{"id":10025,"date":"2017-01-25T00:14:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T05:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=10025"},"modified":"2020-01-29T05:18:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T10:18:42","slug":"can-we-talk-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=10025","title":{"rendered":"Can we talk?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bell<\/a>Back in 2010 when Bell first announced its plans to support mental health initiatives, I wrote a post “Talking about un-mentionables<\/a>.” I mentioned back then that “I grew up on the grounds of a children\u2019s psychiatric research institute in London, Ontario, the son of a child psychiatrist.”<\/p>\n

As a result, Bell\u2019s commitment to support mental health is especially meaningful to me. I support Bell Let’s Talk Day<\/a> without reservation and I encourage you to do so as well.<\/p>\n

Through the years, cynics have asked why Bell’s brand figures so prominently in the materials. Why isn’t it just called “Let’s Talk” instead of “Bell Let’s Talk”?<\/p>\n

One of the key elements of the initiative has been to reduce and ultimately remove the stigma commonly associated with mental health issues. “Help end the stigma around mental illness<\/a>” is the first link on the Bell Let’s Talk<\/a> web-page. Yesterday, Bell Let’s Talk and Queen’s University announced a $1 million gift<\/a>, renewing the Bell Canada Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research Chair.<\/p>\n

Bell is one of the most widely held stocks, among Canada’s largest private sector employers and one the country’s biggest investors in infrastructure. Its media properties carry Canada’s most popular shows.\u00a0What better way can there be to remove the stigma of talking about mental health than to attach the endorsement of one of Canada’s most valuable brands?<\/p>\n

One in five Canadians will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lifetime; the stigma associated with it is cited as the number one reason that two thirds of them won’t seek help.<\/p>\n

The Bell Let’s Talk website has ways you can help<\/a>:<\/p>\n