We believe the solution side of the equation is just as important as the problem. In the Journal’s ongoing podcast series, we take a vexxing problem each episode and talk to experts who are solving that problem. 

This episode features Calgary adventure bloggers Annalise and Cailynn Klingbeil. The sisters co-write a blog called Go Outside, giving Calgarians advice on how to fully embrace outdoor activities that exist within their backyard. 

Recently, Annalise and Cailynn have discussed exploring Calgary in a “car-free” way, enticing Calgarians to ditch the car, lace up a pair of sneakers, and adventure the city on foot. 

According to the World Health Organization, choosing to walk instead of driving reduces greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions, while also supporting one’s mental well-being. 

Annalise Klingbeil studied communications at the University of Calgary and is the co-founder of Champion Communications and PR. A freelance journalist and editor, Cailynn Klingbeil has written for many publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Globe and Mail.

This episode features Green Calgary coordinators Grace Wark and Mafe Barrera, who will be discussing living a zero-waste lifestyle. With Waste Reduction Week in Canada having occurred from Oct. 17 to 23, now is the time to learn some recycling tips to practice throughout the year! 

Before joining Green Calgary, Wark completed studies in environmental science and geography and is now focused on creating a sustainable Calgary. 

Barrera has a passion for animals and plants, spending many years volunteering with organizations in Columbia that focused on preservation. Barrera has studied environmental remediation and hopes to study environmental sciences in the future.

Logo: Mind The Gap by Luis Prado and Beard by José Manuel de Laá of Noun Project.
This episode was produced as part of the Winter 2019 session of COMM 3727.
Special thanks to Ricardo Andres-Garcias for creating our theme song.

Logo created by Adnen Kadri and BirVa Mehta of Noun Project.
This episode was produced as part of the Winter 2019 session of COMM 3727.
Special thanks to Ricardo Andres-Garcias for creating our theme song.

Arcade machine on logo created by Lluisa Iborra of Noun Project.
This episode was produced as part of the Winter 2019 session of COMM 3727.
Special thanks to Ricardo Andres-Garcias for creating our theme song.

Logo by Shastry from Noun Project.
This episode was produced as part of the Winter 2019 session of COMM 3727.
Special thanks to Ricardo Andres-Garcias for creating our theme song.

by Ricardo-Andres Garcia, Brian Wells, and Nathan Woolridge

This episode dives into the issues of separating Indigenous families — the crisis that Canada has created through Residential Schools, the Sixties Scoop and the Millennial Scoop among other events that took Indigenous children from their parents. Today, we are seeing it in the placement of First Nations children in foster care.

The effects of such events have led to a cycle of inter-generational trauma — a legacy of children being separated from their families and flooding the foster care system.

Indigenous children are over-represented in Canada’s foster care system, accounting for nearly half of all children cared for by the state, despite making up just seven per cent of all children in the country. The 2011 Statistics Canada data from still holds up.

"I really believe that First Nation's communities are quite capable of looking after their own children.” -Roy Bear Chief

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

By Kaeliegh Allan, Alaina Shirt and Chelsey Mutter

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research describes non-Indigenous allies as people who “recognize the unearned privilege they receive from society’s patterns of injustice and take responsibility for changing these patterns.”

Many want to be an ally to the Indigenous community, but often don’t know where to start. What’s the correct terminology to use? What sorts of questions should be asked, avoided?

“We have to ask questions, we have to be humble, we have to come with a really good heart, and we have to be willing to be challenged.” -Kathy Offet-Gartner

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

by Kemi Omorogbe, Mackenzie Gellner and Ryleigh Kampman

In an effort to lift Indigenous curriculum off the page and uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, some professors are turning to Indigenous students in the classroom to speak to the content. This is angering some student who feel as they are being generalized because of their culture.

“The professors had no clue, no clue, and some of them were honest and said they never had this experience in my career, so I can’t provide you any feedback. And others just blew me off, they basically didn’t care.” - Buffalo Kiss

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

by Sarah Green, Georgia Longphee, and Casey Richardson

Inter-generational trauma perpetuates a cycle of cultural disconnect and misunderstanding in Indigenous communities, seen by many as the root cause of challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples.

The Calgary Journal invited an Indigenous elder, a professor and a student -- all who have been touched by inter-generational trauma -- to discuss the critical importance of resilience. Resilience focuses not on pain but on strength.

“I have trauma. I have triggers. But now that I am learning about it, it is helping me know what those triggers are and deal with them in a healthy way.”

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by: https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

by Monique LaBossiere, Bill Atwood, Jackson Reed

University life seems so exciting in the movies. From unpacking your brand new bed sheets to cooking your first meal alone, the possibilities seem endless. Steve Kootney-Jobin, the Indigenous housing and events coordinator for Mount Royal University’s Iniskim Centre, says this picturesque image is not a reality for all students.

“It almost becomes this fictionalized Hollywood type of image. Where you have students arriving at the dorms, being dropped off by both parents and then their parents taking them shopping and stocking them up for the semester, when that isn’t always the case.” - Steve Kootney-Jobin

“I was asked by one of my roommate if I got everything for free. On one hand it does make me feel a little bad if I am viewed [as having gotten] a free ride or not. I guess it’s just a little alienating,” says Lightning. - Jacob Lightning

To learn more about the Iniskim center at Mount royal University please visit:
https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/IniskimCentre/index.htm

This episode is created by:
https://calgaryjournal.ca/

Intro music by Ricardo-Andres-Garcia

By Kyra Bird kbird@cjournal.ca and Stephanie Hagenaars shagenaars@cjournal.ca

Parenting is often seen as a independent endeavor, yet this common perception often leaves parents feeling as though they can’t, or shouldn’t, reach out for help with their mental health when needed. In our Mental Health Mind Map podcast series, Calgary parents share their struggles with building a support system to help tackle parenthood.

Tiffany Austin, the creator of The Good Enuf Mommy blog and mom to a seven-year-old son, says her parenthood struggles began during pregnancy when she was put on bed rest, experienced a tough labour and then was hospitalized with postpartum psychosis a few weeks later. Austin, like many of the mothers in a 2015 Pew Research Center report, found her support system online through social media.

The Pew report indicates that 74 per cent of parents use social media to receive parental support from friends. However, 45 per cent of the mothers who use social media “strongly agree” that they receive this support online, in comparison to just 22 per cent of fathers who responded the same way.

A.J. Bergin, on the other hand, hasn’t yet turned to social media for parenting help.

He recently separated from his wife and is now navigating co-parenting his two-year-old daughter, Rune. Bergin is beginning to rebuild the support system that he sees as an integral part of parenting.

“It is so important to build your community around yourself because when you’re at your low you need someone to help out,” Bergin says.

In partnership with Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Podcast music credit: Music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

By Emily Dixon, Andrea Wong, Vinyet Miro Pujadas and Rod Neyra

People think friendship is easy and something everyone figures out by elementary school. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Many people struggle with unhealthy friendships well into adulthood. The Canadian Mental Health Association runs the Art of Friendship, a free course for Calgarians to learn skills for developing healthy friendships.

Priscilla Cherry, a peer facilitator with the CMHA, says mental wellness isn’t possible without healthy friendships.

“It can sound like fluff. But again that is honestly the cure to addiction, mental health and isolation,” she says.

Brigham Young University completed a study which found that not having friendships to rely on could be as negative to one’s overall health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Nigel Mayers, a past Art of Friendship participant who took the course with CHMA’s Recovery College, says he’s learned a lot about healthy friendships, boundaries and hope.

“I isolated myself for years, I cut myself off from my friends and things just got worse and worse from there,” adding, “The moment you really connect with someone; you can see someone go from their world is falling apart to they have that glimmer of hope.”

In partnership with the Calgary office of the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Calgary Journal is publishing a series of podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. You can follow these stories using the #CalgaryJournalHealth hashtag.

Podcast music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud.

By Blaise Kemna, Samantha Lafleur and Sajan Jabbal

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

What role can religion play on one’s mental health? The Calgary Journal brought three people together to take on this topic.

Shelika Joshi, a Hindu woman from Calgary, is a peer support worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“I kind of made my own support group of inviting people who have mental illness or mental health concerns but we have faith in God,” Joshi says.

She says managing your own mental health and adhering to a faith tradition can work hand-in-hand.
Rekha Jabbal is a Calgary pharmacist and Sikh woman. She works firsthand with adolescents to address mental issues.

“It does give me that cultural understanding with some of our patients … but then also I have that evidence-based knowledge to know what may be the right treatment for that young person or adult,” Jabbal says, sharing medical and spiritual insights on mental health and religion.

Mike Ivancic is a Christian pastor in Calgary and sees that religion can have both a positive and negative effect on a person’s mental health. But in the end he thinks it can play an important role in addressing an individual’s struggles without interfering with modern medical practices.

“I think from a faith perspective, it’s to acknowledge the things that we see in science, the things we see around us,” says Ivancic. “But it’s [also] to build on top of that. It’s not mutually exclusive.”

Podcast music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

Editor’s note: In the interest of transparency one of our sources, Rekha Jabbal is the mother of reporter Sajan Jabbal

By Sadie Johnson, Gabriel Reed and Jayme Crosser

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, in any given year, one in five Canadians will personally experience a mental health issue or illness.

What is sometimes forgotten is the toll that illness can have on family members, friends or work colleagues.

Jenna Warren and Sam Eady are peer facilitators with the CMHA in Calgary who help run an 8-week course called [Finding Your Balance].

They help provide caregivers with with emotional support and provide access to resources. They also have personal experience in caregiver roles.

We understand how hard and tough it can be sometimes, and that the family as a unit needs support,” says Warren.

Eady explains how peer-supporting isn’t just about giving advice, but also listening.

“It’s really about meeting people, [and] where they’re at in their journey,” says Eady

The caregiver course is part of the CMHA’s [Recovery College program], which requires pre-registration, but is free to the public.

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, the [Calgary Journal] is publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Credit: music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

[2]http://www.recoverycollegecalgary.ca/courses/finding-your-balance/
[3]: http://www.recoverycollegecalgary.ca/

By Isabelle Bennett, Jill Meagher and Dan Khavkin

Addiction is a mental health issue capable of destroying careers, relationships and physical health. Calgary’s Fresh Start Recovery Centre is giving men and their families a way out.

Beyond acting as a support system, the people running the program also have direct experience with addiction and recovery.

Stacey Peterson, the executive director of the recovery centre, said he grew up in an alcoholic environment and a home filled with physical violence.

“The police were out on the lawn once a month,” Peterson said.

“I had issues far before I ever picked up [alcohol or drugs],” he said. “I never felt like I fit, regardless of where I was. I always felt ‘less-than.’ I always felt different. And then I found alcohol — I was about nine years old.”

Bruce Holstead, Fresh Start’s director of operations, said he started “dabbling” with marijuana and alcohol when he was around 12 or 13 years old, transitioning to injectable drugs shortly after.

“Addiction for me took an exceptionally-aggressive path in a very hurried state,” Holstead said.

With help from friends and families along with rehabilitation programs, both men were able to begin the process of recovery and say they haven’t used since.

Now, they are giving back the acceptance and assistance that was given to them through Fresh Start.

“It is completely possible not to regret the past or wish to shut the door on it, and be able to use your experience, no matter how far down the scale you’ve gone, to benefit others,” Peterson said.

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Credit: music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

By Brittany Willsie, Hailey Payne and Mackenzie Hermann

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, the Calgary Journal is publishing podcasts and
news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Tired. Sluggish. Blocked. One doesn’t have to look hard to find research showing the link between poor nutrition and foul mood.

To better understand how clean eating impacts mood, the Calgary Journal brought three Calgary women together with first hand experience.

Debbie Cheeseman recently completed the Canadian Mental Health Association’s “Food and Mood” course. Catherine MaCallister is a peer support worker at CMHA and has facilitated the workshop. Myra Murias is a nutrition expert and instructor with the free course, which is part of the CMHA’s Recovery College.

MaCallister completed the course and now challenges people to eat clean for 21 days.

“I know you can break or form a habit within 21 days, so I challenged myself if I can stick this out … something will kick in.”

Cheeseman, who manages anxiety and depression through clean eating, says it’s also important to take it “breath by breath but it does get easier and better — it’s really just finding what works for you.”

Murias advises people to pay attention to foods that might trigger lower moods, and to remember that “you are the expert on your body, because we know experts can’t even agree.”

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Credit: music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

By: Sam Nar, Rosemary DeSouza, and Mollie Smith

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, we’re publishing a series of podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Most of us have felt awkward or embarrassed at some point in our lives — the flushed cheeks, the rapid heart palpitations, the desire to bolt out the door.

For 8.7 per cent of Canadians, they go through these feelings everyday. An estimated three million Canadians live with some form of generalized anxiety disorder. The most common form is social anxiety, according to a Statistics Canada report.

Steven Strauch was formally diagnosed with social anxiety disorder when he was in junior high. Strauch, now a recovery trainer at Canadian Mental Health Association in Calgary, says society tends to overlook the condition.

“It feels like there [are] more conversations about it, definitely more resources out there,” Strauch says, but he adds, “I don't know if the meaningful conversations about it are happening."

For the socially anxious, life can be severely debilitating. It goes beyond being a shy or introverted person. Multiple sources, including the Canadian Community Health Survey, describe the symptoms as a near-constant, irrational fear of overstepping imagined boundaries, the persisting unease in accomplishing day-to-day tasks and the fear of social consequences.

For Mount Royal University (MRU) broadcasting student Kim Mallari, the condition became dangerously isolating. While Mallari hasn’t been formally diagnosed, he says his psychiatrist suspects he has the disorder.

“I would not go outside for fear of just interacting with someone,” he says, adding, “I would even try to avoid my friends and ... family in any social setting.”

In this Calgary Journal podcast, three Calgarians share their experiences of living with social anxiety.

Credit: music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud

By Karina Zapata, Sofia Gruchalla-Wesierski and Cassie Jamieson

In partnership with the Calgary Canadian Mental Health Association, the Calgary Journal is publishing podcasts and news stories about mental health issues in our city. Track these stories using #CalgaryJournalHealth.

Patrick Daigle, 34, and Brad Peterson, 27, thought becoming new parents would be easier.
Daigle, of Calgary, and Peterson, of Lethbridge, both experienced postpartum depression —
something neither they nor their wives, Laura Daigle and Heather Peterson, imagined was possible
in men.

Peterson recalls his brother’s early advice.
“[He] was like, ‘Watch your wife! She’ll get postpartum, I guarantee it!’ It turns out I was the one.”
According to a peer-reviewed 2007 study(HYPERLINK URL), Sad Dads, up to 25 per cent of new
fathers suffer from postpartum depression. Daigle and Peterson had little understanding of just
how deeply the condition would affect their lives.

“It sounds terrible to say, but I almost didn’t acknowledge that [my son] existed,” says Peterson.
Laura, Daigle’s partner, struggled to adjust to her husband’s depression which was unlike anything
she had previously seen.

She remembers asking, “How is it possible that by gaining this baby, I’ve lost my husband?”

A 2007 study states symptoms in men differ from symptoms in women. Men with postpartum
depression are often more irritable, angry, impulsive and more prone to substance abuse.
These differences, as well as society’s instinctive need to focus on the mother, often leave new
fathers struggling alone and unaware of their condition.

“I fell into the trap of feeling like [...] I wasn’t a worthwhile part of this equation,” says Daigle.

Daigle sought help from the Calgary Counselling Centre where he has regularly attended
counselling for his depression and anxiety. Peterson found support through family and friends.

Both Alberta fathers say if they had known they weren’t alone, the thrilling experience of having a
new baby may have been less grueling.

Credit: Podcast music courtesy of Spyro Vapes/SoundCloud