MENTAL WELLNESS

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH + WELL-BEING?

Mental wellness is more than the absence of a mental health condition, illness, and/or disorder. It is the capacity to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face. It is having a positive sense of well-being, the presence of positive characteristics, and a maintenance of successful mental activity (this includes maintaining productive daily activities, fulfilling relationships with others, and the abilities to adapt to change and cope with stresses). Our mental wellness includes our emotional, psychological, social, cognitive, and behavioural well-being, and is determined by a range of socioeconomic, biological and environmental factors.

A state of well-being in which an individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community. - The World Health Organization (WHO)

IMPORTANCE

Affects how we think, feel, and act
Daily living, relationships, and physical health
Can preserve a person's ability to enjoy life
Determines how we handle stress, overcome challenges, build relationships, recover from setbacks and hardships, and make healthy choices
Mental health problems can affect your thinking, mood, and behaviour
Essential to our overall well-being and is as important as physical health
Is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues
Fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life
The promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world
Allows people to:
Make meaningful contributions to their communities
Work productively
Cope with stresses of life
Realize their full potential

It's difficult to avoid feeling stressed, and pressure from many areas of your life (socially, in school, at home, and when making big life decisions) can build up. Worrying about these parts of your life is normal, but strong feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness might be a sign of a mental health problem.

WHAT DOES BEING MENTALLY HEALTHY LOOK LIKE?

Reaching a balance between life activities, responsibilities, and efforts + Achieving psychological resilience
Contribute actively to our communities
Enjoying life
Working productively
Feeling connected to others
Having strong relationships
Making meaningful contributions to the community
Being able to cope with the stresses of life
Realizing your full potential and having a sense of purpose
Having a wide variety of emotional states

FACTORS THAT AFFECT MENTAL WELLNESS

Life experiences
trauma
abuse
sexual assault
witnessing violence
those related to other ongoing medical conditions, such as cancer or diabetes
A range of socioeconomic, biological, and environmental conditions
Genes, brain chemistry, and chemical imbalances
Family history of mental health problems
Rapid social change
Social exclusion + involvement
Gender discrimination
Housing quality
Education
Stressful work conditions + occupation
Physical ill-health and human rights violations
Unhealthy lifestyle

MENTAL HEALTH VS. MENTAL ILLNESS - HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

Mental health is about our mental well-being: our emotions, thoughts, feelings, ability to solve problems and overcome difficulties, our social connections, and our understanding of the world around us.

Mental illness is an illness that affects the way people think, feel, behave, or interact with others, and can occur when the brain (or part of the brain) is functioning abnormally or is working in the wrong way. When the brain is not working properly, one or more of its 6 functions (thinking, perception, emotion, signalling, physical, and/or behaviour) will be disrupted.

Thinking difficulties/problems focusing attention
Extreme emotional highs and lows
Sleep problems
When these symptoms significantly disrupt a person's life, we say that the person has a mental disorder / illness

Causes of mental illness:

Mental illness is rarely if ever caused by stress alone
It is not the result of personal weakness / deficits in personality
It is not the manifestation of malevolent spiritual intent
Only in exceptional cases is it caused by nutritional factors

Many mental illnesses begin during childhood and persist into adolescence. Some of these include:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

But some illnesses begin during adolescence, including:

Addictions
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Eating disorders
Social anxiety disorder
Panic disorder
Bipolar Disorder (BD)
Schizophrenia
Major Depression (MD)

Mental illnesses are NOT:

a sign of personal weakness/failure
punishment for bad deeds
caused by spirits/demons
contagious

RESOURCES

Bekalu, Mesfin Awoke. "Social Media Use Can Be Positive for Mental Health and Well-Being." Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 28 May 2020, www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/.
Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division. "Tips for Good Mental Health." Tips for Good Mental Health | Here to Help, HereToHelp, www.heretohelp.bc.ca/infosheet/tips-for-good-mental-health.
Chowdbury, Madhuleena Roy. "The Connections Between Positive Psychology And Mental Health." PositivePsychology.com, 12 Oct. 2020, positivepsychology.com/positive-psychology-and-mental-health/.
"Fact Sheets: Mental Health." World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 18 Feb. 2016, www.who.int/topics/mental_health/factsheets/en/.
"Fast Facts about Mental Illness." CMHA National, 26 June 2019, cmha.ca/fast-facts-about-mental-illness.
Felman, Adam, and Timothy J. Legg. "Mental Health: Definition, Common Disorders, Early Signs, and More." Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 13 Apr. 2020, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154543.
"Learn About Mental Health - Mental Health - CDC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Jan. 2018, www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm.
"Mental Health Literacy Pyramid Explained (Explication De La Pyramide De Litarcie En Santé Mentale)." YouTube, MHLiteracy, 14 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgYmIsYmUIU&ab_channel=TeenMentalHealth.Org.
"Mental Health." CMHA Ontario, ontario.cmha.ca/documents/positive-mental-health-and-well-being/.
"Mental Health: Strengthening Our Response." World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 30 Mar. 2018, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response.
"Mental Well-Being: Resources for the Public ." World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/mental-well-being-resources-for-the-public.
Rith-Najarian, Leslie. "Personality Disorders in the Media." Psychology In Action, Psychology In Action, 1 June 2017, www.psychologyinaction.org/psychology-in-action-1/2013/10/31/personality-disorders-in-the-media.
Rosenthal, Sue. "11 Tips for Mental Health & Well-Being." 11 Tips for Mental Health & Well-Being | Columbia University | Child Psychiatry, childadolescentpsych.cumc.columbia.edu/articles/11-tips-mental-health-well-being.
Srivastava, Kalpana, et al. "Media and Mental Health." US National Library of Medicine, Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd, Jan. 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198586/.
"What Is Mental Health?" What Is Mental Health? | MentalHealth.gov, 28 May 2020, www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health.