Finding out more about your substance use:

  • Check Your Drinking Survey - This is a neat Canadian website to evaluate and compare your current alcohol drinking habits to norms for others who are the same age and gender. Tailored information about health and financial costs of drinking are also tallied.

  • Rethinking Drinking - This is a US based website that outputs similar information to above, but uses US norms.

  • Drugs Meter - This UK based website and app gives some rough estimates about your risk in terms of using different substances and compares it to others' use. Alcohol is also included as one of the substances.

  • High-way Code - A UK resource based on the Global Drugs Survey. This guide reviews various harm reduction strategies to reduce risks (e.g. overdose) when using various substnaces.

  • Erowid - If you use substances, you probably already know about this site. It provides different information about substances, such as history, facts, resources, etc. What is unique about this site is it includes personal accounts of use as well and refrains from making judgments about substances or the people who use them.

 

FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT mental health:

  • Here to Help BC - This website is based in BC but has information relevant to anyone. There are self-help resources, screening check lists and more.

  • Anxiety Canada - This is a truly excellent website with high quality information regarding anxiety disorders. It has self-help information, an app you can download on your phone (iPhone and Android) for free, as well as info about community programs.

  • Canadian Mental Health Association - this organization is Canada-wide so be sure to check your regional website too. Depending on your region CMHA may provide local support groups, case workers, or information about local programming and support. For general information about different types of mental health difficulties, check out this part of the CMHA website.

  • MindCheck.ca - a resource for youth and young adults about mood, substance use and other mental health concerns

  • MoodGym - this is an online program developed in Australia to go over basic Cognitive Behavior Therapy principles and concepts to help people better manage their mood concerns. Find out more here. You can sign up for a free account here: MoodGym

  • DepressionHurts.ca - this website tells you more about symptoms of depression and has some suggestions of steps to take to get more help. It also has info for family and friends.

  • Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre - this resource is also based in BC but has great resources about child mental health and parenting strategies.

  • Portico Network - this site aims to connect web resources across Canada about mental health and addiction. It has resources about treatments and services but also tools for health professionals as well.

 

Finding out more about peer support:

There are many peer support resources available in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia- and beyond! 

Quite a bit of research has been done indicating the peer support recovery meetings are helpful for many individuals recovering from mental health and substance use problems.  Did you know there many forms of peer support outside of traditional 12-step meetings?  While many find 12-step meetings helpful, you may not.  That’s okay.  Experiment and learn what is helpful for you.

Often these organizations have great websites, and sometimes you may be able to attend a web or virtual meeting too.   You may also want to check out this link on how to decide when a support group is right for YOU.

Here are some peer support groups that may be helpful to you: