- I am so fucking done with Bell Let's Talk.
Okay, so quick explanation of the Bell Let's Talk campaign.
Bell is one of the giant three
internet and cell phone provider corporations
here in Canada.
Every year since 2010,
they have put on a mental health awareness campaign
by the name of Bell Let's Talk.
Interesting that their name slid into that.
Basically for every text message sent through their network,
view of their YouTube video,
and social media share using their hashtag #bellletstalk,
the company donates 5 cents to mental health initiatives.
It's been said that Bell Let's Talk has become a portal
to the global discussion of mental health.
Sounds great, right?
So what's my beef with this?
Glad you asked.
So Bell Let's Talk claims to have partnered
with more than 1300 organizations
who have granted access to over 5.5 million Canadians
to mental health services.
If this is the case, though,
why is the current state of affairs
in terms of being able to access
mental health support so dismal?
Bell Let's Talk has a particular emphasis
on supporting youth mental health,
so why was there over 28,000 kids in 2021 in Ontario alone
on a waitlist spanning up to a year
until they can access treatment for their mental health?
Also, anecdotally, the majority of the people I know
who experience mental health challenges
come up against tremendous barriers
trying to just access services for mental health
here in Canada.
You have to be imminently suicidal
to have access to any kind of debatable help.
This leads me to my next qualm
of much of the funds going toward crisis response services.
Now, don't get me wrong.
There is definitely a need for crisis response.
However, I don't believe we are doing ourselves justice
to assert that this is the part of the problem
that needs addressing.
Why aren't psychologists
and other mental health clinician visits
covered under government health plans?
Why are mental health nurses providing clinical therapy
due to shortages of psychiatrists?
Why don't we have mental health clinics
that see and treat patients
just as regular health clinics do?
Why are untrained police officers
responding to mental health calls?
And what about the larger root issues
contributing to mental health crises?
Why aren't we properly addressing
and making amends for colonialism?
Why aren't we addressing racism?
Why aren't we confronting homophobia, fatphobia,
sanism, and ableism?
Why aren't we funding safe and supportive housing for all?
Why aren't we focusing on food security?
These are all the root causes
of both stigma and mental health struggles.
This is where our efforts need to be concerted,
not on more of the bandaid solution
of crisis response solutions
or the lip service provided with awareness,
"Let's talk about it" campaigns.
There's many more problems
with the Bell Let's Talk campaign.
Let's talk about the ridiculous onus
it puts on the individual
to address and work on their mental health challenges.
Bell's campaign website features 43 people,
both celebrities and community members,
sharing their experience with mental illness.
The profiles exhibit a somewhat adequate amount of diversity
in terms of cultural, ethnic,
and sexual minority identities,
albeit only one of these people have schizophrenia.
But the larger point here is that their stories
are 100% homogenous in regard to facing
some sort of mental health challenge,
addressing it on an individual level,
and recovering in the sense of rejoining the workforce.
Not only is this problematic in terms of, again,
shirking responsibility to address these issues
at both a societal and systemic level,
but also the way they are framing what it means to recover.
Basically all of these stories
and the common narrative being sold
in the current mental health discourse
is that of recovery as a return to productivity.
First mental illness strikes,
impeding productivity in some way,
whether it's with work or school,
which becomes the impetus for intervention.
Then through medical intervention
and individual hope and resilience, the illness is overcome.
This concept of overcoming
is confirmed by a return to productivity,
whether in the form of paid employment,
education, advocacy, or volunteer work.
And yes, I am part of this narrative.
Sure, these stories can provide hope for many
who are experiencing their own mental health challenges,
but what does this message do for people
who maybe don't return to productive work?
And we haven't even gotten to the part
where a huge conglomerate corporation
is behind this campaign.
Let's call a spade a spade here
and acknowledge that Bell is a service provider
receiving a financial award
in exchange for the publicity of the campaign.
BCE, which is Bell Canada Enterprises, is worth $60 billion.
They have given about $7 million each year
as a result of this campaign.
There is a very good chance
that they spend even more than the $7 million each year
on advertising and branding for the campaign.
Does that math add up to you?
Bell Let's Talk Day usually drums up a lot of content
of people sharing their personal experiences
with their mental health.
This is great that people
are talking about their mental health openly,
but it's really only effective
in getting people talking for one day a year,
or self-diagnosing online rather than getting help,
or tangibly supporting others beyond this one date.
This date often also feels extremely taxing and burdensome
for people drudging through the trenches
of their mental health on a daily basis,
as often it feels overwhelming
and somewhat performative on this one day.
The ickiness of this goes even further in these regards
where advertisers are essentially
finding out who to target for ads
for things like anti-anxiety blankets,
antidepressant vitamins,
and self-help books to name a few,
based on who shares about their mental health
on social media platforms on this day.
So what do we do about all this
and what should we be doing
instead of falling prey to campaigns like Bell Let's Talk?
Well first and foremost,
I think it's important to really understand
the points I've made thus far in this video.
Mental illness is not a buzzword to be exploited
one day per year for capital gains.
It is also very much not an issue to be overcome
on just an individual level.
There are tremendous systemic and societal factors at play
that affect our mental health.
So first you can educate yourself
on these intersecting factors
and on the societal factors impacting mental health.
Second, you can support,
whether through money, volunteering,
or simply spreading the word
about organizations and initiatives
that are actually addressing these issues.
Think housing, food, racism, colonialism, 2SLGBTQ+,
and more organizations and initiatives.
Third, you can understand and normalize
talking about mental health
in a way that doesn't center itself around recovery
as in a return to productivity.
I often talk about recovery
in terms of being able to lead a life
you find fulfillment and meaning in.
And this absolutely does not just have to include
paid employment or school
or any of these other misguided markers
of success and recovery.
Fourth, you can have these conversations
with the people in your life all year round.
Mental illness is not
this polite little topic of conversation
that only pops its head in one day a year.
It's important to keep talking
and supporting each other every day.
And fifth, you can lobby
and write your government representatives
pushing for better mental health care.
Vote for representatives who are going to fight
to broaden and expand mental health services
and then hold them accountable to this.
Push the fact that mental health is health
and should be given just as much time and resources
as general health.
If we genuinely want to affect meaningful change
in terms of how our societies approach
and treat mental health and mental illness,
it's time to shift the conversation
away from these feel good narratives.
The reality is that these narratives are not the realities
for many who are struggling with mental health challenges,
and creating this glossy,
ultimately empty mental health campaign for corporate gains
over real societal change
is very much part of the problem.
I do not support Bell Let's Talk
while they fail to acknowledge these basic cornerstones
of the real conversations
that need to happen around mental health.
I will not be participating in Bell Let's Talk Day,
and if you want to see meaningful change
in terms of mental health,
neither should you.