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Mental Health Week

On Tuesday May 17th, I spoke in the Manitoba Legislature on a Ministerial Statement on Mental Health Week.  My comments are below: 

Mental Health Week

Mr. Gerrard: This week, Mental Health Week, let us recognize all those in Manitoba who are suffering from brain or mental health. Let us also recognize that issues of mental and/or brain health and wellness are an integral part of the well-being of every Manitoban.

      It's important that we acknowledge that mental and brain health are as important as physical health and that the two can be closely linked. A person with a mental health issue may develop physical health issues. A person with physical health issues may develop a mental health issue.

      My mother suffered, at times, from depression. It may have been linked in part to the fact that she lost an eye as a result of cancer early in her life. But in spite of her depression, she was an incredibly strong woman. In England during the war, she read and told stories to children to keep their attention and to drive away their fears as German bombers flew overhead–one night, 500 at a time.

      She taught her passion: history. She wrote books. She played excellent golf and she contributed to the life in the communities where she lived in England and in Saskatoon, where my family moved when I was very young.

      We must recognize the strengths of those who have had mental health issues. We need to recognize the need to ensure that help is available to all who need it. We need to recognize and to act to prevent tragedies like suicide, which can be associated with brain and mental health issues. We need to recognize that out of trauma–as in the war in Ukraine–mental health concerns may start, particularly with respect to PTSD.

      We need to better understand the reasons for the prevention and treatment for PTSD and that PTSD may be particularly likely in individuals whose brain is wired so they're less likely to forget traumas. We need to recognize the anguish and the trauma which happened in residential schools and the need for under­­standing, for empathy and for reconciliation.

      Thank you. Merci. Miigwech.

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