“If they can’t label it and they can’t ask for help, it will come out as a physical symptom. They will say, ‘I have a headache. My stomach’s really sore.'”

I’ve been working as a nurse practitioner in a Thunder Bay high school for about 13 years. I see the students for everything from throat and ear infections to rashes to sports injuries to mental-health issues. The students come from 19 remote communities in the North. Our high school has 150 students and over 40 per cent were struggling with addiction. We saw this through restlessness, absenteeism and the inability to concentrate and stay on task.  Read the rest of this article at The Globe and Mail…

The media coverage of mental illness is improving by leaps and bounds thanks to those individuals who are brave enough to speak out despite any stigma

Suicide – it’s a word loaded with emotion, tragedy and questions. Until recent years it was a word seldom heard in the news media. Now it’s something that people talk about and is no longer “hidden behind a curtain.”  Read more at Global News…

Dr. Derek Poteryko offers workshop to Quit Smoking for Good on Wednesday January 18th in Nanaimo

NANAIMO — Dr. Derek Poteryko wants to help you kick the need for nicotine in 2017.  Dr. Poteryko is Island Health’s Medical Director of Community Health for Nanaimo, and is offering a lunch-and-learn workshop, Quit Smoking for Good, on Wednesday, January 18. “If people are able to quit smoking, their overall health will improve. This workshop will give them the tools they need to get there,” said Dr. Poteryko.

Quit Smoking for Good is part of an ongoing lunch-and-learn series created as part of a wellness partnership between Island Health and the City of Nanaimo. Cost is $2 and the class runs from noon to 12:45 pm at the Beban Park Social Centre at 2300 Bowen Road. Pre-registration is available through the City’s Fall and Winter Activity Guide. To register in advance call (250) 756-5200.