Three veterans who served Canada in the former Yugoslavia—Steve Hartwig, Jason McKenzie, and Scott McIntyre McFarlane—have marched across the country to raise awareness of PTSD
When Steve Hartwig, Jason McKenzie and Scott McFarlane arrived in Antigonish, Nova Scotia on September 7, they paused at the downtown cenotaph honouring fallen soldiers from World War I. They were close to reaching the end of their march across Canada to raise awareness of PTSD among Canada’s veterans.
In WWI, the psychological distress of soldiers was attributed to concussions caused by the impact of shells; this impact was believed to disrupt the brain and cause “shell shock” (Bentley, 2005). Now, in 2014, there is greater understanding of what is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder—but education and awareness is still lacking.
Vancouver Island hip hop artist Matt Dunae—aka SirReal—has released the official music video of a single from his upcoming mixtape; both are named Not Like Me. The song, as SirReal describes it, is a micro story, a “culmination of experiences and harsh realities brought to light.”
safeTALK, a workshop about three hours in duration, is a training that prepares anyone over the age of 15 to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first aid resources. Most people with thoughts of suicide invite help to stay safe. Alert helpers know how to use these opportunities to support that desire for safety.
In Canada, one-in-five people experience a mental illness in their lifetime. However, it is young Canadians that suffer the most, with 75% of mental health problems and illnesses beginning prior to the age of 25, and more than 50% beginning between the ages of 11 and 25.
When Mary Deacon, the chair of the 