Mental wellness

Consider these key characteristics when assessing your own mental health:

• Are you troubled by distressing thoughts or feeling?
• Can you meet all the challenges and responsibilities of your day-to-day life?
• Do you find yourself dwelling on things you can’t change or predict?
• Are you able to bounce back from hard times?
• Can you manage the stress of a serious life event?
• Are you able to juggle the many aspects of your life?
• Do you recognize your strengths and acknowledge the things you’re not so good at?
• How do you manage change?

When distressing mood, problematic thoughts or behaviours continue over time; are very intense; or are interfering in your life, it’s a good idea to seek support and advice. 

• Ongoing low mood much of the time
• Overwhelming intense emotions
• Intense fears of situations or things
• Loss of interest in activities
• Low energy, low motivation, tiredness
• Difficulty getting through daily tasks
• Marked change in eating
• Sleeping problems
• Withdrawing from family and friends
• Ongoing thoughts that life isn’t worth living

Our mental wellness can be affected by what we eat – some food choices contain nutrients that help our brain functioning; other foods may have a negative impact.  

For more information on healthy food choices, visit HealthLink BC or call 8-1-1 to talk to a dietitian. It’s free and available to everyone in B.C.

Caffeinated drinks like coffee, black tea, and cola can temporarily increase energy level, but they can also increase nervousness, irritability or restlessness.

If you drink alcoholic beverages, you can find Canada’s Low Risk Drinking Guidelines here. If you are concerned about your alcohol use, see substance use services.

Exercise is a great stress reliever. It reduces muscle tension, improves blood flow and floods your body with feel-good chemicals.

Good quality sleep rests the brain. Too little sleep affects our moods, concentration, and energy to get things done.

Breathing is something we take for granted – something we just do. However, how we breathe can make a world of difference.

Medications are sometimes a part of our lives. Work with your doctor so they are effective for you and side effects are minimized.

Positive relationships with friends, family and co-workers contribute to mental wellness. People close to you can provide support through difficult times, build your self-confidence, and remind you of your skills, abilities, qualities, and accomplishments.

A change of scene or a change of pace is good for your mental wellness.

Do something you’re good at and enjoy. Enjoying yourself can help beat stress. Doing an activity you enjoy probably means you’re good at it, and achieving something boosts your self-esteem.

What do you love doing? What activities can you lose yourself in? Is there an activity you’d like to start doing again?

Our lives seem dominated these days by cell phones and the Internet, enabling us to communicate more messages and more often with others. Think about how your social communications contribute to your mental wellness or if you should consider making some adjustments in how you use social communications.

Some people find it helpful to be involved in the following activities to stay mentally well. Of course, we recommend that you find activities that work best for you. 

• Walk or take a stroll in a wheelchair or walker
• Connect with friends or family
• Visit the local library
• Read a book
• Eat healthy foods regularly
• Have regular check-ups from your family doctor
• Take your medications as prescribed

If you find yourself unable to get through difficult times or you are having troubling thoughts or feelings that just won’t go away:

1. Acknowledge that you are struggling
2. Be gentle on yourself
3. Reach out for support

Many people avoid seeking help because they fear what might happen as a result of revealing their difficulties. Finding someone you trust and see as a safe person to talk to is key to getting the support you need. Sometimes just talking with someone is all that is needed.

Talking confidentially to someone you trust can help you:

• Feel less overwhelmed
• Find resources that can help you better understand your distress
• Sort through a problem or look at a situation in a new or different way
• Identify feelings that may have been bottled up
• Explore options or solutions you had not thought about
• Feel less alone.

• Here to Help: Wellness modules
  Modules to help you maximize good mental health and well-being.
• Here to Help: Well-being screening test
  This screening self-test looks at about a dozen positive aspects of mental well-being from social support to self-esteem. It will encourage you to reflect on feelings, thoughts and behaviours most of us don't think about often enough, but are important features of wellness.
• Headspace
  Learn to meditate in just 10 minutes a day with the Headspace app. Daily meditation has been shown to help people stress less, exercise more and even sleep better.
• Guided Mind
  Guided meditations on a variety of topics dealing with the stresses and challenges of day-to-day life.
• Mindfulness Meditation
  This app will help you practice meditation with a series of audios adapted to the different needs of your everyday life.
• Moodkit
  Features a range of mood-enhancing activities, helps to identify and change unhealthy thinking, lets you rate and chart mood across time, and helps create journal entries using templates designed to promote well-being.
• MindWell U
  A virtual education platform that provides people with tools and activities to reduce their stress levels.