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Help break down the stigma against mental health issues by wearing a "Not Myself Today" mood button.Ìý

It's time to listen when our colleagues say, "I'm not myself today."

Dalhousie Human Resources, together with Partners for Mental Health, is pleased to relaunch the "Not Myself Today" workplace campaign.Ìý It's rooted in the the idea that every one of us has had a day when we don’t feel like ourselves. The campaign asks Canadians to imagine the experiences of people who live with those feelings not just one day, but many days, along with the shame, discrimination and lack of treatment and support that goes with it.

Across the University, volunteers will be distributing "mood" buttons. Each has a different emotion on it: happy, grumpy, anxious, empty, sensitive, sad and many others. Faculty and staff are encouraged to wear the buttons all week to help appreciate that we all bring different attitudes and perspectives to work each day, and that we need to treat everyone with empathy and understanding.

HOW TO PICK UP YOUR BUTTON(S)

Drop by any of the following locations between 10-11 a.m. or between 12-1 p.m. on Monday:

- Killam Atrium

- Life Sciences Centre near Tim Horton's

- Dalplex

- Tupper Link

- Sexton Campus Alumni Lounge

- Agricultural Campus Cox Institute Room 100 or the Haley Building

ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH

Mental health is everyone's business. We're all affected by it. In the workplace, the cost of doing nothing is staggering, yet the stigma of mental illness is alive and well in our society.

The numbers:

- 7 million Canadians will experience a mental health problem in the next 12 months

- 500,000 people are absent from work each day for mental health reasons

- 1 in 3 workplace disability claims are related to mental illness

- $51 billion is the annual economic cost of mental illness in Canada

Inquiries: HealthyDal@Dal.ca, (902) 494-4568

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