From The Editor
Dear readers,
October is mental health month. It can get a bit repetitive, can’t it? When corporations and other entities latch onto the concept of mental health awareness, as if those of us who struggle with mental illness are ever unaware of its festering presence in our lives. Yet stories, as ever, can be a way to find common ground with one another, to know that we are not alone, and that all of us, together, are navigating a constantly more unfamiliar world with each passing day.
A StatCan survey from March 2021 found that 25 per cent of people over 18-years-old in Canada now report that they suffer from some kind of mental health issue, from anxiety to depression to PTSD. Young people aged 18-24 are the most likely to report symptoms of these conditions. Be it due to social media, the rapidly changing social landscape due to COVID-19, a lack of access to jobs and home ownership or some combination of all three, young people are dealing with more emotional turmoil today than ever before.
Rather than attempt to find answers to these problems, this issue holds a collection of honest stories that paint a true-to-life picture of how it feels to be a person living in the world today. People living with invisible disabilities, people recovering from eating disorders, and survivors of sexual violence trying to find some kind of healing; they are all represented here.
Then there is our cover, which depicts a feeling that many of us recognize all too well after a year and a half of living with COVID- 19: that the end is in sight, yet still seemingly so out of reach.
While it may take time to get to that distant finish line, let us continue to listen - really listen - to the people around us, let us engage with groups that are advocating for solutions, and let us continue to believe those who tell us they are struggling.
See you at that journey’s end,
Hannah Theodore
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
October is mental health month. It can get a bit repetitive, can’t it? When corporations and other entities latch onto the concept of mental health awareness, as if those of us who struggle with mental illness are ever unaware of its festering presence in our lives. Yet stories, as ever, can be a way to find common ground with one another, to know that we are not alone, and that all of us, together, are navigating a constantly more unfamiliar world with each passing day.
A StatCan survey from March 2021 found that 25 per cent of people over 18-years-old in Canada now report that they suffer from some kind of mental health issue, from anxiety to depression to PTSD. Young people aged 18-24 are the most likely to report symptoms of these conditions. Be it due to social media, the rapidly changing social landscape due to COVID-19, a lack of access to jobs and home ownership or some combination of all three, young people are dealing with more emotional turmoil today than ever before.
Rather than attempt to find answers to these problems, this issue holds a collection of honest stories that paint a true-to-life picture of how it feels to be a person living in the world today. People living with invisible disabilities, people recovering from eating disorders, and survivors of sexual violence trying to find some kind of healing; they are all represented here.
Then there is our cover, which depicts a feeling that many of us recognize all too well after a year and a half of living with COVID- 19: that the end is in sight, yet still seemingly so out of reach.
While it may take time to get to that distant finish line, let us continue to listen - really listen - to the people around us, let us engage with groups that are advocating for solutions, and let us continue to believe those who tell us they are struggling.
See you at that journey’s end,
Hannah Theodore
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
