Mental Health Matters: What does wellness mean & how can you achieve it?

November 27, 2023

Mental Health Matters is a series of Surrey Schools articles that highlights issues and challenges identified by our school counsellors and psychologists as ones commonly experienced by students of all ages. Read them all at surreyschools.ca/news.

During a student’s time at school, their educational journey will cover everything from sciences to math, literacy to the arts. However, more recent initiatives are focusing on teaching students the importance of self-care and why health and wellness are equally as important as academics when it comes to a student’s social and emotional health.

Wellness is focusing on caring for your body, mind and spirit and will look different for each person depending on things like culture and personal experiences.

Selma Smith, director of instruction and continuing education at Surrey Schools, says education around things like self-care, health and wellness are key factors in helping to set students up for success.

“These are important subjects not only for a student’s K-12 journey, but for their overall health beyond those early years,” said Smith, who’s also a former district counsellor.

That journey, Smith said, starts with instilling the importance of self-awareness and how young people can assess and navigate their emotional well-being.

“That self-awareness is very important, as is the knowledge that they need to prioritize their health and wellness,” she said.

Whether it’s focusing on adding more activity to your lifestyle, eating healthy and getting enough sleep or spending more time with family and friends, any and all of these things can help improve mental and physical health.

While there were many initiatives dedicated to raising awareness of health and wellness prior to 2020, Smith said discussions around mental health increased considerably during and after pandemic.

“We heard that well-being and mental health were some of the main struggles expressed by young people during that time,” she said. “Since then, we’re seeing that there are certainly more discussions taking place and students are recognizing that mental health, physical health and overall wellbeing are all connected.”

Some of the key ways students can improve mental and physical health is by ensuring they set aside time to do the things they enjoy, whether it’s getting lost in a book, playing sports or just socializing with friends. Eating healthy, getting enough sleep and spending time away from screens like cellphones and computers can also help to regulate mood and ensure a balanced life.

To assist students and families in navigating discussions around health and wellness, Surrey Schools has created two videos exploring the topic, one for elementary aged students and another for intermediate/secondary aged students. Each video also has a corresponding teacher guide to support classroom discussions about the topic in an age-appropriate manner. There is also a parent guide to all the videos, with suggestions on questions to prompt conversations, as well as community resources if families need additional support.

Health and Wellness is also available in French, Punjabi, Mandarin and Arabic.

To see the rest of the video series, click here, or select the topic below:

These videos were developed in partnership with Fraser Health and the Ministry of Education and Child Care, which provided financial support for the project.