The second-largest military base in Canada is taking the time to talk it out on Bell Let’s Talk Day.

CFB Gagetown’s base commander Dan MacIssac says mental health is part of the health of a soldier. As part of Bell Let’s Talk Day, he and his military colleagues participated in several fun and physical activities.

“We have a large number of health services available in the Canadian Armed Forces and they’re fantastic, but people need to access them and know where they are,” says MacIssac.

Historically, military personnel were not always encouraged to talk about the things they have seen or experienced – MacIssac says that is changing.

“The most junior person in our organization could feel that they're on their own,” says MacIssac. “A person, when they’re challenged, could feel like they're on their own and I want to make sure they understand that they are never on their own.”

Veteran Trevor Bungay spent almost two decades completing seven tours with the force.

“My mother still today says she lost both of her sons in Afghanistan, we never came back the same people,” says Bungay.

There was a time when Bungay says he felt alone.

“I was in the spare bedroom, it had nothing in it but my military stuff was in there and I found a box of locks that I used to put on my lockers and something happened in my mind, it was like I had a flashback,” says Bungay. “It was just like boom and when I came out of it, I had taken these locks and thrown them as hard as I could at the walls. So the wall was littered full of holes.”

Bungay says so many service men and women suffer from a variety of mental illnesses.

“I know that people sort of tip toe around the situation,” says Bungay. “We don't know what to do. I get a lot of those phone calls, ‘what do I do?’”

Now, as founder of Trauma Healing Centres, Bungay is helping people every day at seven centres located throughout the Maritimes and in Ottawa.

He sees a lot of first responders too, like firefighters and paramedics, and says no matter where you turn for help the important thing is that you take the steps to find it.

“I mean you can come to Trauma Healing Centres, you can go see a psychologist, you can go to the emergency room, it doesn't matter, you gotta start somewhere.”

Bungay says there are two ways to participate in Bell Let’s Talk: reaching out to someone who might need to talk, or recognizing that you could use some help and taking the steps to find it.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Laura Brown