#317 How to Support Someone When Mental Health Gets Complex

Gurjeet shares how to give someone a helping hand when their mental health starts to slide, using the "The Golden Rules"  as a simple guide. We talk about what to say, how to listen without trying to fix everything, and where boundaries protect both your friend and your own mental health.  She also gets into:

• Why friends and coworkers often spot changes first 
• A quick check for changes that are intense, long-lasting, and disruptive 
• The journaling prompt on times we have shown up 
• Say what you see with clear, concrete observations 
• Show that you care through tone, time, and practical support 
• Hear them out with open questions and fewer solutions 
• Know your role by setting boundaries and respecting capacity 
• Connect your friend with therapist search tips and local resources 

Tune in weekly to Wellbeing Wednesday with Gurjeet Gill on The Universal Radio Network, 97.9 FM in Edmonton, or globally at www.theuniversalradio.com

IG: @theuniversalradio

Transcript

Why Your Support Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to the Universal Radio Network Podcast. My name is Grigit, and I'm the host of Well Being Wednesday. In today's episode, we're discussing how to give someone a helping hand. Specifically, how do you be there for others when their mental health takes a turn for the worst? We're gonna talk about how to do it, how to bring up a conversation, what to do during the conversation, and also what the limits on that conversation look like. All that and more on today's episode. I talk a lot about mental health. That's kind of the main gimmick of the show if you haven't caught on yet, but there's always a chance to catch on, so let this be it. The show is about mental health and overall mental well-being. I'm not a mental health professional, but I have been doing work in the space for a little while. I'm familiar with concepts on how to be a supportive listener, and I've been a supportive listener and a trained supportive listener at some point. In fact, maybe there's people out there who have spoken to me in an anonymous way where I have been a professional supportive listener. So, that being said, I think it might be fun to just kind of talk about how to be there for people's mental health. Because before we know it, September will be upon us, and so will seasonal affective disorder, and it will be something that we just gotta get used to. So being there for your friends will be really, really important. I feel like I forget this almost every single time, guys, but we have our journaling prompt. So if you're new to this, the journaling prompt is essentially just something is like a question or a series of questions meant to kind of get you thinking about things in your life. So I think I'll give that at the end of this segment, right before we fade to music, so you have a little something to kind of ponder about while you're listening to some sick tunes. So when we're talking about supporting other people's mental health, there are some caveats to that, and I'll discuss those kind of near like 7:30-ish. So if you're interested in that part, you gotta stay tuned. But mostly I want to explain to you why it's important. Because, first of all, you're around the people you love more than any doctor or mental health professional is. It's really important for all of us to be educated on how to be a supportive listener, how to lend a helping hand to someone who might be struggling with their mental health. And it's important because sometimes it's your coworker, sometimes it's your parent, sometimes it's your cousin, your younger cousin, older cousin, doesn't matter. It could be your friend, it could be anyone in your life who's experiencing maybe some poor mental health. So when you're educated about how to spot those signs and how to have a conversation about it, all of us are each other's first line of defense against poor mental health. Social supports are so important and healthy relationships, healthy social relationships and connections to the people around us is associated with so many mental health benefits. It's linked to a lower chance of being diagnosed with a mental illness. It's linked to more improved self-reported mental health. And when we're around people every day, we understand what their baseline for behavior, thoughts, and feelings are. So when those things change due to poor mental health, we have an idea of what has changed and by how much. It's really hard for a healthcare provider, maybe a psychiatrist or therapist you're meeting for the first time who doesn't quite understand how normally bubbly someone is. But then when they meet them for the first time, that person is quite like reserved and not talkative. That's a big lifestyle change, a big behavioral change. But a doctor who doesn't know your history, doesn't know what you're like, won't be able to see that and spot it in the same way that someone who you sit next to in a cubicle all day would see. It doesn't change as much as the person you would normally see in your chem labs would notice. So that is a really, really big piece of kind of spotting poor mental health. Another thing is that there's a higher level of trust and respect from someone you know versus a professional telling you that maybe there's something wrong. And of course, this is different if it's a mental health professional, but I've had acquaintances of mine come up to me and say, Hey, Gurjee, I just have noticed you've been making a lot more jokes about, you know, wanting to unalive yourself, and that's kind of uncommon. I I just wanted to check in, how are you doing? And I've like paused and thought about it and been like, whoa, like this must be really bad if this acquaintance of mine who isn't even that close to me has noticed and is willing to say something. And it gave me a chance to pause and look at my own mental health. And I realized I was so busy going through the motions of everyday life, I hadn't even noticed how bad my mental health had gotten. But this person noticed. They noticed I'd been making jokes of a certain kind more often than I normally do. And that was a clue to them that, hey, maybe something's up. So because that person was trained in supportive listening and knew what the signs were of poor mental health, they were able to help me out and give me a chance to pause. And because I respected them and they were my friend, I took it a lot better than, you know, let's say if my parents said something to me. So it's very different.

Journaling Prompt On Showing Up

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Okay, this is kind of embarrassing. I keep forgetting to give you the journaling prompt. So no more, no more teasing it. I'm just gonna let you know what it is. So, because the theme of today is how to be a helping hand for someone else, how to be there for someone else, just think about a time where you supported someone else's mental health. And you may not like always be able to pinpoint it right away and be like, oh yeah, I helped my cousin so-and-ho, so-and-so, because she was struggling with this. Like, it doesn't have to be that specific. Just be like, oh yeah, I remember my friend telling me they were having a really hard time, and I made time for them, and we went and got bubble tea together, and we just sat in the car, and then I dropped her off. Oh, that is a way of supporting someone's mental health, just being there. You don't even have to necessarily talk about the thing that's bothering someone all the time, just being there, being a good friend, supporting them, maybe buying them their bubble tea that day, who knows? That helps people. So think about a time when you've supported someone's mental health and think about what it felt like for you. How are they now? And when was the last time that you spoke with them? So if it's maybe somebody who's had an ongoing, you know, down mood or a period of bad mental health, or just, you know, had a sequence, sequence of life events that just don't seem super positive back to back, just check in with yourself and be like, hey, when was the last time I saw them? Are they doing much better or have I just not seen them in a little while? And then do with that information what you will, whether you choose to continue living your life as normal, which you totally can, or if you choose to reach out, which you also totally can, or if you realize, like, hmm, I actually can't name a time that I've supported someone's mental health, then do with that information what you will as well. We can't really do anything in our lives if we're not aware of what's going on, like that example I gave of my friend pointing out that I was making a lot of jokes that were maybe the healthiest, and that was how I knew my mental health was was not doing super

The Be There Golden Rules

SPEAKER_00 7:34

great. So, whenever I think about teaching others how to be a good mental health support, I think of the jack.org be their golden rules. And if you know me personally, you know that I was, I drank the Kool-Aid, I was super into Jack.org. I was a part of the student club at the U of A. I was a speaker for many years. I did a lot of cool things. I got like a PR package from Rare Beauty. I like did a whole bunch of random things with Jack.org. I got a job out of university because of someone I met through Jack.org. To this day, I have friends who I met through Jack.org. I had met a boyfriend through Jack.org. Like, Jack.org is kind of the gift that keeps on giving. So if you ever get a chance to volunteer with them or work with them, like do it. It is such a cool opportunity pot of things. So they have this organization or kind of project called the Be There Golden Rules. And the Golden Rules are essentially just a framework for how to support other people's mental health. So it's a super great framework because it's easy to understand, it's easy to remember, and it's super accessible online. If you go to the Be There Golden Rules website, or if you navigate to it from Jack.org because their nonprofit name is their website, which is honestly very clever marketing, good for them. But it's just super accessible. They have questions on each uh golden rule. They have videos of people discussing their experiences, their real lived experiences, including apnebande, my friends, including apnebande, including parent children relationships, including friend relationships, cousin relationships. They're all there. They have videos of people talking about how they had these hard mental health conversations. You can also do a certification in it, which looks kind of great in your resume and teaches you a lot. And you can get printouts and brochures from that website too. I'm no longer partnered with Jack.org, but I'm still doing PR for them because I just think it's such a fantastic organization. So

Say What You See

SPEAKER_00 9:28

the first golden rule is say what you see. And if you're wondering, hmm, Vigi, didn't you talk about this like three years ago? I know business. I think it's valuable, and I think there's a lot more people out there now, and I think people could benefit from this. So if you remember everything from three years ago, props to you because that's that's not me. I would not remember everything from three years ago, so you're just better. You just have the better memory. What can I say? Uh, if you have any questions about anything we talk about or have suggestions for other topic ideas, you can feel free to text us at 780-887-0979 or DM us on Instagram at the Universal Radio. If you're ever concerned about someone struggling with their mental health, it's really important to say something. And that's exactly what the first golden rule is. Say what you see. Generally, when someone's struggling with their mental health, you'll notice a change in the way that they're thinking, in the way that they're feeling, or the way that they're behaving, the way they're acting. And if those changes are intense, so they're pretty strong, they're a big change and they're more like impactful or bigger than you know, like a person's usual ups and downs. Like everyone has a tired day and they're allowed to slow down, and everyone has a great day where they get eight hours of sleep and they're allowed to feel a little bit better than normal. But if it's intense, then it's something to watch out for. If it's long lasting, like lasting two weeks or more, and it's not just like a day or two of change, then it's something to look at. And lastly, if it's negatively affecting their daily routine relationships or responsibilities. So if all of those changes that you noticed are affecting a person and it's intense, it's long-lasting, and it's negatively affecting their life, then potentially it's a period of poor mental health and not necessarily just life's regular ups and downs. And there's a very good chance that people do experience life's regular ups and downs and don't necessarily identify it as poor mental health if it is any of these three things. So saying what you see is about identifying that something is going on with someone and it's different. It's intense, it's not going away anytime soon, and it's impacting their life. It could be like someone suddenly sleeping in a lot, not showing up to class, and doing poorly on exams. And it's something that's been going on for a couple weeks now. And you've noticed because normally you and your friend study together in the library and they're always late, or if they are there, they're not dressed the same, they have no energy, they're just they look, they're looking a little bit rough. And you're their friend, so you want to say something. And honestly, it's awkward and it's really difficult to do, and it is daunting to start that conversation. But honestly, so what? Life is full of awkward, difficult things that you're doing for the first time. So having a conversation with your friend about mental health is just one of those many awkward, hard, difficult things that you do in life. Getting braces, learning how to drive for the first time, starting at a new job, and just trying to get to know your coworkers. Things are hard, things are difficult, and they're awkward, and that's okay. It's literally not the end of the world. You can begin the conversation by letting them know that, you know, they've something's changed and point out what's changed. Like, hey, I've noticed you've been really late to class or you've been skipping classes a lot more often. Is everything okay? And you want to be the start, you want to be the one to start this conversation so that way they have a chance to talk about it. They're not the ones bringing it up. And if you get a sense that they don't want to talk about it, don't take it personally. Despite our best intentions, there can definitely be tough and upsetting conversations for everyone involved. And if they don't want to have it, they don't have to have it. At least you planted a seed and shown them that you're a safe person to talk to because you've brought it up at least once. Now, the first golden rule was say what you

Show That You Care

SPEAKER_00 13:29

see. Now, the second one is Drummond, please, show that you care. Now, the reason why it's important to show that you care is because you've kind of brought something up that's quite sensitive. If you think about the sequence of events, now you've noticed your friend is struggling and you've brought it up to them. You've you've said exactly what you think has changed about them. Hey, I noticed you've been handing things in late more often than you normally do. And actually, maybe don't say it like that. That sounds kind of shady. Hey, I noticed you've been handing things in late, which is unlike you. And it's been kind of going on for a couple of weeks. Like, I just wanted to check in. How is everything? Are you okay? And so now you've brought something up. You've pointed out exactly what you've seen that has changed, that's been impacting their life in a negative way, and has been for quite some time. So you gotta follow it up with showing that you care because you gotta remind them that this isn't coming from a place of trying to get them into trouble at work or calling them out for being a bad student at school or a bad friend. It's about just making sure that is everything okay with you? Like this is unlike you. You're not normally like this, and I care about you, and I'm choosing to believe that this is unintentional. And everything you do and say is also a little clue to people, like people around you, as to how approachable and trustworthy you are. So you can't make up for an entire friendship of bantering and teasing each other by saying that you care one time. It's hard to kind of come and have a serious conversation when that's the nature of your friendship. When you're critical of other people, like someone's weight, clothing, accent, behavior, it might suggest that you'll also be judgmental and critical of someone's mental health struggle because that judgment and criticism isn't saved for certain people or certain behaviors. If you and your friends are often making fun of people for how they dress, how they behave, or how they act, you're kind of showing to the friends around you that you're okay with saying that about other people. And it makes you maybe not the safest person for them to open up and be vulnerable with. So that's something to keep in mind that if you have a more joking, critical relationship with somebody, maybe you're not the best person to say that. Or if you feel that you are close with this person, but the nature of your relationship just maybe isn't serious conversations all the time and it is more jokey and chirpy and bantery, then make sure you really set the stage and let them know that this is coming from a serious place of care and it's not a joke that you're trying to be compassionate, helpful, and support them. One way to make that even easier is by being an inclusive, compassionate, helpful, and a good listener in your daily interactions because that shows to people that you're a safe person to reach out to and have that conversation from. If my cousins who are always joking and talking about other people behind their back, are they the ones to come to me and say, hey, I've noticed you've been really struggling, I would not feel as ready to open up to them if I were to speak to my cousins who I'd often talk to about like life and like family struggles with. Those are the cousins that I would want to talk to about this. So remember the existing history of your relationship before going into a conversation like this. And honestly, most of the time, verbalizing that you care is a good step, but you can also show it through your actions. Look them in the eye, don't go on your phone, give them a hug or touch their shoulder or hand if it's appropriate. Don't rush the conversation or have the conversation at the time when you don't have a lot of time for it, and offer practical support, like offer to help them with errands, give them rides, buy them a meal, help them with making an appointment or making a difficult call. There's tons of ways that you can support a friend and show them that you care. Is showing you care. Is I I think I talked a little bit, maybe too much, about how the nature of your relationship changes things. I don't want to discourage anybody from going out and having these conversations. In fact, the only way to get good at them and to introduce that to your relationships is to have those conversations. So don't let it discourage you. If you find that your family is a very like jokey personality or your friends have a very jokey personality and you're not really prone to more serious conversations, like take the leap, try for a serious conversation and just see what happens. If you get like totally laughed out of the building, whatever, it happens. Come on, it's a this he family. It's everybody's turn to be like the joke punching bag every now and then. As long as it's, you know, like a part of a healthy dynamic and overall. Um, that's okay because at least now your cousins have seen or your family has seen that you're someone who will take this stuff seriously. So maybe you have a family member, an aunt or uncle who has questions about mental health, who comes up to you and talks to you about it because you have proven historically that you're a safe person to talk to about those things. So never ever underestimate the power of just planting, planting a little seed. Once you've shown someone that you've cared, at this point, we've said what we've seen, we've shown them that we care.

Hear Them Out Without Fixing

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Now it's time to hear them out. So we've created this atmosphere of safety, non-judgmental listening. We've said to them what our concern is. It's time to finally listen. And being a good listener means striking a balance between listening, asking questions, and sharing experiences. So mostly you're there to listen. So let some of those awkward silences hang. Make sure you're giving them enough space to think, feel, and turn those thoughts and feelings into words so that they can explain it to you. And keep asking questions, ask follow-up questions, ask clarifying questions and keep your questions open-ended and non-judgmental. This shows to them that you're engaged with what they're sharing and you actually care about it and want to understand more. And to verify that you're understanding it, you can repeat what you heard back to them to make sure that you're understanding it that way. Be like, oh, so what I'm kind of sensing is it's been really stressful because of this, this, and this thing all happening at the same time. And they'll say, Yeah, but also this other thing is happening, and that is probably what I'm most stressed about. Boom, there. Clarification. Now you understand what's really getting them, even though they may have some other things going on at the same time. You can also give nonverbal indicators of listening, like nodding your head or giving them like a hmm, like a just some sort of affirmation noise. You don't have to interrupt them all the time, because after all, this is your chance to listen to them. But make sure you're understanding what they're saying and show them that you're listening. Use that open body language, look at them. If oftentimes, if it's like a man-to-man conversation or you're having this conversation with a man, honestly, they prefer if you're standing side to side. So maybe don't look at them. So it varies on the person that you're talking to. If you feel like they'll be more open to sharing, if your body position is away from them or towards them, play it by ear. You know your loved ones best. One thing I would discourage you from doing is sharing about your own experiences or offering solutions or advice to be like, well, if I was in your position, I would do this because you're not. You're not in their position. Are you, are you really? Because you're not. So let them have that space to talk about what they want to talk about. And it doesn't have to be about a similar experience you've had or what you would do if you were in their shoes. And the only time I advise you to share any advice is if that advice is to connect them to a professional, a mental health professional.

Know Your Role And Limits

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Now, with knowing your role, this is a very important one. Because at this point, we have said, why is it so important? We have also kind of looked at how to show them that you care. And we've heard them out, right? So, with hearing them out, the biggest thing I would say is just don't give advice, don't give any unsolicited piece of advice because that can be really damaging. No two people's experiences are the same. So it's important to remember that when speaking to someone about their mental health. The last little bit here. I have is about knowing your role. Think about what it means to know your role. Any ideas? Nope. Okay. Well, with knowing your role, it's really about remembering that you're their friend, you're their cousin, you're their niece, nephew, you're their uncle, aunt. Your role is to just be there for them. And it sounds kind of reductive or like not that serious, but like really truly, it's important to know where that line is drawn. It's important to set your boundaries, to protect your relationship with that person and protect your own mental health because you're likely not a therapist or a doctor. And if you are, you're likely not their therapist or their doctor. So it's important to remember that when it comes to supporting them. Your job is to listen. It's not to fix their problem. It's not to preach at them. It's just to be there with them and help them deal with their problems. At the end of the day, we come into this world, we leave this world, and the only thing that's guaranteed is you will be by yourself. You can have your family, your friends, anything that you think is consistent in this life can change on you, and you just never know. So it's important to remember that everybody's problems are their own to fix. And the most that we can do for each other is to support them in that. I can't take away someone's anxiety, but I can help them by sitting with them while they make a phone call that they're nervous about, but they have to make. I can't take away someone's depression, but I can be there and check in with them each morning, say, hey, did you wake up yet? It's 9 a.m. That's my way of being there so that they know, okay, I do have to get out of bed eventually. It's 9 a.m. Good jeans texting me. She's not gonna stop until I tell her that I'm out of bed. So that is what I can do. And you know what? Sometimes that's a lot too. Texting someone every day to check in on them, that can be a lot. So instead, I'll say, I'll come over on Friday and we can have dinner together. I'll break food. It's a reminder that despite our best intentions, if we overstep our support role and offer advice, we can do more harm than good. We're not there to judge, we're not there to preach at them and tell them how it's done. We're not there to fix anyone. And it's also not usually helpful to sugarcoat things or compare their experiences to your own. So I'm not gonna sit in front of someone and say, oh, don't worry, I get it. I've also dealt with depression before because what they're experiencing could be totally different than what I've experienced. And maybe it's something that I just have no idea, or we're both using different words to describe different things, or the same word to describe different things. The only way I'll know what they're going through is if I sit back, I don't judge, I don't preach at them, and I just let them talk, let them share their experience. It's also important to set boundaries and realize that those boundaries are in place to maintain a healthy relationship. If I overstep my role as a friend, it could enter a dangerous territory where they're too reliant on me. And what happens if one day I'm not able to support them. So, some things to think about when it comes to knowing your role. So, just to kind of recap, because we've been following along, right? And we've all been taking notes, right? Except if we're driving, right? So we're saying what we see, we're showing that we care, we're hearing them out, and we're identifying our role. So there's a little bit more to say, though, about knowing your role because it's important to remember what boundaries really mean. I kind of touched on it a little bit, but I didn't skirt past it. I do want to talk about a little bit more. We love talking about boundaries here. So with setting boundaries, it's important to maintain a healthy relationship. And you don't want someone to become overly reliant on you to support them because we only have so much to offer all the time. If I had a friend who was experiencing a depressive slump and I became their check-in person for whether they woke up in the morning so that they didn't sleep in all day, so that they showered, brushed their teeth, had three meals a day, were drinking water, made time to go outside and were going to bed at an appropriate time rather than staying up all evening doom scrolling. That would become incredibly exhausting on top of my own life, where I have to remember to do all of those things. And I, you know what? That would do a number on any relationship if I became responsible for that. So it's important to remember some different boundaries, like your role. So you're not a therapist, you're not a caregiver, you're not their doctor, you're their friend. And being there for them doesn't mean that you're suddenly any one of these things. It just means that you're a friend or cousin or family member who's trying to be supportive. It's also important to remember what the boundary of your capacity is. You only have so much time, energy, and ability to take in people's problems in that way. You can't be doing that day in, day out in an in in an unprofessional manner. And by that I mean is there are people who train for several years to be able to do that, to provide space for people to talk about their feelings and emotions and behaviors and their mental health. But they've had years of training and they've had years of experience to learn how to create that line around their capacity. No psychologist worth their merit is going home and thinking about their clients all day long. That was just unsustainable, it's unhealthy. And the other thing is you can't be their only person that they lean on. You're gonna need reinforcements, and that's where having other social supports comes in. That's where having a professional help comes in.

Connect Them To Real Help

SPEAKER_00 28:02

And that leads me to the fifth and final golden rule, which is connect them to help. Like we talked about, you can't be the be-all end-all for someone's mental health support. It does take a village. So it's really important to remember that there are professional and community resources out there and they're there to help you. An important part of being there for someone is to help them access those resources because it can be daunting to do it alone, and it can be even scarier to do when you're experiencing poor mental health to have to then look for those resources. Uh, a while back, we had an interview with a psychologist who talked about having a psychologist at their ready. You don't have to be seeing them regularly, but knowing just that there is a psychologist out there who you click with and knowing that if you know things were to hit the fan in an inappropriate way, you could talk to someone. And it's a therapist or counselor or psychologist who you've clicked with and you know that they'd be good. So it's important to know where to go. We're gonna talk about some local Edmonton mental health resources just up here in a bit. But I also want to talk a little bit about when it's time to get professional mental health. So there's a lot of different resources in and around Edmonton, and this is gonna be Edmonton specific. So unfortunately, not a lot of these are all Burda-wide, like one of these is Canada-wide, and some of them are just like good practice, but it's important to know that you can get help the earlier the better. You don't need to be actively struggling or experiencing like the deepest pit of mental health before you seek help. If you see someone who is struggling to cope, you should suggest that they reach out to different community supports or professional help. But oftentimes that's where the line gets drawn of like, oh, you should really talk to a psychologist. And then just crickets, because like, how do you do that? How do you how do you find a psychologist? How do you talk to them? And so then you can help them out by telling them about psychology today. Psychology Today is a website that has a list of all the active mental health practitioners, whether they're a CCC certified person, whether they're a student, whether they're a full psychologist who's completed all their hours, and what their education level is. So whether they have a doctorate or a master's or whether they have a master's in social work, all that information is there. And they also tell you their specialties. You can sort by whether you want a male or female psychologist, you can sort by whether you want someone from the same ethnic background or religious background, you can sort by issues. So you can look for like self-worth issues, or you can look for um eating disorders. So you can find tailor-made supports and filter it by that. And you can also have conversations with these people beforehand. So you can kind of shop around. It's a lot like dating. You gotta find somebody you click with. So that is my tip for you. Psychology today. I have had a lot of people reach out to me over the years because they know I do work in mental health and they're wondering like, how do I find a therapist? And the truth is, psychology today. Uh, the counseling office doesn't matter as much, except for when it comes to billing and things like that, like whether they directly bill to your insurance, how much they charge, what the average rate is at that office. So that's kind of why that matters. But honestly, you're working directly with the practitioner. So find someone that you click with and you can try and have phone calls with them just to get their vibe and see what they're like. That way you don't have to spend like a full 200 plus dollars just to figure out that you don't like someone over the course of an hour. That's a very expensive date. So there's also other people like schools have different counseling options. They have like school counselors if you're in high school. You can also go to the counseling services. I don't know anything about McEwen and Nate in terms of their counseling services, although I know McEwen has a pretty good counseling office. U of A also has a pretty decent counseling office. You can also talk to your family doctor. Believe it or not, family doctors are kind of like the gateway to referrals. So you can speak to a family doctor, you can get referred to an appropriate mental health support. If you're struggling with addictions, that maybe talking to a psychologist isn't what you need right away. Maybe you need to go into like an addiction recovery center, like Severa Medical Center, which has a UpNA doctor there. Brickhouse Recovery is also an amazing facility. I was lucky enough to tour it once and it is beautiful, gorgeous. They're so compassionate there. It's truly a wonderful space. There's also uh general um helplines that you can reach out to. If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts, reach out to 988. If you know someone who's expressing thoughts of suicide, tell them to reach out to 988. Another option is if you're experiencing a crisis or someone around you is experiencing a crisis that isn't like a fatal life or death crisis, you can contact the emergency distress line at 780-482-4357. They're great people to talk to and just have someone hear out your problems to help kind of de-escalate the situation because you're always capable of helping yourself, but sometimes you just need someone to help you help yourself. All right, everyone. So those those are the be their golden rules. Like they're they're pretty simple, they're kind of straightforward, but they're so, so helpful. Like, please check out bethere.org. They have so many good tips on how to have these conversations with people. Like, I have dealt with this in so many different roles of people asking, like, how do I support this person? How do I support this person? How do I support this person? And it could be a variety too. They could say, How do I support this person with their addiction? How do I support this person with their brain injury? How do I support this person while they're experiencing domestic violence? How do I support this person while they're navigating, changing their medications? How do I support this person while they've changed? And I don't know who this person is anymore because their mental health has gotten so bad. And honest to gosh, the rules are always kind of the same. Say what you see, show that you care, hear them out, know your role, and connect them to help. Like these are words to live by. So when we're talking about the different sorts of mental health supports out there, uh, I want to share a few that I didn't get to mention before.

Edmonton Resources And Closing

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So there's Recovery College, which is a really cool initiative run by the CMHA, which is a Canadian Mental Health Association. And Recovery College is essentially an initiative in Alberta where they do classes on mental health. So they have classes on better boundaries, how to understand the changes in age and ADAP, um, how to uh journal through grief, how to express yourself through mixed media art. So they have a variety of well-being kind of initiatives to run through them. Um, you can also contact Access247. They're kind of like the ER for emergency mental health. So just like you would go to an ER to get triage, you can go to Access247 Get Triage there. Their phone number is 780-424-2424. Take care of your mental health and take care of the people around you. We're all in this together. And I will see you all on another Wednesday. I actually don't know when I'm next on, so it'll be a surprise for you and me. Thank you everyone who's tuned in. You can stay up to date with all of our podcasts on our socials at the Universal Radio and stream us wherever you get your podcasts. This is Grijit, and keep turning it up with us.