14 Mental Health and Wellbeing: Exploring Social and Cultural Impacts
14 Mental Health and Wellbeing: Exploring Social and Cultural Impacts
Wellbeing encompasses quality of life and the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world with a sense of meaning and purpose. Focusing on well-being supports the tracking of the equitable distribution of resources, overall thriving and sustainability. A society’s wellbeing can be determined by the extent to which it is resilient, builds capacity for action, and is prepared to transcend challenges.
This activity will need to be adapted to the age and focus of the group. It provides an opportunity for participants to drill down into their personal values and perceptions about their bodies, minds and the social webs and privileges that influence mental health and wellbeing.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to start a process of exploring participants’ personal and cultural views about health, mental health and wellbeing.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Define the terms health, mental health and wellbeing.
- Reflect on their own health profile and the social determinants of health that have challenged or supported their wellbeing.
Activity Directions:
- Prepare coloured paper: You will need three different colours of paper. Write the words Health, Mental Health, Wellbeing on different pieces of the coloured paper and post them in different parts of the room.
- Dyads: Ask everyone in the group to find a partner. Give each pair 3 sheets (one of each coloured paper) and ask them to work together to find their definition of each of these terms and write them down on the assigned coloured paper (i.e. health is green paper, mental health is orange and wellbeing is on the blue sheet of paper). Ask them not to use their phone or the internet to search for definitions, but to come up with their own understanding of these terms.
- Gallery Walk: When finished, tape the definitions on the wall and windows in appropriate clusters of colour. Ask the full group to come to the wall or window and read each other’s definitions.
- Full group discussion: What was your experience of trying to define these terms? In your opinion, are our ways of seeing health, mental health and wellbeing influenced by culture? How? These terms represent a Western perspective. Are there translations for these terms in your language? Are there other words that capture these concepts in another way? Can you share any examples of ways your family, community, culture or language have shaped your way of seeing health, mental health or wellbeing? How does gender affect our views of health, mental health and wellbeing? (Note: Facilitator could start this dialogue with a personal example of how health, mental health and wellbeing were viewed in their family, community, gender or culture.)
- Present definitions: Read the following definitions and reflect together on how these fit or don’t fit, with the definitions they have posted:
Definitions
- Health: the state of being free from illness and inju