WELLNESS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS As we grow older, our bodies are guaranteed to age in a relatively predictable way. The state of our mind is the most rapidly fluctuating and the least under our immediate control, insomuch that reptilian emotions are constantly influencing the frontal cortex, that is, the part of the brain that separates humans from other animals. Mental health is often the point of discussion during patient encounters, and rightfully so, it is one-third of the holistic health triad. Campaigns like Bell’s “Let’s Talk” and a growing interest in the topic on other forms of media, exemplifies how mental health has been destigmatized and even embraced as a primary initiative within our culture. The hope is that with time, the overall message will manifest itself as proactive engagement and management of mental health issues by patients and healthcare workers. From my experience, compared to prior generations, patients are more transparent about their mental health struggles and take more initiative to seek professional help. By the same token, physicians and other healthcare providers are delegating more time in their education and practice to better embrace, understand, assess and manage the mental health of their clients. This positive momentum is undoubtedly pivotal for the ongoing health of our society as a whole. To further our common goal for widespread mental health, I find it useful to take a moment to focus on the most basic of questions. That is, what is the tangible approach we should take to managing mental health issues? Surely, if you asked a hundred people to provide their take, you would have a very large unpredictability in their answers. My approach has always been to simplify, and to understand how we should treat mental health, one must first grasp the fundamental elements of health in general. The definition in the dictionary, which is “to be free of disease or illness,” is too simplistic for the purpose of this mental exercise. However, if we frame our definition within the lens of
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DR. TIMOTHY KODSI Medical Lead Mimico Medical prevention, the picture becomes much clearer. In medicine, preventative medicine is categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary. Primary prevention is preventing the problem from starting in the first place. In this case, by living the lifestyle of someone who has established mental strength devoid of emotional dysregulation. That is, a life free of significant trauma, addictions, sedentation, poor habits, risky behaviours, and toxic relationships, among other things, but also with a strong element of mental awareness and prioritization of the psyche. Of course, we can only control so much, but these principles should guide our everyday decisions, interactions, and behaviours. Secondary prevention entails the early identification and management of disease. Every patient-doctor relationship should make the discussion about overall feelings and mood a regular occurrence. Patients should feel comfortable approaching their doctors for care at the earliest stages of emotional dysregulation. Physicians and their teams should compassionately address and actively manage these cases, both promptly
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