CMHA offering program to help people battling anxiety or depression

The Canadian Mental Health Association is offering free resources to help those battling with mild to moderate anxiety or depression with a new program, BounceBack.

Residents of Peterborough, Lindsay, Port Hope, and Cobourg should expect brochures in their mailboxes within the next week with information about the new program.

“It’s common to go through bouts of low mood or mild to moderate depression or anxiety from time to time, which is why BounceBack is so important,” said Mark Graham, CEO of CMHA Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's common to go through bouts of low mood or mild to moderate depression or anxiety from time to time, which is why BounceBack is so important," said Mark Graham, CEO of CMHA Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge.

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Bounce Back is a free self-help program designed to help people fight back these feelings or anxiety or depression. The program uses telephone coaching, skill-building workbooks and online videos to help Ontarians, 15 years of age and older, battling mild to moderate anxiety or depression.

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The program will help these individuals gain new skills to help manage their symptoms and regain positive mental health.

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“This program has proven to be effective for many of our clients experiencing symptoms of a mental health concern by teaching new skills like being assertive, changing unhelpful thinking and overcoming sleep problems,” adds Graham.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This program has proven to be effective for many of our clients experiencing symptoms of a mental health concern by teaching new skills like being assertive, changing unhelpful thinking and overcoming sleep problems," adds Graham.

This week, more than 51,000 BounceBack brochures will be delivered to every household in Peterborough, Lindsay, Port Hope and Cobourg.

The program is a partnership between CMHA Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge and the CMHA Ontario Division.

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BounceBack was first adopted by CMHA British Columbia in 2008 and since then, more than 40,000 clients have been referred.

According to CMHA, a participant spends on average, four months in the program.

The BounceBack videos are free, and open to anyone online. The videos offer tips on managing mood, sleeping better, building confidence, increasing activity, problem solving and healthy living.

To view the free videos visit www.bouncebackvideo.ca and use access code “bbtodayon”.

To learn more about the program, visit bouncebackontario.ca.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.

The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Depression Hurts and Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 all offer ways of getting help if you, or someone you know, may be suffering from mental health issues.