March 20, 2020

Dear CSP member,

Your health and safety is the most important concern for the Canadian Ski Patrol during this unique period in history because of COVID-19. One of the key mitigation techniques to prevent the spread of the virus is social isolation or quarantine.  This may lead to people being socially isolated from family, friends, and colleagues. This memo will provide some guidance how to protect your mental health and safety under these circumstances.

The mental health and safety of CSP members and their families is important. The CSP is often described as a large family and is certainly made up of people that care about each other.

You may already have taken the time to do your own research and reach out to each other to offer support or even assistance where needed. We all need to continue to do that keeping in mind to follow all the steps to avoid being infected or spreading the virus during this period, it is important to look after your emotional well being.

Each of us, depending on our personality will react and cope with varying degrees of comfort. Some of us will carry on feeling comfortable that everything will work out while others maybe struggling to absorb what is happening and feel overwhelmed. There is lots of information that is available to help understand our feelings and to better manage how those feelings affect us.

If you are required to be socially isolated or quarantined, consider some of the following points:

  1. Not everything you hear is true. Check information using reliable sources,
  2. It is easy to become overwhelmed. Stay informed but avoid being immersed in COVID-19, spend time doing normal activities,
  3. Talk to people. Reach out to friends and family that may be feeling isolated,
  4. Do normal things,
  5. Deal with emotions in a healthy manner, and
  6. If you feel you cannot cope, consult a professional.

(source: https://www.epi-win.com/all-resources/coping-with-stress-during-the-covid-19-outbreak)

There are many sources of information to help people understand that how you feel about COVID-19 is normal, how to manage those feelings and if need be and where assistance is available if needed.  Below is a couple of sites to start with.

CAMH (Canadian Addition and Metal Health) – https://camh.ca/

Canadian Mental Health Association – https://cmha.ca/

Canadian Mental Health Association – What’s Your Stress Index? – https://cmha.ca/whats-your-stress-index#.XnF2b41VYiw.mailto

Canadian Metal Health Association – Tips to support mental health amid concerns about COVID-19 pandemic – http://ontario.cmha.ca/news/cmha-offers-tips-to-support-mental-health-amid-concerns-of-covid-19-pandemic/#.XnF7Eq7QwjA.mailto

Government of Canada – https://www.canada.ca/en/government/publicservice/covid-19/covid-19-mental-health-work.html

Please note that we will provide update o0n the actions related to re-certification and training on Monday, March 23, 2020 to the zone presidents on division presidents.

Take care,

 

Zoe Robinson, CPA CMA
President and CEO
(zoe.robinson@skipatrol.ca)

Your mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This post is also available in: French