Activities offered or supported by ARC
- Rock Painting is a creative activity with intention and offered weekly in-person.
- Talking to Improve Wellbeing meets monthly in-person or via Zoom.
- Mental Health Café twice per month in collaboration with Our Harbour.
- Mental health first aid courses.
- Mental health programs and activities for adults with special needs: Care Share from the South Shore Literacy Council and Bright Lights from the Préville Fine Arts Centre.
- Support and activities for groups from CISSS-MC.
Take care of your physical health and mental wellbeing
Examples of self-care include:
- Seeking medical treatment for physical aches and pains
- Making spiritual connections
- Exercising
- Meditating
- Learning new skills and hobbies
- Getting quality sleep
- Volunteering
Avoid Alcohol and Drugs
Alcohol and drug use alter the brain’s functions, including the neurotransmitters associated with mental health. Substances trick the brain into producing higher amounts of serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and norepinephrine. Temporarily this boost feels good, but within hours, the levels drop, and you experience an increase in depression, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms. You can avoid these emotional ups and downs by avoiding alcohol and other substances.
Ask for help
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it may be time to share with your mental health professional. They can help you pinpoint specific events that are difficult for you and help create an action plan to change them. If you do not have a mental health professional and feel distress, there are several local and regional telephone numbers that you can call for help:
- Info-Social: 811
- Access crisis centre: (450) 679-8689
- Suicide Action Montreal: 1 (866) 277-3553
- Crisis centre of the Haut-Richelieu: (450) 348-6300
- Centre d’écoute Montérégie: (450) 658-8509
Publications
Literacy
Reading books that reflect your lived experience is an excellent way to learn. The books that were included in these documents are all available free of cost in the Longueuil Library system and have characters who deal with mental health challenges during the course of the narrative. You can use them to help your child understand a subject, learn more about the lived experience of someone with a mental health challenge or see others who have lived through the same challenges as you experience. The lists are not exhaustive as the libraries are in constant evolution but can be used as a jumping off point into the world of literature and mental health literacy.
Women
Men
Youth
Adults General
Resources
- Haut-Richelieu Suicide Prevention Centre
St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu
Line of intervention 450-348-6300 or 1-866-CALLS (277-3553) - The Access – Crisis Intervention Centre in Longueil
Line of intervention 450-679-8689 or 1 866-CALLS (277-3553) - Suicide Prevention and Support https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en.
- Mental Health Commission of Canada https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/covid19
