2024-02-15 18:52:16
The founder, Marie-Andrée Laplante, struggled for years with severe anxiety problems that even prevented her from leaving the house.
Phobies-Zéro helps people who suffer from anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). The organization has existed for more than 30 years and on January 1, it was with great pleasure that its managers and its team of more than 100 volunteers welcomed their 20,000th member, a sign that its mission is more relevant than ever, they believe. .
The founder, Marie-Andrée Laplante, struggled for years with severe anxiety problems that even prevented her from leaving the house. It took the help of a friend to find the courage to one day seek a first victory: to go to the sidewalk in front of her house…
Over the course of small victories and years, she wanted to help people who live like her with this problem and, since then, the organization whose head office is still in Sainte-Julie has expanded across the province with a dozen places where meetings, conferences and workshops are held, in person or virtually.
Since the pandemic, there has been more and more talk regarding anxiety in society, as it seems to have gained momentum in just a few years. It must be said that in Quebec, nearly 20% of the population experiences moderate to severe anxiety disorders, as well as symptoms of depression, or one in five people.
But even more worrying: an extensive survey conducted by researchers at the University of Sherbrooke with thousands of respondents found that between 45 and 50% of young people aged 12 to 25 suffer from such anxiety disorders and symptoms. of depression.
Break the cycle
” It is enormous! », Launched Daniel Richard, general director of Phobies-Zéro. “Anxiety is an unpleasant emotion, but it is normal because it warns us of a certain danger. So it takes a little, but it becomes pathological when the person comes to suffer too much and also when anxiety prevents us from functioning well,” he explained.
Faced with this observation among young people, the organization has set up support groups specifically for them so that they feel more comfortable talking regarding their problems. Also, Phobies-Zéro is in the process of setting up self-management workshops for young people so that they are able to alleviate these crises on their own.
“The anxiety cycle is not easy to break,” said Mr. Richard. “Our brain decodes that there is a danger when it is not really real, but we feel it as if it were real. And it is often at this time that we must move forward! »
It is for these reasons that Phobies-Zéro is so important, he added: to provide people with tools, to share and to learn. “We have received several testimonies from people who have said that it has changed their lives and, sometimes, even saved their lives. A student told me that she wanted to put an end to it… And today, she works in this field! »
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Crisis line: 514 276-3105 or 1-866-922-0002.
Information / office: 450 922-5964.
Phobias-Zero/Facebook.
https://www.phobies-zero.qc.ca/
Additional resources:
Tel-Aide Montreal
1708024047
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