Supporting a Mentally Healthy Kelowna
Canadians miss out on an average of three earned vacation days every year.[1] While you may feel that’s a small sacrifice to make to get the job done, the consequences may be bigger than you think.
Canadians spend about a third of their lives in the workplace.[2] Even though it might seem productive to keep our noses to the grindstone, when we fail to disconnect, our job performance can actually decrease.[3] Plus, without work-life balance, we put our minds and our bodies at risk.
Travel offers a host of health benefits for your mind, body, and soul. It relieves stress, boosts happiness, strengthens mental resilience and increases cognitive flexibility. Vacations break the cycle of stress which permeates our daily lives, allowing us some time out from usual routines and allows us to gain a new perspective on our problems. After a successful trip we feel energized and refreshed and ready to take on the world again.
Travel can also lead to an improved connection to ourselves and others. Research shows that when we go beyond our social comfort zone and immerse ourselves into different cultures, we strengthen our personal identity and increase our confidence. Vacations also promote “shared experience” with others by fostering growing and enduring connections. Shared memories and time spent together, outside of usual mundane routines, help to promote these positive ties with family and friends.
All that said, when leaving your usual routine and surroundings, challenges might come up. One challenge is that traveling may cause symptoms of a mental health condition to flare. Regardless of whatever idyllic and peaceful location you are headed to, most people experience some level of stress both before and/or during any trip.
It’s a momentous sign that Kelowna is coming together as a mentally healthy community, one rider at a time. Approximately 500 people came out to ride and $130,000 has been raised, with more coming in, for the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Ride Don’t Hide, which took place in Kelowna June 24th – record numbers for the event.
Locally called The Payton & Dillon Budd Memorial Ride, in memory of two brothers who lost their lives, the ride was billed as a rallying point for people to come together and get loud about mental health and suicide prevention. It’s a sentiment that resonated with the community. “All of us, CMHA Kelowna staff and volunteers, we are all overwhelmed by the response to this event,” says Shelagh Turner, CMHA Kelowna’s Executive Director. “It sends an important message that says to anyone who is having mental health issues or thoughts of suicide – you do not have to hide, you do not have to stay silent. As a community, you are not alone and we are there for you.”