Mental Health Week: Strong, Free & Happy across Canada

This summer, Jessica VandenBussche will put the pedal to the pavement—and gravel, and dirt roads.

On June 12, the applied health sciences graduate is setting off on a two-month long bike ride across Canada to support the Canadian Mental Health Association and raise awareness about the link between physical exercise and mental health.

In Canada, more than one in five people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Canada’s youth suicide rate is the third highest in the industrial world.

“It’s a national problem,” said VandenBussche, who has faced her own mental health issues in the past.   “It’s a foggy path when you or someone you know needs help. Wait times at counselling services are long everywhere. You can feel helpless.”

Exercise may be better than medication

Inspired by material she learned in a fourth-year social neuroscience and health class, VandenBussche started Strong Free & Happy, a project to help educate communities about the benefits of exercise on mental health.

“Psychotherapy is financially out of reach for many Canadians. But there is one form of treatment that is free, accessible, sustainable and potentially highly effective. That is physical activity,” she said.

Exercise has been shown to enhance brain function, mood and overall health. For some, physical activity can be as effective as psychotherapy or medication for treating mood disorders, and can be combined with both types of treatments.

According to Peter Hall, a clinical psychologist and the Applied Health Sciences professor who taught Vandenbussche’s  social neuroscience and health class,  “There is good evidence that exercise can alleviate depressive symptoms and reduce anxiety. Even more importantly, exercise helps to optimize the way the brain functions in everyday life, and may help to prevent some of these difficulties.”

Strong, Free and Happy Across Canada

By biking 9000 km across Canada, VandenBussche hopes to bring some of this evidence to Canada’s most remote communities.

“A lot of communities that are isolated in Canada are the ones that need the most help,” said VandenBussche, who will start her ride in St. John’s, NF, and finish in Beaver Creek, YT. “My goal is to create sustainable change in communities. I want to bring people together and inspire action for sustainable activity.”

Working with the Canadian Mental Health Association, VandenBussche is organizing events in many communities on her route. “Whether we do a short run, a core workout, or even a dance class, we want to get the community involved,” she said.

While her ultimate goal is to create lasting change, VandenBussche is also hoping to raise $69,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“It may seem like a large sum,” she said. “But it’s no more than one penny for every person affected by a mental illness in Canada.”

To learn more about VandenBussche’s ride visit strongfreehappy.blogspot.ca. She can be reached at strongfreehappy@gmail.com