Why Press Pause

If you think back on the last six months of your life do you remember ever having feelings of stress or anxiety? If you are like us, you likely said yes. 

This is because feelings of stress and anxiety are normal. Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. Our bodies react to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life, but just because it is normal, does not mean that we should let it take over our lives or weigh heavily on our mental wellness. 

Press Pause was designed as a way to alleviate some of the stress and anxiety we may feel on a daily basis, as well as provide us with resources and places to turn to when our feelings become overwhelming or too much to handle on our own. By using simple tools, our hope is to contribute to solving this growing social issue. 

Research shows that by age 40, 50% of the Canadian population will identify that they have suffered from a mental health problem, and about half of those have never gotten help or talked about it (CMHA, 2013). 

Stigma then prevents 40% of those people from getting the help they need (CMHA, 2013). 

When we narrow our focus further, we learned that about one-fifth of post-secondary students admitted to battling a mental health issue, which is up an alarming 8% from 2013, totaling over 440,000 students (NCHA-11, 2016). 

As our world seems more uncertain than ever, it is so important that we pivot and focus on how to improve our mental wellness. Our kit can challenge you to 5-10 minutes a day of pressing pause on your busy life and focusing on personal growth and self-reflection.