Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Caring for yourself. It’s not only about your own personal well-being. It’s about protecting the futures of everyone you love and care for.

Achieving Mental Wellbeing:

  • Build healthy self-esteem.
  • Build positive support networks. 
  • Get involved. Being involved in things that really matter to us provides a great feeling of purpose and satisfaction. Getting involved connects you with others in your community who share similar interests or values and connects you to groups of people you might not normally meet. It can help you learn new skills, build confidence, and see your own experiences in a different way.
  • Build resiliency (cope well with problems, stress, and other difficult situations). Your resiliency toolkit might include skills like problem-solving, assertiveness, balancing obligations and expectations, and developing support networks. Learn more about these skills online, in books, through community organizations, or through your health care provider.
  • Recognize your emotions. Emotional well-being includes recognizing what influences our emotions, discovering how our emotions affect the way we think or act, taking action when our emotional response isn’t helpful, and learning to accept our emotions—even the difficult ones.
  • Take care of your spiritual well-being (getting to know ourselves, discovering our values, and learning to be at peace with who we are). Spirituality can give us meaning and solace, help us overcome challenges, and help us build connections with others. This may mean religion for some, but it doesn’t have to.

Coping with Loneliness:

  • Ask yourself why you feel lonely. Do you feel lonely because you don’t have others around you? Do you isolate yourself from others? Do you feel lonely even when you’re with others? Understanding your situation can help you take action where it matters most.
  • Avoid comparing yourself to others. It’s easy to look at other people and feel left out, but appearances can be deceiving. People want others to see their best side, but don’t be fooled by the message others show the outside world. Social media in particular can make people feel like everyone but them is surrounded by friends, but social media is only a controlled snapshot.
  • Give yourself time, especially during big changes. It’s common to feel lonely during transitions like starting at a new school, moving to a new city, or starting or leaving a job. Whenever you’re going through a transition, it can take some time to settle in and find your new place.
  • Think about what else is going on. How you’re feeling in other parts of your life may add to feelings of loneliness. Some physical and mental health problems can make connecting with others harder and leave people feeling isolated. In some situations, managing challenges in other parts of your life can reduce some feelings of loneliness.
  • Find ways to take advantage of time alone. Look at time alone as an opportunity to pursue hobbies, read books, learn new skills, listen to music, spend time outdoors.

Coping with Stress:

  • Identify your problems. What is causing your stress? Once you know what the problem is, you can do something about it.
  • Work on solutions. Start thinking about what you can do to relieve the problem. Take control over the issues you can manage.
  • Talk about your problems. Friends, work colleagues and family members may not know you are having a hard time.
  • Learn about stress management. In addition to health professionals who specialize in stress, there are many helpful books, films, videos, courses and workshops available to help you learn stress management techniques.
  • Reduce tension. Physical and mental activities can be great stress reducers (walk, run, exercise, garden, breathing, stretching, meditating, journaling, being outdoors, etc.)
  • Take your mind off your problems (read, take up hobbies, become involved in sports, learn/play an instrument, etc.).
  • Try not to be too hard on yourself. Stress can cause lots of negative thinking.

Mental Health Resources:

Mental Health Pocket Book – Bell Let’s Talk

BC Canadian Mental Health (CMHA) Wellness Programs

  • Bounce Back: A free, evidence-based program designed to help adults and youth experiencing symptoms of mild to moderate depression, low mood, or stress, with or without anxiety.
  • Confident Parents, Thriving Kids: A family-focused, telephone-based coaching service for parents and caregivers, effective in reducing mild to moderate anxiety or behavioural challenges and promoting healthy child development in children ages 3 – 12.
  • Living Life to the Full: An eight-session, 12-hour mental health promotion course designed to help people deal with low mood, anxiety, stress and everyday life challenges.

CMHA tools & resources for youth 

CMHA workshops & training sessions for the workplace 

We Are Indigenous: Big Worries/Fears, Parent/Caregiver Support Program

Stress Prevention:

  • Make decisions. Worrying about making a decision causes stress.
  • Avoid putting things off. Make up a weekly schedule that includes leisure activities as well as things you must do.
  • Delegate to others. Let others take on some of the tasks you have set yourself so that you are not trying to do everything yourself.
  • Keep your thinking positive and realistic.