Preventive care involves safeguarding mental health
Preventive care is often looked at through the needs people need to do to protect their physical wellbeing. For example, a healthy diet and routine exercise, while beneficial to mental health, are often viewed as lifestyle choices that can make people feel better physically. But taking steps to protect one’s mental health also is vital to a long, productive life.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes that positive mental health and mental wellness can have a profoundly positive impact on a person’s life. Positive mental health can help people realize their full potential, cope with the stresses of life and make meaningful contributions to their communities.
WHAT CAN I DO TO PROTECT MY
MENTAL HEALTH?
Learning to recognize the early warning signs of mental health problems can help prevent such problems from escalating and compel people to seek help. The DHHS advises anyone feeling these signs or recognizing these signs in others to seek help for themselves or their loved ones:
• Eating or sleeping too much or
too little
• Pulling away from people and
usual activities
• Having low or no energy
• Feeling numb or as if nothing
matters
• Unexplained aches and pains • Feeling helpless or hopeless • Smoking, drinking, or using drugs
more than usual
• Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
• Yelling or fighting with family and
friends
• Severe mood swings that cause
problems in relationships
• Persistent thoughts and memories
you can’t get out of your head
• Hearing voices or believing things
that are not true
• Thinking of harming yourself or
others
• An inability to perform daily tasks, such as taking care of your children or getting to work or school
Taking steps to protect one’s mental wellness is a vital component of preventive care. More information about mental health is available at
www.mentalhealth.gov.
The pandemic is challenging for many families, but it is especially hard on students who have to cope with a new feeling of uncertainty. Levels of stress and anxiety, as well as depressive thoughts, have increased among students, particularly those attending high school. Along with widespread social isolation, stressors vary from loneliness associated with physical distancing, to the fear of catching the virus, or having a loved one infected by the virus. The Conseil des écoles catholique du Centre-Est (CECCE) recognizes the toll that the pandemic is having on its students, who have to adapt to this sudden lifestyle change, and is there to actively provide students with tools to help them keep and maintain positive mental health habits.
CECCE’s mental health leader Ann-Michelle McNulty shares a few tips on how to cope with the anxiety created by the outbreak of COVID-19: “Keeping up with a daily routine, such as eating meals at regular hours, going to bed at the same time every night, exercising and spending time outdoors helps to ensure a balanced lifestyle. The effects of social deprivation on teenagers are quite crucial, as this stage of their lives is characterized by a significant need for peer interaction. Though social distancing requires us to stay home, it doesn’t mean that all interaction has to stop. Thanks to technology, we can stay in touch through texting, emails and social media. Some stressors can be avoided or limited as well; for example, being exposed to incessant news on the topic might increase the feeling
Staff members are equipped to promote mental health among students, to teach selfcare and to recognize when students may need additional help, as well as refer them to the board’s mental health professionals.
of anxiety or distress. It is recommended to seek the latest information no more than once or twice a day.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, CECCE social workers have noticed an increasing number of students dealing with anxiety and sadness. During these unprecedented times, a dedicated team of mental health and wellness experts has been deployed at CECCE schools to focus on preventive and proactive strategies to help students and staff members. As key actors of the CECCE’s three-year Mental Health and Addictions Plan (2019-2022), 26 social workers offer services in all of the schools and promote tools to help improve mental health. This year, with support from a Ministry of Education grant, the CECCE was able to hire even more social workers to support students during the pandemic.
As seeking support from others can be complex in these times of isolation, CECCE social workers have found creative ways to reach out to students and create proximity to help those dealing with a mental health crisis. Along with offering individual support, they also offer support to small groups of students, who share similar struggles. In order to better grasp the issues that affect students the most during these unprecedented times, interactive workshops were held to discuss the main stressors that have been affecting them since the beginning of the pandemic and to obtain their input on initiatives that could reduce anxiety levels in schools. Adapting to sanitary restrictions and physical distancing guidelines made the list as main topics of struggles raised by students. Following these consultations, the mental health team at the CECCE established a thorough list of recommendations to better navigate this new reality with students in schools. The team also consulted students in order to evaluate which actions would most benefit their well-being.
The psychological impacts of COVID-19 don’t just affect students; the mental health of staff members and teachers also needs to be addressed. McNulty shares how critical it is to provide teachers, for example, with the right tools for their students: “Staff members are equipped to promote mental health among students, to teach self-care and to recognize when students may need additional help, as well as refer them to the board’s mental health professionals.”
Maintaining good mental health is crucial to a general sense of well-being: it affects behaviours and relationships, but also daily thoughts and feelings. For students, mental illness can have a direct impact on their motivation and concentration or focus, which are essential to their academic success. If you notice signs of depression, consider seeking help from a health care professional.