App Review: MindShift

Read This With Your Kids!: The Invisible String

The Invisible String by Patrice Karst is an important reminder of how we are connected to those we love and care about. The Invisible String is about two children who get scared from a storm during the night and seek out connection with their mom. Their mom then shares an important lesson she learned as a child about an invisible string that connects us to those that we care about, no matter how far away they are, or if they have passed on. We can feel and send tugs on the invisible string when we need a douse of connection. While reading a book to our child is awesome as is, stopping to ask some questions can help with comprehension and the ability to personalize the story. So here are some talking points: You can ask your child if they have ever felt tugs on the invisible string? When grief is brought up, you can discuss family members and friends that you still feel connected to even after a loss. At the conclusion of the book, ask who are some people you are connect...

Schools out for summer; now what?

Exams are completed, graduations are coming to an end, and your children are now home for the summer. For nine months the home was yours, now your offspring and co. are invading your premises. It is a transition that comes every year, some parents dread it and others are like the father in the Staples back-to-school commercial from years ago: ‘It is the most wonderful time of the year!’ Children used to having their planners filled from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. now have about eight extra hours at their disposal and they aren’t 100 per cent sure of how to invest that time. School is out, now what do we do? All of us: children, students, and parents need ideas. As clinicians, we know this can be a trying time for a number of parents. It is a transition and all transitions have the potential for additional stress. We all have the dreams of what we want to do this summer: weekends at the lake, time spent out in the sun, quality time together, and many other wholesome interactive activ...

Covid might just be the perfect storm for Depression

Depression, as I am using it, refers to a mental health concern characterized by low mood and disturbances in sleep, concentration, energy, self-esteem and hope. Diagnosing a Major Depressive Episode however is a little more complex than just endorsing items on a list and if you feel those items relate to you please reach out to a professional for help! Before this zombie-apocalypse-light, the rates of mood disorders, including Depression, in Canada were about 1 in every 10 Canadians and evidence from the United States suggests that those numbers have dramatically increased with Covid (over 500% increases based on some stats). Depression isn’t something that happens to “them” but rather it is something that happens to “us” and very likely “you” and “I.” Depression comes from an overlapping of a lot of factors including your genetics, environment and behaviours. Covid has dramatically shifted our environments and behaviours in ways that will increase the risk of Depression. Essentially,...

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