This article from the health promotion board provides useful resources to advocate mental well being:
http://www.hpb.gov.sg/HOPPortal/health-article/10200
Mental Well being
Mental wellbeing relates to our ability to positively experience life,
effectively manage life challenges, realize our potential and make a meaningful
contribution within our community.
Positive mental wellbeing helps us to deal with challenges, solve problems and achieve our goals. Maintaining good mental wellbeing also reduces our vulnerability to mental health difficulties.
Local research has shown that there are five aspects that contribute to a
person s mental wellbeing:
- Self-esteem
- Social intelligence
- Resilience
- Emotional intelligence
- Cognitive efficacy
By nurturing a positive view of ourselves, we can develop strong self-esteem
that gives us confidence to embrace life s challenges, pursue our goals, and
take steps to lead a meaningful life.
Tip for building self
esteem:
Keep a positive journal to record positive events or
qualities about yourself. For example, you can start by listing 10 things you
like about yourself and using it to remind yourself how special you are!
Social Intelligence
Social Intelligence relates to how well we interact with people around us
at play or work, at home or with the community.
Having social intelligence means we are able to connect with others to build
trusting and meaningful relationships. Taking time and effort to listen to and
understand others perspectives will help build a strong social network to
rely on for support in good and bad times.
Tip for building Social
Intelligence:
Listening attentively to someone is one good way of
building rapport. In your next conversation, try focusing on what the other
person is saying, repeat to check your understanding before responding. This
allows him to feel valued and at the same time gives you a better understanding
of their perspective.
Resilience
Resilience relates to our ability to cope with stress and bounce back
when we are confronted with difficult situations. It is about viewing challenges
as opportunities rather than threats. It is strength that helps you manage
situations and turn them into useful life experiences.
With resilience, we will be able to manage stressful situations positively,
recover quickly and emerge as a stronger and smarter person.
Tip for building
Resilience:
Stay positive! Remind yourself that tough times don t
last forever and that there are options abound to overcome even the most
challenging situations. Keeping positive will open your mind to more
possibilities!
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is our ability to identify, understand and manage our
emotions effectively. It is about being able to identify situations that make us
feel positive so we can continue to seek them. At the same time, it is also
about being mindful of our reactions to various situations that would typically
arouse strong emotions in us.
With good emotional intelligence, we will know ourselves better, respond more
effectively to people and situations, and make better decisions in the long
run.
Tips for building Emotional
Intelligence:
Take note of instances which makes you happy and
relaxed, and continue to do these regularly. These could be simple activities
like reading a book, talking a walk in the park or chatting with a loved
one.
Keep tested strategies at hand for managing
negative emotions, including anger. These strategies could include distracting
yourself from your emotions, using a relaxation technique, changing unhelpful
thinking patterns, exercising or talking to friends and family.
Cognitive Efficacy
Cognitive efficacy is our ability to think clearly and effectively in our
daily life. This means being able to understand, analyse, plan, remember, and
respond successfully to different situations. It also includes adopting a
step-by-step approach to challenges and weighing the pros and cons of various
courses of actions before making a decision.
With good cognitive efficacy, we will be able to make rational decisions and
deal with life s challenges effectively. We will also be able to achieve our
goals.
Tips for building Cognitive
Efficacy:
Next time you are confronted by a problem, take a step
back and try to look at the situation objectively. Break a problem into smaller
pieces and solve them one at a time. If you need help, ask a friend, family
member or colleague for ideas.