Let’s Talk about Systems Level Change for Eating Disorders
This past Wednesday, January 27th, was Bell Let’s Talk day in Canada. In case you’re unfamiliar with the campaign, Bell Canada (a telecom company) donates 5 cents to mental health awareness initiatives for every social media post or text with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk. In general, the campaign has been lauded for its contribution to decreasing shame and stigma around mental illness, which is awesome. There are a number of critics, though, who point out that:
- The campaign is not as inclusionary as it should be
- That we forget to look at how the way we frame mental illness is problematic in the way that it promotes one way of living life as superior (that is, the “productive” life)
- That large corporations like Bell may contribute to employee ill health, and
- Generally that this kind of “feel good” campaign doesn’t have the year-round staying power to really make the