For a lot of people, Christmas elicits feelings of happiness and joy.  They love the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, Christmas parties and decorating everything that isn't tied down.  

 But, for many others, Christmas means stress, not enough money for family gifts, wondering where your Christmas meal, or, for that matter, where your next meal will come from.  The holidays can bring bouts of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.  

Kim Titus, the Director of Airdrie's Thumbs Up Foundation, an organization whose mission it is to advocate for positive change for mental health, says many people who feel that way suffer from a sense of hopelessness.

"What we hear often from people who have those kinds of struggles is it's often attached to a feeling of hopelessness.  With the festivities of the season, I think it can just amplify those feelings of isolation and lack of hope."

Titus believes, because of the stigma surrounding mental health, that many of the people feeling that way have been looking for help for a long time.

"I think part of it, for sure, is because of their own internal feelings, but many of them have been working trying to find resources and support and access to care and all of those things.   Some of the people who've contacted us have been doing it for a long time. I think it's a combination of things, both external and internal"

The most important thing to remember Titus believes, is, when you are feeling this way, you're not alone and you don't have to suffer alone.  

"It sounds so cliche.  I have a hard time wrapping my head around, almost on a daily basis,  is there are millions of people who suffer in silence and isolation, so let's start reaching out and connecting with each other.  You know, there's that whole "Me Too" campaign out there.  There is a "Me Too" on mental health and we're all impacted by it, either directly or indirectly.  The needle is moving to compassion.  When people reach out it elicits feelings of compassion and concern not feelings of judgment and isolation that have been traditionally been a part of why we haven't talked about this."

Titus says people need to find someone they can reach out to and the onus to do that lies with those experiencing those feelings. 

"A friend, a colleague, a family member, there's lots of support groups out there.  Some of it, we have to take the initiative ourselves and make that first step.  People can't always tell by looking, so sometimes we wait for people to reach out to us but they're not reaching out because they can't look and determine that you're suffering in silence.  Some of the onus is on us, if we're having those struggles, that we take that first step and reach out to someone because I'm positive that when you do, they will reach back."

Titus believes there are lots of good resources in Airdrie and she thinks more are coming. 

"Airdrie Mental Health and Community Links have some great programs.  There are some great things happening behind the scenes.  I see hope on the horizon, particularly as it pertains to Airdrie.  The Airdrie Health Benefits Co-op and all the good work that they're doing.  I see more willingness in the community to work collaboratively together.  Urgent Care has mental health help available at their facility.  Those are all significantly positive steps that have been happening for the last while."

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