May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month is every May in Canada. It opens up conversations about the different mental illnesses that affect many people in their everyday lives. It could be a family member, your neighbour, your co-worker, the young person at your grocery store, someone you see walking down the street and perhaps even yourself. But there is another experience that affects people more often than we acknowledge: Exclusion. It’s powerful and wears on our emotional well-being.

Being left out doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it’s subtle, a gathering you weren’t invited to, a group chat you’re not part of, a conversation that goes quiet when you walk in. These moments may seem small from the outside, but inside, they can land with a punch.

Exclusion sends a message, even if unintentional: “You don’t belong here.” And for many people, that message echoes long after the moment has passed.

Humans are wired for connection. We thrive when we feel included, valued, and seen. When we’re excluded, it can trigger self-doubt, shame, and loneliness. It can make someone question their worth, even when they’ve done nothing wrong.

During Mental Health Month, it’s worth remembering that kindness and inclusion isn’t only about big gestures or a once in awhile event. It’s about everyday living and sometimes it’s as simple as noticing who isn’t in the room, and making space for them.

Inclusion doesn’t cost anything, but exclusion can cost someone their confidence, their sense of belonging, or even their mental health. We all have the power to make others feel welcome, seen and heard. And that power matters more than we think.

Some small everyday choices, like listening to a team members opinion and making decisions with them, inviting someone in for tea, reaching out to someone who seems alone, or even a smile and a hello can make a profound difference in someone’s sense of belonging. When we choose to be intentional about including others, we help create spaces where people feel safe, valued, connected and of course a lot happier.

Making a point of being inclusive is what community really looks like.