The mental wealth vision

SPONSORS & ASSOCIATES:

 The Mental Wealth Vision

Connecting Young People With The Resources To Thrive

WEB SUMMIT

CONTENTS

• Why ‘mental wealth?’• Cultivating wellbeing• So what do we do• Overcoming blinkered thinking• The role of peer-to-peer• A whole-systems approach• Implementing it

Why mental wealth?

We believe that mental health is not black and white, and that we’re all in the same boat.

The World Health Organisation defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation for individual well-being and the effective functioning of a community.”

In common usage, the term mental health has become synonymous with mental illness. This is one reason why we talk about mental wealth. Because the way we communicate matters.

We know that possessions and money only Promote wellbeing to a degree.(Easterlin Paradox, Hedonic Treadmill etc..)

What is wellbeing anyway?

Psychologists Ryff & Keyes (1995) define wellbeing as an active state of flourishing consisting of six dimensions:

Autonomy, Positive Relationships With Others, Personal Growth, Purpose In Life, Self-Acceptance, and Environmental Mastery.

The relationship between inner and outer – the way a person relates to, and interacts with, their environment and other people - matters.

‘Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

Why mental wealth?

Cultivating wellbeing

"Just as a tulip instinctively moves towards becoming as complete and perfect a tulip as possible, so the human being moves towards growth and fulfillment and the accomplishment of the highest level of human being-ness.

The only constraints placed upon the actualising tendency arise from the environment in which the person finds himself or herself.

Just as the tulip is unlikely to flourish in poor soil and without proper care and watering, so too the growth of the human being will be stunted if the conditions of the encouragement of the actualising tendency are unfavourable”– Brian Thorne

So what do we do?

1) instill the inner resilience and resourceful that enables individuals to respond better to their environment, and 2) work towards a better environment.

‘We believe that everyone has the capacity to promote the wellbeing of themselves and those around them.’

Three Ways:• Self-responsibility (individual differences)• Peer-to-peer (social influencers)• Leadership (butterfly effect)

Overcoming Blinkered Thinking

On an organisational level…

Old view: a top-down attitude to education & health promotion. BUT… Peer to peer matters; Recognising that we all influence each year.

Old view: We should focus on what we’re doing only. BUT… This leads to fragmentation. It’s all interconnected. Collaborate.

Making it happen

• Self-Responsibility(Appreciating individual differences)

First Person

• Peer-to-Peer• (Appreciating

influence over peers)

Second Person • LeadershipAppreciating the ‘butterfly effect’)

Third Person

Value-driven Way

Influencing Others(Peer

Wellbeing)

Leading By Example

(Wellbeing Advocate)

Improving Communities

(Wellbeing Initiatives)

Supportive Communities(Community Wellbeing)

Managing Ourselves(Personal

Wellbeing)

Value-driven Way

Whole-Systems Approach

It’s all interconnected.

Mental Health

EducationEmployment

Whole-Systems Approach

School University Work

School University Work

Integrated systemsResilient people

Implementing it…

Breaking down barriers. Building bridges.Connecting With The Resources To Thrive.

1. Identify Needs/Problems2. Look At What’s Out There

Now.3. Bring together

stakeholders.4. Define shared needs

Links

Healthy Settingshttp://www.who.int/healthy_settings/en/

Healthy Universitieshttp://www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk/

Ryff and Keyes, 1995http://www.midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/830.pdf

Peer-Educationhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0193397384900066

Mental Wealth Foundationhttp://mwfnd.org

Mental Wealth Foundation © 2012

Questions…?

[email protected]