Sask movement launches club for mental health
The prevalence of anxiety and depression has skyrocketed in Saskatchewan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Saskatchewan has seen a four-fold increase in the levels of anxiety (25%) and a three-fold increase in the levels of depression (17%) since the pandemic, as compared to before,” according to the Sask Population Health and Evaluation Research.[1]
The solution? A club promoting joy.
Journalist Christalee Froese, founder of the More Joy Movement, recently initiated ‘Club Joy’—an upcoming initiative focused on getting people out of the Covid funk for 2022 and into activities that address mental health issues.
“There are clubs for all kinds of things from sports to cribbage to book clubs, so I thought why not have a club focused on joy as a way of combating COVID-19 isolation and the mental health issues that have come along with it,” said Froese.
Club Joy activities will start up in January, 2022 with an online dance class & live Flash Mob to thank frontline workers, followed by a mental health journaling workshop, a ‘learn-to-run’ class & Fearless 5K and several other classes from a horse workshop to a ‘find your purpose’ night out. All Club Joy events have mental health information incorporated into them.
“With the added pressure of COVID-19 over the past 18 months, many of us are suffering from anxiety and depression and we don’t even realize it,” said Froese, adding that Club Joy focuses on promoting regular physical activity, as well as connecting to a supportive group of people, both of which are critical for good mental health.
Froese is hoping the Club Joy membership—priced at $250 for 4 events throughout 2022 & 4 self-care gifts—will help people engage with the outside world again.
“As human beings, we have a physiological need to connect to others,” said Froese, explaining that the drop in social interaction during COVID-19 isolation has caused many negative effects.
“We’ve postponed most of our in-person events including our annual More Joy Regina gathering which attracted 750 people in 2019 so we’ve had to get really creative to replace those supportive events,” said Froese, adding that the sole mission of the More Joy Movement is to provide hope for those suffering with mental health issues.
“I suffered a nervous breakdown 10 years ago, so I know what it takes to make it through and I also know that a full recovery, and a joyful life, are possible,” said the author of Journey to Joy, the book about her breakdown.
