This is the second in a two-part series on Mental Health Promotion, an umbrella term for strategies and activities aimed at having a positive effect on mental health. In Part One, we explored the importance of mental health promotion for people with mental illness. Part Two shows how promoting mental health is good for all of us.
- At a summer block party in St. Boniface, a group of neighbours welcomes a new family to the street.
- A group of seniors gathers at a St. John's community centre for a class in digital photography.
- At a YWCA in Hamilton, parents and their children kick off a gym session with a song.
- A Toronto man meets with fellow rooming house tenants to see if there are issues he should bring to the attention of the community's housing authority.
You might wonder what links these different activities, which involve people of various ages, in a range of settings. At first glance, they don't seem to be connected – at least, not in any obvious way. But, in fact, each of these scenarios is an example of mental health promotion (MHP) in action.
" Social supports make huge contributions to our mental and physical health. "
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Routes to good mental health may surprise you
"Physical and mental health are inextricably linked to each other and to the broader determinants of health, such as employment and income and physical and social environments," says Bonnie Pape, former Director of Programs for the Canadian Mental Health Association's national office and now an independent consultant. "That's why health promotion has to include mental health promotion – it's not separate, it's part of health promotion."
Although we may not realize it, we can promote mental health in many different ways: where we work, where we live and how we connect in our communities.
When we create support systems and an opportunity for people to feel connected and included, we are promoting their mental health at the same time. For example, community and neighbourhood events like the block party in St. Boniface,are mental health promotion activities. Even if they aren't planned with that as the primary goal.these events neatly embody the World Health Organization's definition of MHP as "an umbrella term that covers a variety of strategies, all aimed at having a positive effect on mental health."
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Need for mental health promotion has never been greater
Our society's increasing awareness of the importance of good mental health and the devastating effects of mental illness is raising the profile of MHP among Canadians:
- One in five Canadians will develop a mental illness at some time in their lives.
- Mood disorders affect an estimated 10% of Canadians.
- Anxiety disorders affect approximately 12% of Canadians.
- The economic burden of mental disorders in Canada was $14.4 billion in 1998.
- Worldwide, some 150 million people suffer from depression.
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Promoting mental health at work
Stress in the workplace is all too common. One organization in Elmira, Ontario is working to support the mental health of its employees through work/family balance programs.
"I have had calls from employees who are desperate. Their kids are in trouble, their spouse is in trouble and they're looking for help." Greg Bechard, Executive Director, Elmira & District Association for Community Living, explains why he is adding an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to the organization's benefits package.
"I recognize that our mental health is as important as our physical health," he says.
In this belief, he echoes the now-popular slogan: There is no health without
mental health.
Greg Bechard wants to ensure that employees "have what they need to stay healthy." An EAP gives employees access to a confidential, short-term counseling service. Marital problems, stress, depression and addiction are some of the issues that EAPs can help with.
Greg knows that caring for his staff's mental health helps his organization succeed. "Our product is caring for other people," he says. "If the person who is their primary caregiver is not healthy, then the quality of our clients' lives is affected as well."
MHP at work in the community
Social supports, whether with family, friends or peers, make huge contributions to our mental and physical health. Studies have found that people who volunteer and are involved in social activities are more likely to feel they are in good health than people who are not so involved. (p.12)
Support for seniors
"I lived here 18 years and I didn't know anybody on the street," says Margaret Bennett, a senior in St. John's, Newfoundland. Margaret was practically housebound because of her fear of people. But since her family convinced her to join a community-based project called New Horizons for Seniors two years ago, Margaret's formerly constricted life has blossomed into one of learning, activity and friendships.
MHP can help older people live meaningful lives. "Sometimes people think
seniors, and they think cards, bingo and knitting, where as we like
to learn," says Sandra Antle, another New Horizons participant in St. John's.
New Horizons programs are organized by the seniors; they write funding proposals and manage the activities. In St. John's, they partnered with a youth group to plant a large vegetable garden, organized classes in digital photography and exhibited the results, took excursions around the region, and started a free Friday lunch at the community centre.
Sandra describes the program's benefits as "a full circle kind of thing. It touches on everything: your mental health, your self-confidence."
As for Margaret Bennett, no longer a prisoner of the fears that made it difficult for her to talk to her own sister, "I'm going everywhere now."
Engaging kids and parents
Social and physical activity come together at a YWCA in Hamilton's east end, where a popular gym program offers children and their parents – or their grandparents or caregivers – a place to meet, mingle and burn off some energy.
"We're looking to provide some socialization for children, as well as an opportunity for the adults to meet other families in their area," says Marnie Warman, Recreation Supervisor for YWCA Hamilton.
Each class begins with all participants sitting in a circle, led in songs or games by the leader. "It gives people a chance to meet," says Marnie. Then the gymnastics begin, and the children take to the mats, balance beams, trampolines and other equipment.
Over the course of the 10-week program, children lose their initial shyness and engage each other in play. "They're also learning how to be with an instructor, someone in authority who is not their parent or guardian," she says.
Building social supports where we live
Informal relationships
are powerful tools in supporting our mental health. MHP builds on these
support networks to create or strengthen relationships that add to our sense
of belonging.
Patricia Gamboa sees the value of social networks in her work as a health promotion officer with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). "Tenants who stay for a long time have a sense of community," she says. "They look after each other. They live in different rooming houses but they meet in a warehouse where we have recreation programs and Salvation Army food and services."
The TCHC encourages the sense of belonging by asking some of these long-time tenants to become housing representatives. The tenant representatives are paid an honorarium to act as a liaison between their fellow tenants and the housing authority, promoting communication and action on issues that affect their quality of life. "They feel pride," says Patricia. "In some cases, it makes a big difference to the person and to the community."
The ripple effect of MHP
Everyone needs good mental health. It gives us the capacity to live life fully and to cope with challenges. By building relationships, enhancing our social networks, giving us confidence in our skills and providing opportunities to learn and grow, MHP benefits us all.
It doesn't have to be complicated. A simple Canadian summer ritual brought new cohesion to a St. Boniface neighbourhood
"We used to just wave at each other as we walked from the car to the house," says Mary Taggart. "But since the barbeque, we know each other's names. We finally talked with the retired couple living across from us. Now, in the winter, when the fellow goes out to shovel his driveway, we and our kids and other kids go out and help him."
Margaret Bennett has nothing but praise for the seniors' program that changed her life. "I'm thankful for it. It really took me out," she says, proudly. "I even got up and did a speech at the centre."
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This article was prepared by the 
