Keep Yourself Safe
- Ask for help from family and friends
- Connect with people you can trust and talk to
- Seek help rom a mental health professional/organization like Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)
- Talk to your family doctor who may be able to refer you to appropriate services
- Have a safe place where you feel like no one can harm you and will not harm yourself
- Distract yourself with favourite things
Develop a Support System
- know who you can call
- Have their numbers available. Make a list.
- Don’t be scared to ask someone to stay with you.
- Know that you can always call the crisis line.
- Write a safety plan when you are feeling well. Share it with you circle of support and post it in a place where it is easily accessible for yourself
- Talk to someone that has ‘been there’
- Attend support groups for people with lived experience such as at the Self Help Alliance
Day to Day Tips
- Get lots of sleep
- Eat healthy foods
- Exercise, get active
- Try to relax with yoga, deep breathing, mediation, reading or music
- Stay involved or get involved with activities you enjoy
- Surround yourself with positive people
- Avoid drugs, alcohol and caffeine
- Get involved with helping others
- Set small, manageable goals; focus on what you have accomplished.
- Journal your experiences, or create a video.
- Use art as a way to express yourself and your feelings.
- Learn about tools you can use to help yourself.
