some incredible resources right now in our community. We’ve got the Alberta Health Services, we’ve got our own municipal counselling available to people and we’ve just got those people that you can connect with so easily if you want to pursue that. We need people to know that it’s absolutely encouraged and okay to need a little bit of talk time with somebody that may not be a part of your family but just somebody that can listen.”
At Tuesday night’s meeting councillors took turns reading from a list of mental fitness tips encouraging people to take care of themselves and practice the habits that make mental wellness possible.
Some of those include giving yourself permission to take a break from worries and concerns, making a point to recall times that you experienced positive emotions, learning ways to cope with negative thoughts, reconnecting with friends and family you may be missing, committing to doing only one thing at a time and to shutting off social media when doing things like walking and visiting with friends and loved ones, exercising, and taking time for self care whether that means a bubble bath, a nice meal, or time to do an activity you enjoy.
You can listen to the entire segment here:
mentalhealth
To connect with Alberta Health Services you can visit them at the Queen Street location or call 8-1-1 to speak to a registered nurse about what services are currently available.
In an emergency call 9-1-1 or go directly to the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre.
