Certain mental illnesses are chronic and persistent. This can wear you out! Managing symptoms, medical appointments, and all the other aspects of life can get overwhelming and actually exacerbate symptoms. Stress is a major contributor to the elevation of mental health symptoms and can make your mental illness feel like it’s just too much. There…

When someone has a broken bone or a serious health issue, there are generally outward signs and symptoms that make it very obvious something isn’t quite right. Mental illness can be tricky because people may look completely “normal” on the outside and yet have a major illness. Sometimes supporting someone with a mental illness is…

Mental health services come in a wide variety of resources including hospitals, outpatient services, counselling, and medication management. Though there is a wide range of services, accessing them especially if you are older can feel overwhelming. Depending on the sort and the magnitude of a mental illness, the symptoms and the behaviors can feel outrageous,…

The last few years have been tough for all of us, challenging both our physical and our mental health. Since March 2020 we have all had to struggle with isolation, high inflation and increased anxiety about the Covid virus and war in Ukraine. You may have found your own ways of coping, but it is…

We have all heard the term use it or lose it. Like most older people I have been bombarded with advice: to learn another language, to do jigsaws and crosswords, to take up Zumba or Pilates. But does it work? Can we really help to prevent dementia or at least delay the symptoms? I spent…