2020 LiNDR Annual General Meeting
The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) is a proud member of the Literacy Network of Durham Region (LiNDR). The Literacy Network of Durham Region was incorporated as a charity in 1994 to help meet the literacy needs of the regional community. LiNDR’s purpose is to support and promote literacy and basic skills services within the Regional Municipality of Durham.
On Friday June 19th, 2020 the DWA attended the LiNDR Annual General Meeting and Professional Development session. The Life-Work Wellness seminar, delivered by Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, discussed in detail the wheel of wellbeing and the mental health continuum tool and provided participants with resources to support wellbeing.
The nine dimensions of the wheel of wellbeing are emotional, cognitive, physical, social, spiritual, environmental, occupational, financial, and mental. The interconnectedness of the nine components means that if even a single component is impacted, whether positively or negatively, it has the potential to impact each of the others as well.
The mental health continuum tool provides practitioners, employers, and individuals with a visual understanding of the differences individuals can feel with regards to mental health, sometimes on a daily basis. The four-stage continuum provides a visual representation of the differences between four stages of mental health: healthy, reacting, injured and ill. Someone describing themselves as healthy, is, at that moment, normal functioning, experiencing normal mood functions, can take things in stride, and is comfortable with others.
Identifying as in the reacting stage means that you are experiencing common and reversible distress. Individuals identifying in this category may be irritable or impatient and may experience increased nervousness, sadness, or worry. Both the healthy and reacting stages on the continuum indicate a need for self-care and social support.
An individual in the injured category on the continuum is facing significant functional impairment. They may be avoiding social situations or having significantly disturbed sleep. Common feelings may include anger, anxiety, fearfulness, hopelessness, and worthlessness.
Finally, individuals in the ill category are experiencing a clinical disorder marked by severe and persistent functional impairment. Typically, these individuals will have significant difficulty with emotions, have high levels of anxiety, panic attacks, and constant fatigue. Both injured and ill stages on the continuum need professional care and support.
Being cognizant of one’s sense of wellness and all its components is critical to understanding the differences between good mental health, poor mental health, and mental illness.