For Tamil-speaking families in Canada
Nalamaa?
means “Are you well?”
We are asking because you matter.
Mental health help in English and Tamil — from people who understand our families, our cultures, and our history.
Free · private · 2–5 minutes
Not sure if what you’re feeling needs care?
Answer a few gentle questions and see whether it may help to talk with a doctor or counsellor. Your answers never leave your device.
- Mood check (PHQ-9)9 gentle questions about low mood.
- Worry check (GAD-7)7 gentle questions about worry and anxiety.
- Carrying hard memories5 yes/no questions about how a frightening or painful past experience may still be affecting you.
- Highs, energy and racing thoughts13 yes/no questions about times you felt unusually up, wired or driven.
- When the mind plays tricks16 true/false questions about unusual thoughts, sights or sounds — things many people quietly experience.
- Food, body and control5 yes/no questions about your relationship with eating and your body.
- Drinking and coping7 short questions about alcohol — a common way people quietly cope with stress.
These checks are not a diagnosis. If you are in danger right now, call 911 or 988.
Two true stories
Where the weight comes from
Some of what we carry did not begin with us. These two pages trace where it did begin — in a war many families never got to finish grieving, and in the quiet pull of growing up between two cultures. Both are written in plain words and backed by published sources.
History · Memory · Healing
War, memory and healing
How a war that ended in 2009 still lives in the body and the mind — and why so many parents cannot set it down. Told honestly, without blaming any community.
- Black July 1983
- The Vanni, 2009
- Coming to Canada
7 published sources · plain language, not a diagnosis
Read this story
Youth · Identity · Family
Growing up between two worlds
Family sacrifice, the pressure to succeed, and never quite belonging anywhere. Why so many first-generation Tamil youth in Canada suffer quietly — and what actually helps.
- Pressure to succeed
- Identity
- Silence at home
6 published sources · plain language, not a diagnosis
Read this storyEvery season of life is worth caring for
Every age has its own weight to carry. Choose where you are, and we’ll walk with you from there.
Youth
13–17You are not a disappointment. You are deeply valued.
- Stress and worry (school and family pressure)
- Low mood and depression
- Pain passed down from family history
- Identity and belonging
Young adults
18–35You don’t have to have it all figured out to be worth caring for.
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Alcohol and drug use
- Family history and intergenerational trauma
Adults
36–65What you survived was real. Rest and healing are allowed now.
- PTSD and war trauma
- Depression
- Sleep problems and body pain as distress
- Alcohol use
Seniors
65+You have given so much. You are not forgotten.
- Depression and loneliness
- Memory loss and dementia
- Old trauma returning later in life
- Elder abuse
Caregivers
All agesYou love well. Let someone care for you too.
- Burnout and exhaustion
- Finding your way through the care system
- Supporting someone with serious mental illness
You are not alone
Healing often begins when someone asks the right question with kindness. Here is one person’s story.
For years I called it ‘body pain’. When a Tamil doctor asked about my sleep and memories of the war, I finally felt understood.
Your story isn’t finished either.
Kind help, close to home
These people speak your language and understand where you come from. We never ask for your postal code.
Vasantham – Tamil Wellness Centre
Toronto / Scarborough
Tamil-language counselling, seniors, elder-abuse support, caregiver education, youth gaming program.
CanTYD – Canadian Tamil Youth Development
Greater Toronto Area
Youth programs, mentoring and wellbeing.
LOFT Community Services – Tamil seniors
Toronto
Support for Tamil-speaking seniors.
CMHA Toronto – Family Outreach & Response
Via CMHA Toronto
Tamil-language family support.
Outside these areas? Dial 211. Someone will help you find the right door. See all services