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Mental health can be understood as the collection of our thoughts, feelings, and experiences that make up our overall emotional, mental, and spiritual wellness. Wellbeing is often used to describe how we are feeling or doing based on our mental and physical health.

Mental health and wellbeing are related to suicide and suicide prevention. When individuals are struggling with their mental and/or wellbeing, they may also experience risk factors for suicide. When multiple risk factors outweigh the factors that build resiliency, there is an increased likelihood that a person may think about suicide (Sharam et al., 2021).

This page provides information on mental health, mental illness, and building resiliency.

To access information about risk factors, protective factors and warning signs for suicide, visit: Risk Factors, Protective Factors, and Warning Signs for Suicide

Mental Health and Mental Illness

Mental health and mental illness are related concepts, but they are not opposites. According to the American Psychological Association:

“Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking, or behaviour (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses can be associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work, or family activities”.

Mental illnesses can impact a person’s mental health and well-being. While the presence of mental illness can be a risk factor for suicide, it is important to remember that suicide is never caused by a single factor.  It is possible for individuals to manage their mental illness(es) and lead fulfilling lives. Building resiliency and promoting well-being are important in managing mental health and mental illnesses.

Building Resiliency

Building resiliency can help to cope with stress and mental health challenges. Resiliency isn’t about “toughing it out”, “going at it alone” or even “bouncing back” right away after a difficult experience. Resilience is the process of handling, adapting, and recovering from the challenges we face in our life, including adversity, trauma or significant stress. Resilience is also not something we are necessarily born with. Instead, it involves “behaviours, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone” (American Psychological Association).

The American Psychological Association identifies four components that can be used to help build resilience:

  • Connection involves building healthy relationships with trustworthy, understanding and compassionate people.
  • Wellness involves working towards and/or maintaining positive physical and mental health
  • Healthy Thinking involves perspective taking, approaching changes with a flexible mindset, and feeling hopeful or optimistic.
  • Meaning involves developing a sense of purpose and engaging in self-reflection and discovery.

 

While the American Psychological Association’s four components can be helpful in thinking about resilience, there may also be different understandings of resilience and its contributing factors among cultures and communities.

Resources for Further Learning

The following resources may provide more information on mental health, mental illness, and building resiliency:

Mental Health 101– Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

CAMH has provided a series of free online tutorials as a starting point for learning about mental health. They also have a mental illness and addictions index which may be useful for understanding specific illnesses or conditions.

How to Take Care of our Mental Health – Government of Canada

Good mental health is important for a healthy and happy life. Here are a number of ideas you can try to help you build a mentally healthy lifestyle

Mental Health: Strengthening our Response – World Health Organization

The World Health Organization lists key facts about mental health, as well as other relevant information.

The Road to Resilience– American Psychological Association

How do we deal with difficult events that change our lives? Building resilience and meeting life challenges is a journey that takes time and may include roadblocks. Anticipating those roadblocks can help us to plan for ways to overcome them.

The Eleven Skills and Attitude that Can Increase Resilience Psychology Today

How we handle difficult situations in our lives is partly learned as children. However, there are a number of strategies that we can teach ourselves that will add strength to our ability to overcome life challenges.