What Mental Health Means to Me

By Lauren Babcock, Previous MSW Intern

In honour of World Mental Health Day, which is October 10th,  I was asked to write a little blog post for our monthly newsletter.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Lauren Babcock and I am a student here with GWTC!  Growing up I didn’t really know what mental health was, it just wasn’t talked about as much as it is today. I am so happy that as a society we are slowly breaking down the stigma and talking about mental health, but we certainly still have a way to go. I suffered a significant loss in my family when I was younger and never really sought out support to help with the healing. I guess you can say the reason I am so passionate about mental health now (and have chosen it for my profession) is because I know what it feels like to not be okay.

We are all affected by mental health issues at some point in our journey here on this earth. It is okay to not be okay. The importance of self-care and doing things for ourselves is so important.

Some things that I do for self-care are: talk on the phone with a friend, curl up on the couch with some blankets and snacks and watch Netflix, light a good candle and read a book, go on a walk outside, or even just spend some time alone. Another piece of self-care for me is saying setting boundaries with friends and family and sometimes simply saying “no”. We never truly know what others are going through and sometimes an honest check in does wonders.

I hope that everyone reading this is coping and doing as best as they can. You are strong, capable, and worth it!

All my best, Lauren.