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NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH

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What to Expect?

Mental health
Mental health continuum
Mental health disorders

Depression
PTSD

Strategies to manage stress and emotions
Key messages to remember
Resources

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What is Mental Health?

Indirectly affects all Canadians in their lifetime.
State of well-being and important for overall health.
Helps people realize their full potential and cope.

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Mental health has its highs and lows.

Observe the situation, acknowledge and regulate your emotions with adaptive coping strategies.

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How to Improve Mental Health?

Take care of your body
Physical activity
Healthy thinking is choice
Slow down…
Reach out!

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What is the Continuum?

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What is Mental Illness?

Alteration in mood, cognition, and behaviour.
Biological predisposition and environmental stress or trauma.
DSM-5 official guide to mental health disorders.

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What is Depression?

Characterized by being in a depressed state for more than two weeks.
Impacts one’s feelings, behaviours, thoughts and ultimately overall physical health.
Some people more susceptible to develop it than others.

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What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Behavioural symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance, negative thoughts, and arousal.
At risk if experience was during childhood, unexpected, or over prolonged period of time.

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How to Overcome Trauma?

Psychoeducation helps survivors understand what they experienced and gain strength to move forward.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Exposure Therapy
Grounding Technique

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Emotional Regulation

P.L.E.A.S.E acronym to remember that body and mind closely linked.
Express opposite emotion and action to uncomfortable feelings.

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Coping Strategies

4 steps for deep breathing:

Inhale
Pause
Exhale
Repeat

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Topic Recap

Mental health
Mental health continuum
Mental health disorders

Depression
PTSD

Strategies to manage stress and emotions

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Key Messages

Positive mental health allows people to realize their full potential, cope well with stress, feel productive at work and school and overall feel healthy.
Balancing between optimal mental health and mental illness is not black-and-white; it is a continuum.
Depression and PTSD affects the way we feel, behave, and think, which results in the decline of our physical health.
Acknowledge and address your emotions to improve your mental health with techniques like grounding, deep breathing, psychoeducation, and/or therapy.

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Student Resources (Ottawa)

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Student Resources (Gatineau)

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For More Information…

Pollard, C.L., Jakubec, S.J., & Halter, M.J. (2019). Varcarolis's Canadian Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, Second Edition, Toronto, ON: Elsevier.

https://www.therapistaid.com/

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders

https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2016-06/Investing_in_Mental_Health_FINAL_Version_ENG.pdf

https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/what-is-trauma.pdf

https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/grounding-techniques.pdf

https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/deep-breathing-worksheet.pdf