Understanding Mental Well-being and Challenges
A trend in the latest reports from the Weyburn Police Service, an increase in calls for mental health struggles and well-being checks. While the longer winter nights are often associated with an upward trend in these challenges this time of year, Director of Mental Health Services for Southeast Saskatchewan with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Britton Houdek, explains a key aspect of this is time spent in community.
“We know that in our beautiful province of Saskatchewan, we get to experience a few more darker days than other places and a few colder days than other places, which sometimes may create opportunity for people to stay indoors a little bit more or to not participate in their social gatherings or social outings or their connections outside of their home. And a big part of keeping a positive sense of mental well-being and mental health is connecting with people around us.”
She notes there is an important difference between mental health problems and mental health diagnosis, explaining mental well-being can fluctuate based on a variety of factors.
“Our mental well-being and our mental functioning exist on a continuum. So, we know that this fluctuates based on things such as our supports, our environment, stressors that may be coming in and out of our lives and other physical health concerns that we may be having.”
Along this continuum, people may experience mental health problems that differ from a diagnosable disorder.
“Mental health problems are short in duration and we’re able to recover functioning back to what we would consider our normal functioning quite easily. When we refer to mental health diagnoses, these are mental health problems that have deteriorated to a point to which you are seeking consultation from, whether it be your family physician or a specialist, and they are meeting diagnostic criteria for mental health disorders.”
Houdek emphasizes the importance of regular mental health maintenance as key when preventing or managing mental health struggles and disorders. She compares it to daily tasks in maintaining physical health like getting enough sleep and eating healthy foods.
“There’s some core things that we do to care for our physical body. We also seek medical attention when we need. I would say that we need to do those things daily for our mental health as well. Mental health problems can start to grow or become unmanageable when we forget to take care of our mental well-being. So, when we are not coping with stressors very well, when we are isolating ourselves, when we are using unhealthy coping mechanisms to cope with stressors, and when we’re not utilizing the supports that we have.”
She says these supports are not necessarily professionals, but colleagues, friends, family, or connection to community groups.
Recognizing Signs, Seeking Support, and Accessing Resources
If you suspect someone close to you is struggling or their mental health is deteriorating, Houdek outlines some basic signs and symptoms that indicate someone may be struggling.
“They have significant changes in their mood. Tired, low energy, maybe more worried or afraid or sad. Feeling sick and not knowing why. Significant changes to sleep or appetite. Having trouble relating to people and avoiding people, places, things.”
She offers advice on how to move forward if symptoms are present, beginning with a conversation.
“I know we don’t always feel the most comfortable having a conversation about what we’re noticing. Using statements such as, ‘I notice that you’re not yourself’, or ‘I notice you haven’t been coming to our social club’, or ‘I notice you seem withdrawn’, and listening intently after we ask.”
She continues, noting the importance of being kind and showing support saying, “feeling supported goes a long way, and sometimes that is just simple acts of kindness.”
Houdek notes that big stressors in life can cause temporary disruptions in day-to-day functioning, emphasizing this is normal. The symptoms she outlines can be present in these circumstances.
“When we’re looking at a change in people’s behavior, we’re looking at a change that has been there for, you know, at least four to six weeks. So not just someone’s experiencing had a stressor and now their functioning is temporarily disrupted. That stressor resolves and the symptoms still exist.”
She highlights resources provided by the SHA, saying they prepare and offer core mental health and addiction services for those who need to access it. They work closely with community partners to provide information and education to their staff and services users.
“We work closely with other human service fields to provide their staff education on supporting clients’ mental health needs and their positive sense of well-being. We do support our school system through partnership with delivering programs or offering counseling services where we can in schools. And we always are evaluating and monitoring what a community’s need may be so that if we need to change or evolve how we’re delivering care to better meet a need that is arising, that we do so.”
She also notes their website which points to a variety of community-based resources and information, and other resources available across the province.
“I would like to highlight 8-1-1, our HealthLine, where people can call and chat with professionals, get information about symptoms they might be experiencing, 2-1-1, as well as accessing any information on the rapid access counselling services across Saskatchewan.”
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