COVID-19: Halifax psychiatrist says people need to be taught ‘mental fitness’ skills

A Halifax-based psychiatrist says the pandemic has helped remove the stigma from mental health challenges.

A Halifax-based psychiatrist says the pandemic has cast a spotlight on the benefits people can bring to their lives if they focus on developing skills that improve their overall “mental fitness.”

READ MORE: World Mental Health Day: Getting closer to ending the stigma, WHO says

Kinley is also the founder of a mental health skills development institution that aims to expand people’s growth in personal areas they may be struggling with.

“Sometimes its perspective, it’s that mindset shift. Sometimes it’s what I call, ‘Think fit’, which is mental discipline, learning how to ground and stay focused, and be forward-thinking. Like, a lot of people struggle with that, that’s why you have so much ADHD, and all these attentional issues, people don’t ground – they live in this frenetic headspace,” Kinley said.

She adds that emotional intelligence is another aspect of many people’s lives that gets overlooked when it comes to improving someone’s overall wellbeing.

“I often say it’s not about feeling better, it’s about getting better at feeling. We live in a world where we suppress emotions, we don’t value them,” she said.

READ MORE: A ‘free environment’: Championing peer support programs on World Mental Health Day

Kinley says the mental health crisis has pre-existed COVID for many years and that 1 in 5 people will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime.