Hi friends! We’re back with Part 2 of "Raising Mental Health Awareness" with my lovely friends Cruz and T. This series chats about all things mental health — from disorders to therapy, to how to get diagnosed, to the health care system.

In this episode, we chat about the Canadian health care system. We share our personal experiences of the healthcare system, self-diagnosis, misdiagnosis and how to get diagnosed for a mental health disorder.

Stay tuned for Part 3 in a few weeks as we'll be talking about therapy and sharing our experiences, the pros and cons of therapy and more. We are not experts but we hope that having these conversations and sharing our own experiences help educate others and help those who are feeling the way we are.

Thank you so much to Cruz + T for doing this series with me, for being amazing guests and for sharing their vulnerability and experiences with us. 💛 Support their creative work on Instagram!

Cruz 🌻

@vnyvc (https://www.instagram.com/vnyvc​)

@creatingstrongties (https://www.instagram.com/creatingstrongties)

T 🌻

@itsbbtea (https://www.instagram.com/itsbbtea​)

@loosefade (https://www.instagram.com/loosefade)

You are strong to ask for help. You are brave. You are loved.

Below are some resources for mental health.

Free therapy (people living in Ontario)

💐 MindBeacon https://info.mindbeacon.com​​

💐 Abiliti CBT https://myicbt.com​

💐 Friends of Ruby https://www.friendsofruby.ca

💐 Stella's Place https://stellasplace.ca

CAMH: 416 535-8501

GTA: 416-408-HELP (4357)

Peel: 905-459-7777

Mental Health Helpline: 1-866-531-2600

Canadian Mental Health Awareness resources: https://ontario.cmha.ca/provincial-mental-health-supports

Thank you so much to my friend Josh for letting me use his beats. Find him on SoundCloud as Owa! 👀 https://m.soundcloud.com/owa-ever. Stay updated with the "Speak Up Erika" podcast on https://solo.to/SpeakUpErika! 🌸