Suicide isn’t painless
No one saw it coming. Not family, not friends, not anyone at the university he attended. On March 23, 2018, after babysitting his nieces and nephews, 18-year-old Nicholas (Nick) Penner Brandt returned to the apartment he shared with an older brother and twin sister, drank poison and died. In one horrible instant, the entire Brandt…
Meeting the mental health needs of students
Are more students struggling with mental health issues these days, or are they just better able to articulate their struggles than students once were? Jim Epp doesn’t know the answer to this question. As principal of Rosthern Junior College (RJC), one thing he does know is that his students are not immune to mental illness…
‘Poetry and art for mental health’
Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and eating disorders may not sound like subjects for art, but a recent exhibit at the Reach gallery proved that art is a powerful medium for educating and talking about mental illness. Hear and See: Poetry and Art for Mental Health featured the work of 14 poets and the same number…
Resilience Road leads to mental health for women
Society is witnessing mental health struggles increase at an alarming rate, and the push for women’s voices to be heard grows stronger. At the same time, Mennonite Women Manitoba decided to travel the “road to resilience” this year for their annual retreat. The committee chose the topic of resilience because, when they asked participants at…
From church to yoga studio
For many years the church provided me with a place where I felt like I belonged. I was 14 years old when I “decided” to get baptized. Coming from a Mennonite/Anabaptist background, I always respected the time in people’s lives when they would announce their dedication to the Christian faith and get aligned into a…
Walking toward wellness
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.—Various attributions According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 20 percent of all Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Those statistics apply to people in our congregations as well, even if we don’t always like to talk about them in…
On becoming a better person
Although I had biked 21 kilometres to work and spent the hot day bent over in a vegetable patch just south of Winnipeg, I was still pushing hard on my ride home. I loved passing the hot-shot cyclists who frequented the same route. On that day of particular exertion and clarity, my sense of drive…
Learning to let go
When she was admitted to hospital at the age of 14, it didn’t take long for doctors to diagnose Julia Klassen with anorexia nervosa. She displayed all the classic symptoms: a fear of gaining weight and a strong desire to be thin. She was malnourished, the result of restricting her eating for three months. Klassen’s…
Guard your heart and mind
I memorized Philippians 4:4-9 more than 20 years ago when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with my son Aaron. I had lost three babies before him—and one after him—so pregnancy for me was an obvious cause for anxiety. If truth be known, I am actually a professional worrier, so passages like this…
‘I am still holding out hope that I will be free of this one day’
What is it like being a young adult journeying with mental illness? Canadian Mennonite spoke with three people from Mennonite Church Canada congregations to find out. Melanie Kampen Melanie Kampen sought help for her anxiety when it got so bad last summer that she couldn’t get out of bed. A psychiatrist diagnosed the 26-year-old with…
