| Wellness, Culture and Sport | Home | Français |
Mental Fitness & Resilience
Our capacity to make positive changes in our daily routines, whether choosing healthy eating, being physically active, or living tobacco-free is impacted by our Mental Fitness & Resilience.
The goal
To improve the mental fitness & resilience of New Brunswickers
Defining Mental Fitness and Resilience
Mental fitness and resilience means having a positive sense of how we feel, think and act which improves our ability to enjoy life and respond to life’s challenges. We are mentally fit and resilient when:
- our skills and strengths are recognized and used by ourselves and others (competence)
- we have opportunities to make choices and take action to positively impact our lives (autonomy)
- we are connected to and encouraged by our family, friends, school, community and/or workplace (relatedness).
Evidence demonstrates that
- when our needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness are met, we become more self-determined
- self-determined people make healthier choices and adopt behaviours that contribute to their own personal wellness and that of others
- when needs are not met, people may be at higher risk for experiencing difficulties related to their emotional, social and physical growth
- mental fitness and resilience is influenced by the positive assets we have in our lives, such as positive relationships, experiences and inner strengths
- mentally fit and resilient people are healthier, live longer, are more successful in school and jobs, are happier in relationships and are less prone to depression.
Did you know?
According to the 2009 report Improving the Health of Canadians – Exploring Positive Mental Health, New Brunswick ranks 5th among provinces and territories in rates of reported high life satisfaction (39%). However, the province has a significantly lower proportion of respondents than the rest of Canada when it comes to excellent self-rated health (17%) and excellent self-rated mental health (33%), which placed New Brunswick 13th and 12th respectively.
Notes
- Respondents were 12 years and older
- Self-Rated Health: Question asks respondents to rate their overall health as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor, and prompts them to think of health as not only the absence of disease or injury but also as physical, mental and social well-being
- Self-Rated Mental Health: Question asks respondents to rate their mental health as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor
- Life Satisfaction: Question asks respondents how satisfied they are with their life in general: very satisfied, satisfied, neither, dissatisfied or very dissatisfied
Results from the NB Student Wellness Survey demonstrate that an increase in mental fitness is associated with:
- increases in pro-social behaviours (helpful, respectful, thoughtful) and pleasant feelings (happy, energetic, active)
- increases in the probability of engaging in competitive (e.g. sports) and non-competitive activities (e.g. intramurals)
- decreases in oppositional behaviours (defiant, disrespectful, rude)
- decreases in the susceptibility to tobacco use
- decreases in Body Mass Index* scores, meaning body weights tend to be lower. This decrease levels off as mental fitness increases to high levels.
*Body Mass Index is a measure of a person’s weight in comparison to their height.
Mental fitness and resilience are reinforced by the messages we receive within our environments regarding the potential to make positive changes.
How do we improve Mental Fitness and Resilience in NB?
We all have a role to play in promoting, maintaining and improving mental fitness & resilience of New Brunswickers. This can be achieved by addressing the needs of autonomy, relatedness and competency.
Consider how you can tailor or adapt your initiatives or programs to intentionally address the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness (CAR).
CAR can be fostered by:
- providing opportunities for people to identify, build on, share and use their strengths and talents (Competency & Autonomy)
- encouraging people to be involved in a wide range of activities that include emphasis on their interests and preferences (Competency & Autonomy)
- involving people directly in determining the actions that will ultimately contribute to their own health and well-being (Autonomy)
- suspending judgment and encouraging the expression of people’s thoughts and feelings in discussions (Autonomy)
- reaching out and involving people or specific groups who do not feel part of the school, workplace or community (Autonomy & Relatedness)
- increasing a sense of belonging in the workplace, schools, communities and homes and focusing on developing positive relationships (Relatedness)
- emphasizing fairness and social inclusion in small group, school-wide, workplace and community learning activities (Relatedness)
- empowering people to collaborate with others in the development of their own solutions for specific problems. (Competency, Autonomy, Relatedness)
Your daily dose of Mental Fitness & Resilience
Dedicating even a short time every day to your mental fitness and resilience can provide significant benefits. Imagine feeling rejuvenated, more confident and better prepared to make positive lifestyle changes and respond to life’s challenges.
Becoming mentally fit and resilient can be part of our everyday life. There are various aspects of mental fitness and resilience that we can control such as our sleep patterns, how often we laugh and how we deal with everyday stress.
Here are simple and quick ways to satisfy your needs for competence (sense of personal achievement / accomplishment), autonomy (sense of freedom and choice) and relatedness (sense of belonging).
- Play with your strengths - Make a list of your strengths and gifts. Tack it on your mirror and refer to it often! (Competence)
- Set personal goals - Look for ways to feel good about being an active participant in making choices or decisions that affect yourself and others. Learn how to set small, simple goals. Try things like finishing that book you started three years ago;taking a walk around the block every day; learning to knit or play bridge; calling your friends instead of waiting for the phone to ring. Whatever goal you set, reaching it will build confidence and a sense of satisfaction, which will inspire people around you to do the same. (Competence, Autonomy)
- Enjoy hobbies - Taking up a hobby brings balance to your life by allowing you to do something you enjoy because you want to do it, free of the pressure of everyday tasks. It also keeps your brain active. (Autonomy, Competence)
- Seek or maintain support - Having a solid support system is a key to mental fitness and resilience. These supports can be family, friends, activities in the community, employment or anything else that makes us feel useful and important. (Relatedness, Competence)
- Learn ways to cope with negative thoughts - Negative thoughts can be insistent and loud. Learn to interrupt them. Don't try to block them (that never works), but don't let them take over. Try distracting yourself or comforting yourself, if you can't solve the problem right away.You may want to talk to someone about the problem. (Competence, Relatedness)
- Volunteer - Volunteering is called the "win-win" activity because helping others makes us feel good about ourselves. At the same time, it widens our social network, provides us with new learning experiences and can bring balance to our lives. (Relatedness)
- Laugh – Research indicates that laughing:increases blood flow by more than 20% - a similar effect to that of aerobic activity. The positive effect of laughing lasted for 30-45 minutes; reduces the effect of stress by lowering stress hormone levels; and boosts levels of endorphins, which have pain-relieving properties. (Autonomy)
- Face life’s challenges - Benefits of mental fitness include higher energy levels, better sleep patterns and more focused concentration. When a potentially negative event occurs, it is important to deal with it, experience it and move beyond it. Being mentally fit will help you or members of your family to accomplish this. (Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness)
- Assess regularly - Assess you and your family members’ emotional health regularly. Consider the particular demands or stresses you are facing and how they are affecting you and your family. Reflect on your choices and take appropriate action. (Autonomy)
- Take a mental break - Give yourself permission to take a break from your worries and concerns. Recognize that dedicating even a short time every day to your mental fitness will reap significant benefits in terms of feeling rejuvenated and more confident. (Autonomy)
- Daydream - Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a dream location. Breathe slowly and deeply. Whether it's a beach, a mountaintop, a hushed forest or a favourite room from your past, let the comforting environment wrap you in a sensation of peace and tranquility. (Autonomy)
- Do one thing at a time - For example, when you are out for a walk or spending time with friends, turn off your cell phone and stop making that mental "to do" list. Take in all the sights, sounds and smells you encounter. (Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness)
- Exercise your options - Regular physical activity improves psychological well-being and can reduce depression and anxiety. Joining an exercise group or a gym can also reduce loneliness, since it connects you with a new set of people sharing a common goal. (Autonomy, Relatedness)
- Keep a journal - Expressing yourself after a stressful day can help you gain perspective, release tension and even boost your body's resistance to illness. (Competence, Autonomy)
- Share humour - Life often gets too serious, so when you hear or see something that makes you smile or laugh, share it with someone you know. A little humour can go a long way to keeping us mentally fit! (Relatedness)
Information gathered from the following websites: Government of New Brunswick, Health Canada, Health and Education Research Group and the Canadian Mental Health Association, University of Calgary
