Wellness Modules: |
Ups and downs are a normal part of life. We all feel a bit stressed out or struggle to cope with a problem from time to time. We all get angry once in a while or find it hard to express our needs assertively. Most of us could use a little help finding balance, getting enough sleep, and getting active.
You may notice that these kinds of problems can take a toll on the way you feel. When you feel a lot of stress, it can be hard to feel optimistic about the future. When you feel overwhelmed by a problem, it’s easy to feel like nothing ever works out. When you struggle to balance different needs and obligations, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. These Wellness Modules aren’t about managing a mental illness or other concern (though they can certainly help!) They are simply four short pages to help you maximize good mental health and well-being so you feel your best.
Each Wellness Module breaks down a different factor related to mental health and well-being. You’ll explore different evidence-based skills to help you work through common problems. Don’t be fooled—some of these skills aren’t as simple as they appear! But if you’re willing to dedicate a bit of time and effort, you’ll find that good mental health is in everyone’s reach. We encourage you to take advantage of the quizzes in some Wellness Modules to help you track your progress.
1: Mental Health Matters
Mental Health Matters...for everyone! Mental health is about more than not experiencing an illness. And it’s just an important as physical health. Your mental health affects so much: how you feel about yourself, how you relate to others, how you see the world, how you deal with problems, and so much more. Learn about the four dimension of mental health, and take a quiz to check your wellness level.
2: Stress and Well-Being
Stress and Well-Being explores different kinds of stress and how it’s connected to mental and physical health. We can’t just get rid of all stress in our lives, but we can learn to manage stress well! Learn different coping strategies to help you manage stress and learn when you might need a bit of extra support to help you through a difficult time. Take a stress survey to help you identify the different kinds of stress in your life and track your progress as you learn to manage stress well.
3: Social Support
Social Support is important! Our support networks can help us cope with problems, look at a situation from a different perspective, learn new skills, and, of course, celebrate successes and have fun. Giving and receiving the right social support can boost mental health and well-being. Different people can offer different kinds of support. Take a quiz to help you measure the support you receive from family and friends, and find tips to help you improve or make changes to your support networks if you aren’t getting the support you need.
4: Problem-Solving
Problem-Solving skills can’t make difficult situations just go away, but they can certainly make difficult situations easier to manage. We deal with problems every day. Some problems are easy to solve, but others a bit more complicated—and ignoring problems can make us feel even worse in the end. We can start to feel stressed, depressed, helpless, and even a little hopeless. Take charge and learn the steps to break big problems into manageable pieces, and use the problem-solving worksheet to practice your new problem-solving skills.
5: Anger Management
Anger Management isn’t about bottling up your feelings. It’s about problem-solving, getting to the cause of anger, and learning skills to control anger. Anger isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it’s a normal feeling, and it can even be helpful. The problem is that too much anger, very intense anger, anger that doesn’t match the situation, and anger that affects other people can be more harmful that helpful. Find strategies to help you manage anger, and learn when you might need to reach out for extra support.
6: Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
Getting a Good Night’s Sleep is not always an easy task. About one in four Canadians experience a sleep problem, and many of us just simply prioritize other tasks over sleep. Sleep, however, is vital to all areas of health and well-being. It’s hard to feel confident and capable when you’re tired! The good news is that small changes to your daily routine can make a big impact on the quality of your sleep. Find 10 tips to help you sleep well, and use the sleep diary to help you keep track your sleep skills and monitor your progress.
7: Eating and Living Well
Eating and Living Well are just as important to mental health as they are to physical health! Good self-esteem, health body image, and balance in the way we understand food and exercise are a big part of our overall mental health and well-being. It’s hard to feel good about much when you don’t like the way you look, but drastic diets and disordered eating patterns can make us feel worse. Most of us recognize that regular exercise is good for health—and it’s a great way to manage low mood, stress, anxiety, and other mental health concerns. But too much or too little exercise can cause problems, too. Learn more about finding good, healthy balance and find tips to help you make changes in your life.
8: Healthy Thinking
Healthy Thinking is a tool to help you look at problems or situations in a realistic and balanced way. Do you find yourself thinking about what you "should" do or wonder why things never seem work out? Do you jump to conclusions before you have solid evidence? These common thinking traps can really make us feel down or upset, but you can learn to challenge unhelpful thoughts and look at things from a more balanced perspective. Find a step-by-step guide to help you challenge unhelpful thoughts, and practice your skills in our online worksheet.
9: Finding Balance
Finding Balance is about allocating time for things you must do and things you want to do…without changing the number of hours in a day! We all feel pressure to spend more time at work, or feel like we must prioritize chores or other obligations over activities we enjoy. Without good balance, though, it’s easy to start to feel overwhelmed, run down, and stressed out. Many people say they feel guilty about spending time on themselves, but you are an important person in your life! Learn why balance matters, find strategies to help you evaluate your own needs and priorities, and take a quiz to see if you’ve found health balance.
10: Staying Mentally Healthy with Technology
Staying Mentally Healthy with Technology looks at technology in mental health: how technology might help and how technology might harm well-being. Computers, phones, apps, websites, and other technologies are part of daily life. But how and why we use technologies can have a big impact on our own well-being and our relationships with others. Some technologies can be a way to avoid problems or cope with difficult feelings. Some people feel pressure to act or look certain ways. Some people forgo a good night’s sleep or other healthy habits. In this module, you can take a quiz to see if you might benefit by rethinking your relationship with technologies like phones, computers, and tablets. You'll also find tips to help you find balance in your technology use.
11: Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a tool that can help you slow down, look at situations in a more balanced way, and appreciate what you are experiencing in the moment. Mindfulness can have a very positive impact on thoughts, feelings, and behaviours—all of which are important parts of health and well-being. Learn how mindfulness works and what it might look like, and find resources to help you practice mindfulness skills and bring a little mindfulness into your life.
