Mental Wellness

Mental wellness, often known as good mental health, refers to the ability to feel, think, and behave in ways that allow you to enjoy life and deal effectively with tough situations. It is a sense of emotional and spiritual well-being that values culture, equality, social justice, relationships, and human dignity (Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto, 1997).

People without mental wellbeing may be unable to reach their full potential or participate fully in daily life. Mental health concerns can range from improving our emotional well-being to treating and preventing mild to severe mental disease, as well as preventing suicide.

Mental diseases touch all Canadians indirectly, through sickness in a family member, friend, or coworker. Twenty percent of Canadians will suffer from a mental disease at some point in their lives. More than 70% of persons with mental health issues first experienced symptoms in childhood or early adolescence.

• The Advantages of Mental Wellness
• What can YOU do to improve your mental health?
• What can FAMILY MEMBERS do to support mental health?
• What can schools do to encourage mental health?
• What Exactly Is a Mental Health Issue?
• What exactly is a mental illness or disorder?
• What exactly is Mental Health Literacy?
• Where Can I Get Help?
• Sources and Materials

The Advantages of Mental Wellness

Mental health provides you a sense of well-being.

• self-worth
• dignity
• belonging
• problem-solving
• self-determination
• tolerance
• acceptance and consideration for others

in order for you to

• maximise your potential
• recognise and appreciate yourself
• interact with others and broaden your social support networks
• appreciate pleasure and delight
• deal with stress
• evaluate difficulties and issues
• set objectives and pursue interests
• Consider your options and make a decision
• having command and authority over your life
• improve your problem-solving and coping abilities
• Recover from the terrible experiences that everyone has

Did you know that…?

• Physical health, social and emotional connectivity, and intellectual success are all key components of total well-being.
• A research conducted in the United Kingdom discovered that particular attributes related with mental wellbeing at the age of ten are substantial predictors of employment and earnings at the age of 26 – as significant as academic ability.
• Family and friend support is essential for good mental and physical wellness.
• Even having one supporting adult (parent, close friend, teacher, coach, or youth worker) might help a kid or adolescent avoid developing mental problems and/or substance abuse.

What can YOU do to improve your mental health?

The National Canadian Mental Health Association provides 10 mental health tips:

1. Build Confidence – Together, identify your strengths and shortcomings, accept them, build on your strengths, and do the best you can with what you have.
2. Eat Right and Stay Fit – A healthy diet, exercise, and relaxation can help you minimise stress and enjoy life more.
3. Spend Time with Family and Friends – It is necessary to foster important relationships. These folks may not be present to share life’s pleasures and tragedies if they are taken for granted.
4. Give and Accept Support – During challenging times, positive friends and strong family ties demonstrate their strength.
5. Make a Meaningful Budget – Financial difficulties generate stress. Overspending on “wants” rather than “needs” is frequently to blame.
6. Volunteer – Being active in the community provides a unique sense of purpose and fulfilment.
7. Manage Stress – We all experience stress in our lives, but understanding how to cope with it when it threatens to overwhelm us may help us keep our mental health in check.
8. Find Strength in Numbers – Discussing an issue with people who have gone through similar situations may help you find a solution and make you feel less alienated.
9. Identify and Manage Moods – We all need to find safe and productive outlets for our feelings of anger, sadness, joy, and fear.
10. Learn to Be at Peace with Yourself – Get to know who you are, what brings you true happiness, and how to balance what you can and cannot alter about yourself.

Through education and training, Mental Health Promotion improves awareness and understanding of mental health concerns while also reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. Parents and instructors can make a major difference in their children’s and students’ mental health.

What can FAMILY MEMBERS do to support mental health?

• Assist youngsters in recognising and celebrating their own abilities.
• Make a safe space for children to discuss issues that worry them.
• Assist youngsters with problem solving and developing action plans to deal with tough situations.
• Encourage your child to participate in a range of school and community activities.
• Make time for youngsters to unwind and rest in between scheduled activities.
• Assist youngsters in understanding the link between physical and mental health.
• Stress the significance of healthy lifestyle choices.
• Help youngsters gain the skills they need to make sound decisions.
• Discuss balance and choice with your children.
• Positive role modelling (for example, avoiding making harsh comments about anyone’s weight or looks) can help to promote a healthy body image.

What Exactly Is a Mental Health Issue?

Mental health issues are hardships and difficulties that everyone faces from time to time. Everyone has mental health issues at some point in their lives, and these issues can impair their capacity to deal with day-to-day events and enjoy life. These sorts of issues may not necessarily necessitate medical attention. Some people recover from mental health difficulties via self-help and the support of others; others require professional assistance.

The following are associated with mental health issues:

• a lack of self-esteem
• annoyance or rage
• issues with behaviour
• school learning difficulties
• feeling tense
• Social Isolation
• worry
• ADHD (It mostly found in women. ADHD in women)
• sleeping difficulties

What exactly is a mental illness or disorder?

A diagnosed mental illness or mental disorder (e.g., depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, addiction, or schizophrenia) may necessitate medical therapy. The precise aetiology of many mental diseases is unknown, although current hypotheses imply that some illnesses are linked to brain chemistry. There are several factors that might contribute to or provoke a mental disorder. For example, having a parent or close family with a major mental disease may raise a person’s risk of acquiring a mental illness. Stress can either induce or exacerbate a mental condition.

Common mental health concerns or illnesses among children and adolescents include:

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• School Bullying and Physical Violence or Favorite Person BPD
• Disorders that co-occur
• Neurodivergent / high-functioning Neurodivergent
• Body Image/Eating Disorders (alzheimers, atypical-anorexia, anorexia, anorexia-nervosa, bulimia, bulimia-nervosa)
• Disorders of Mood (Depression)
• Quiet BPD (Quiet BPD Symptoms)
• Schizophrenia and psychosis
• Antidepressants side effects
• Addictions and Substance Abuse
• apraxia (Ideomotor Apraxia)
• Postpartum Depression
• Suicide

What exactly is Mental Health Literacy?

The information and ideas about mental issues and diseases that help us detect, manage, or avoid them are referred to as mental health literacy. It includes the following:

• knowing how to identify particular mental health illnesses
• understanding how to obtain mental health information
• awareness of risk factors and causes, self-treatment options, and professional assistance available; and
• possessing attitudes that acknowledge the existence of a problem and allow us to seek assistance (Jorm, et al., 1997).

Mental health literacy is a crucial aspect for parents and educators in providing assistance for children who have mental health difficulties or illnesses. Mental health literacy can also assist to minimise stigma by altering the language used to describe mental health and people who have mental health problems.

When characterising someone, stigma is the use of preconceptions and labels. People suffering from mental illnesses are frequently stereotyped. Our culture does not recognise mental diseases as readily as it does other bodily disorders (e.g. diabetes or heart disease). This stigma can limit possibilities, obstruct a new employment, heighten feelings of loneliness, and produce a variety of unpleasant effects. Anyone suffering from a mental illness must understand that it is not their fault and that it is OK to seek care.

Where Can I Get Help?

If you are experiencing an emergency mental health crisis, please visit this page for a list of Manitoba mental health crisis lines and resources, or contact the Youth Emergency Crisis Stabilization System at MacDonald Youth Services in Winnipeg.

Family doctors, mental health clinicians, psychiatrists, and other specialists offer mental health treatments. Begin with your primary care physician or a school guidance counsellor. Contact your local Regional Health Authority for additional information about mental health services in your area.