Child and Teen Suicide: It’s Real and It’s Happening
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 What can we do to prevent it? With today, September 10th, being World Suicide Prevention Day, we at VictoryLab aim to educate and inform people of the high rate of adolescent suicide in Canada; but, most importantly, how we can prevent it. It’s difficult to comprehend that children as young as 5 to 9 years old are able to take their own lives, yet there were two of these suicides reported in Canada in 2011. In addition to that, 657 children from ages
How to Start School Off Right
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 3 Back-to-School Tips for Students and Parents As school starts back up so do the early mornings, the heavy workload, and the stress of performing well. Though it might be nice to finally get the kids out of the house and doing something, school takes a toll on students, even more than we assume. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (CMCC) reported that 15% to 20% of our youth suffer from at least one mental illness. School is one of the leading cau
4 Ways to Overcome Performance Anxiety
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 There are many events in our lives that create stress or anxiety; like the first day at a new school, an important presentation at work, or trying out for a sports team. Sometimes, the anxiety surrounding these big events can cause you to underperform, or even avoid the situation completely. This can be known as situational anxiety. Situational anxiety is when individuals become extremely uncomfortable by new situations or changing events. With school
Who, Why and What: The 3 W’s of VictoryLab
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 As we at VictoryLab continue to raise awareness for mental health and develop a voice through our work, it’s important to look back and remember why we do what we do. Every organization starts with an idea, and VictoryLab is no different. To discover what has shaped our organization, we need to look into the who, why and what of VictoryLab. What is VictoryLab: What do we do? VictoryLab is an evidence-based performance and mental health app that is ava
Seeking Perfection: The Pressure Cooker of Peak Performance on Mental Health
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 How to Recognize When Stress is a Motivator and When it Hinders Performance Did you know that in a 2013 study conducted by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 48.7% of surveyed university students attended counseling for mental health concerns, and 30.3% considered attempting suicide? Additionally, research has shown that work stress is increasingly associated with depressive disorders and suicide? We face pressure in almost every area of our liv
"Mixing it Up for Mental Health": VictoryLab helps raise funds for Calgary Mental Health A
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 On July 4th, the VictoryLab team attended the Ranchman’s annual Bullbustin event as the title sponsor in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association Calgary. Attending the event gave us the opportunity to not only raise funds for this incredible non-profit organization, but to raise awareness for CMHA and for overall mental wellness in relation to sport and everyday life. The day was filled with meeting new people, watching professional bull rid
Stampede Season: How Sport Impacts Mental Health
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 With Stampede season in full swing, it’s easy to get caught up in the festivities. And while this time of year is exciting and fun, it’s also important to pay mind to the athletes who are participating in these rodeo events, especially in regards to their mental health. On January 9th, 2017, bull rider Ty Pozzobon took his own life after suffering from a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which develops from repeated brain tr
Powerful Words: Why Logic’s Moving Speech at the Grammy’s has People Talking
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 "Black is beautiful. Hate is ugly. Women are as precious as they are stronger than any man I ever met. And unto them I say, 'Stand tall and crush all predators under the weight of your heart that is full of the love they will never take away from you. Be not scared to use your voice, especially in instances like these where you have the opportunity. Stand up and fight for those who are not weak, but have yet to discover the strength that the evil of t
7 Ways to be a happier you, the natural way!
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 The neurotransmitter dopamine affects our mood, our focus, our energy, our pleasure, and our pain. Through research, VictoryLab has discovered that a dopamine deficiency can severely affect your health and mood, and with some of these deficiencies, it can lead towards depression. That being said, it’s also been shown that some of these individuals will not seek medication because they don’t want to seem needy or helpless. Once again, we are shown how
Mental Health in Sport: End the Silence, End the Stigma
(c) VictoryLab Inc. 2018 How 5 Mental Health Tips for Athletes Can Improve Performance and Debunk Mental Health Misconceptions For so long, mental health has been surrounded by negative stigma, becoming a conversation that is never actually spoken. Although a large number of young adults suffer from depression, the stigma that surrounds mental illnesses is what stops people from seeking help. This stigma is especially obvious in sport, as athletes are the ones who are almost
