Do you know someone struggling with their mental health? According to the most up to date statistics, you probably do. In 2018, 5.3 million Canadians—about one in every seven—needed help with their mental wellbeing. 

Registered Social Worker Daisie Autie says many clients come to her unsure whether they need help, even though they feel something is definitely “off”.

She describes this as the sense that “Everything seems okay, but it’s not okay.”

According to Autie, people may be following patterns in their life that they need help interrupting, even if they aren’t fully aware of them. In some cases, these patterns may be intergenerational—passed down from parent to child.

That type of trauma can be hard for the individual to correct. But thanks to a lessening stigma around mental health issues, more feel comfortable reaching out to therapists for help.

“It’s great to be able to talk about this,” says Autie, “because these aren’t things that get articulated in public very often.”