One of my all-time favourite films, Her, follows Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely divorcée who finds himself falling deeply in love with the virtual assistant on his phone. When it premiered in 2013, it seemed like an outlandish sci-fi fantasy; who would want to date a computer program? Yet, here[Read More…]
Tag: mental health
Overcoming opioids: methadone and Montreal’s path to recovery
Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Québec’s rate of overdoses and opioid addiction skyrocketed. With a record number of overdoses in 2023 and rising concerns around addiction and drug use in Montreal, the search for a solution to this epidemic has become increasingly urgent. Replacing one addiction with another[Read More…]
How to deal with the end-of-semester blues
Libraries are filled to the brim and dark circles are beginning to set in around students’ eyes: Finals season is almost here. Should we start studying or take some time to rest? It seems that even the weather can’t pick a side. Here are some tips to help manage stress[Read More…]
An ode to the hater
At the end of sixth grade—a year fraught with the kind of drama only 11-year-old girls can come up with—I made a promise to myself: No more talking shit. I do not think I ever really thought I was going to follow through with it. It was the kind of[Read More…]
Lecture recordings are a necessary step for greater accessibility
Finding mental health support as a McGill student has been a challenge for quite some time, with the university’s meagre efforts to offer services—like animal therapy and peer supporters—falling short. The Student Wellness Hub is inadequate for the majority of the student population; however, the jarring lack of mental health[Read More…]
‘A Haunted Girl’ is a soul-stirring take on mental health and a hero’s journey
Mentions of suicidal ideation and mental illness Four years ago, in a hospital cafeteria, Ethan Sacks (BA ‘94) sat waiting for visiting hours to start in the pediatric psychiatric ward. As his mind turned over, he wrote down, “The fate of all life on Earth depends on a girl who[Read More…]
Quebec falls just short of a proactive response to post-pandemic mental health crisis
The Quebec government’s recent announcement of new measures to avoid psychiatric hospitalization emphasizes the importance of patient-centric and holistic mental illness treatment. However, it is also—put bluntly—too little, too late. Both the imminent introduction of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) as a care service for those struggling with severe mental[Read More…]
The Wellness Hub can’t solve McGill’s mental health crisis
Content warning: Mentions of suicide Funded by a $14 million donation, McGill opened its Student Wellness Hub in 2019. Since its inception, the centre has been understaffed and strained by unreasonably long wait times for students seeking help. At McGill, there is an urgent need for accessible mental health services[Read More…]
McGill not equipped to handle emergency mental health care cases
Content warning: Mention of suicide Since its inception in 2019, McGill’s Student Wellness Hub has been marred by a lack of staff, minimal support from other university infrastructures, soaring demand for appointments, and the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, students have struggled to book appointments and are often left to[Read More…]
No, you’re not OCD for liking things organized
Content warning: Mentions of mental illness and descriptions of intrusive thoughts and compulsions I was 17 when I finally started to seek help for my obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The signs had been there for a long time, but it took me receiving a proper diagnosis to realize the scale at[Read More…]
