This week, Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at DCO, talks about springtime and seasonal affective disorder. The arrival of spring can bring unexpected challenges. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), typically associated with the winter months, can also manifest in the springtime for many. She uses research and articles which are linked below to talk about SAD. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3315262/ https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/treatment/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week is National Volunteer Week! Join Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at DCO, and talk about volunteer appreciation. The theme for 2024 is “Every Moment Matters” which aims to highlight the important contributions of volunteers in Canada. Our member centres and many other organizations rely on the support of volunteers. So thank you volunteers! To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Caitlin Plant, Program Manager, and Katelyn Doyle, Marketing and Communications Manager, talk about using spring cleaning as a form of self-care. They pull from two articles, (linked below), and discuss their own challenges and thoughts on spring cleaning. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, (n.d.). Spring Cleaning for Your Mental Health. https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/spring-cleaning-for-yourmental-health Yun, T. (March 22, 2022). Psychological obstacles that could be getting in the way of your spring cleaning. CTV News. https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/psychologicalobstacles-that-could-be-getting-in-the-way-of-your-spring-cleaning-1.5829239 To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

As this episode comes out on Easter Monday, we would love to wish all those who celebrate a Happy Easter! In this archived episode, Caitlin sits down with her daughter, now a 7th grader, to gain her perspective once again on some current events. Together, they discuss gender roles, bodily autonomy, and the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade making the criminalization of abortion a reality in some states. If you would like more information or potential tips for managing stress related to these events. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Caitlin Plant, Program Manager at DCO and Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at DCO are talking about gender-based violence in Canada, and how we can best support those calling about gender-based violence. Resources mentioned in this weeks podcast can be found here: National support resources from the Canadian Women’s Foundation: https://canadianwomen.org/support-services/ Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, “#CallItFemicide: Understanding sex/gender-related killings of women and girls in Canada, 2018-2022”: https://femicideincanada.ca/callitfemicide2018-2022.pdf “Ontario-STANDS: Standing Together Against gender-based violence Now through Decisive actions, prevention, empowerment and Supports”: https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-stands-standing-together-against-gender-basedviolence-now-through-decisive-actions-prevention-empowerment-supports “Celebrating International Women’s Day” from Distress and Crisis Ontario’s blog: https://www.dcontario.org/celebrating-international-womens-day/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week, Caitlin Plant, DCO Program Manager; Katelyn Doyle, DCO Communications and Marketing Manager; and Sabrina Popernitsch, a registered psychotherapist, have joined together to talk about their experiences with womanhood. They reflect on International Women's Day, motherhood, sisterhood, and their personal experiences with being a woman. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at DCO, is in conversation with DCO's Program Manager, Caitlin Plant about Earth Hour. This year, we are going lights out on Saturday Mar 23 from 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. According to EarthHour.org, “Last year, over 410,000 hours were given to our planet by supporters in over 190 countries and territories.” Let's do even better this year! If you're interested in any sources mentioned, check out the links here: www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change.html news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/12/27/35-ways-reduce-carbon-footprint/ www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/things-you-can-do.html https://oecd.org/stories/climate-action/key-sectors/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at DCO, is in conversation with Rebecca Lashmar about intimacy coordination. Intimacy on stage can be a powerful tool for storytelling, but it also raises important questions about consent, boundaries, and safety. Rebecca Lashmar, is an actor, creator and intimacy professional. After graduating with her BFA from The University of Windsor in 2019, she then went on to receive her graduate diploma in Arts Administration and Leadership from Queen’s University in 2020 which provided her with a “solid understanding of consent forward, human-centred practices and voices on and off stages and screens. It is crucial to create art that challenges the audience’s (and our own) assumptions and understanding of what intimacy is and what that means for our art.” She then went on to continue her academic research to receive an MA from the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies. To learn more about Rebecca and her practice visit: https://www.rebeccalashmar.com/ This is Part 2 of 2. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at DCO, is in conversation with Rebecca Lashmar about intimacy coordination. Intimacy on stage can be a powerful tool for storytelling, but it also raises important questions about consent, boundaries, and safety. Rebecca Lashmar, is an actor, creator and intimacy professional. After graduating with her BFA from The University of Windsor in 2019, she then went on to receive her graduate diploma in Arts Administration and Leadership from Queen’s University in 2020 which provided her with a “solid understanding of consent forward, human-centred practices and voices on and off stages and screens. It is crucial to create art that challenges the audience’s (and our own) assumptions and understanding of what intimacy is and what that means for our art.” She then went on to continue her academic research to receive an MA from the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies. To learn more about Rebecca and her practice visit: https://www.rebeccalashmar.com/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager, and Caitlin Plant, Program Manager, talk about sexual and reproductive health awareness! Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Day falls on February 12th every year, which aims to educate individuals on sexual health issues and reduce the spread of STIs. Last week was also Sexual Health Week, running from February 12-16th. This year the message is “Sexual Health is for Everyone.” All information and resources are from https://www.actioncanadashr.org/campaigns/sexual-health-week-2024 To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

In this archived episode, we are revisiting a presentation by Lynn Brewin, Learning and Development Coordinator for Distress Centres Ontario, you will learn strategies to keep in mind when writing a call report. She will review the difference between subjective and objective writing and how to write without making judgmental statements. Quality report writing reflects your level of professionalism; it is testament of how well you perform as a call responder. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at DCO, talks about eating disorders within the Black community. Using the National Eating Disorders Information Centre resources, she discusses the unique challenges faced by Black communities in regard to eating disorders. To access NEDIC's website, visit https://nedic.ca/. The resource used in today's podcast is linked here: https://nedic.ca/bipoc/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8.

This week Caitlin Plant, program manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, and Sabrina Popernitsch, a registered psychotherapist, ground us with an end-of-January mental health check-in. They also discuss revisiting New Years Resolutions and being gentle with ourselves if we aren’t meeting the goals we set out to complete. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, and Caitlin Plant, Program Manager at DCO, talk about Post-holiday Letdown and the "Winter Blues". This is an excerpt from the Spirit of Volunteerism webinar, a webinar hosted every third Wednesday of the month for DCO members. If you'd like to learn more about anything discussed in the podcast, these articles are linked below: Additional resources: Your Powerful, Changeable Mindset – https://news.stanford.edu/report/2021/09/15/mindsets-clearing-lens-life/ 10 Cool Ways to Beat Winter Blues – https://ctrinstitute.com/blog/10-cool-ways-beat-winterblues/ 30 Self Care Ideas for Winter – https://balancethroughsimplicity.com/30-self-care-ideas-forwinter/ Sources: Canadian Mental Health Association (2023). Blue Monday is a myth, but the winter blues are real. https://cmhastarttalking.ca/blue-monday-is-a-myth-butthe-winter-blues-are-real/ Mood Disorders Society of Canada (n.d.). It is That Time of Year: Seasonal Affective Disorder & The Winter Blues. https://mdsc.ca/it-is-that-time-of-yearseasonal-affective-disorder-the-winter-blues/ Primeau, Mia. (2021). Your powerful, changeable mindset. https://news.stanford.edu/report/2021/09/15/mindsets-clearing-lenslife/ Sarkis, S. A. (2022). Coping With a Post-Holiday Letdown. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/here-there-andeverywhere/202212/coping-with-a-post-holiday-letdown To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, and Caitlin Plant, Program Manager at DCO, talk about parasocial relationships. Parasocial, as defined by Oxford Dictionary, is "Designating a relationship characterized by the one-sided, unreciprocated sense of intimacy felt by a viewer, fan, or follower for a well-known or prominent figure (typically a media celebrity), in which the follower or fan comes to feel (falsely) that they know the celebrity as a friend." If you'd like to learn more about anything discussed in the podcast, these articles are linked below: Forster, Riva Tukachinsky. The Oxford Handbook of Parasocial Experiences. Oxford University Press, 2023. Laing, Sarah. “Why Celebrity Deaths like Matthew Perry’s Can Hit Us so Hard.” The Kit, 2 Nov. 2023, thekit.ca/culture/culture-celebrity/matthew-perry-death-parasocial-grief/. Macdonald, Mary Ellen. “Parasocial Grief and Why I Can Grieve Matthew Perry.” Grief Matters, Grief Matters, 12 Jan. 2024, griefmatters.ca/blog/parasocial-grief-and-why-i-can-grieve-matthew-perry. “Oxford Word of the Year 2023.” Oxford Languages, 2023, languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2023/. “Parasocial Relationships: What to Know.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/parasocial-relationships. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024. Punjabi, Rajul. “We Asked a Therapist Why We Grieve Celebrities like We Knew Them.” VICE, 8 June 2018, www.vice.com/en/article/ywexgx/we-asked-a-therapist-why-we-grieve-celebrities-like-we-knew-them. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.

This week Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, talks about how we can improve our overall sleep quality. She is pulling from Robert Roy Britt's articles, "The Four Stages of Sleep" and "Your Sleep Quality Probably Sucks. How to Know and What to do." If you'd like to learn more about anything discussed in the podcast, these articles are sourced below: Britt, Robert Roy. “The Four Stages of Sleep and What They Actually Do.” Medium, Wise & Well, 26 Dec. 2023, medium.com/wise-well/the-four-stages-of-sleep-and-what-they-actually-do-d7c03ae2eb11. Britt, Robert Roy. “Your Sleep Quality Probably Sucks. How to Know and What to Do.” Medium, Wise & Well, 26 Dec. 2023, medium.com/wise-well/your-sleep-quality-probably-sucks-how-to-know-and-what-to-do-a9de62853125 To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.

As this episode is released on January 1st, we would like to wish all those celebrating a Happy New Year! Thanks for choosing to listen to our podcast. This week, Caitlin Plant, Program Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, and Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, have a conversation about New Year's resolutions, its history, the pressures of a resolution and how to reshape how you think of the New Year. If you'd like to learn more, we have sourced information in this episode from https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/ and https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/ To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.

As this episode is released on December 25th, we would like to wish all those celebrating a Merry Christmas! Thanks for choosing to listen to our podcast. This week, Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, and Caitlin Plant, Program Manager use Megan Devine's advice to talk about how to manage grief over the holidays. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.

This week, Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, and Jonnie Lombard, trans theatre creator, explore mental health and queerness within the theatre community and industry. They speak about the responsibility artists, organizations and audiences have in amplifying queer voices and work. Visit https://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?action=index for more information about the history of Canadian Theatre. This is part two of a two part series. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.

This week, Katelyn Doyle, Communications and Marketing Manager at Distress and Crisis Ontario, and Jonnie Lombard, trans theatre creator, explore mental health and queerness within the theatre community and industry. They speak about the responsibilities artists, organizations and audiences have in amplifying queer voices and work. Visit https://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?action=index for more information about the history of Canadian Theatre. This is part one of a two part series. To connect with support related to this episode, or for anything else going on in your life, please visit www.dcontario.org/locations to find your nearest Member centre or use the “looking for support” sidebar to chat with ONTX. ONTX can also be reached by texting “SUPPORT” to 258258. Many of our Member centres operate 24/7 and ONTX is available from 2PM – 2AM EST, daily. Thank you for listening and we hope you’ll join us again next week. If you would like to provide feedback on this episode, past episodes, or request future content, you can do so using the following link: https://forms.gle/o8yUPMss6wo8dP1X8. We regret to announce that the ONTX text and chat program will cease operations on January 30th, 2024. Text and chat services will remain available until that date; however, they will no longer be accessible starting January 31st, 2024. If you are seeking support alternatives, we encourage you to visit our website at www.dcontario.org/locations to locate your nearest Member centre, some of which provide their own text and/or chat support services.