When the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in early 2020 and swept across the globe, most of us were shut indoors for months on end with little indication of when we’d be let out again.
Mental health became the talk of the town, especially for the cohort of seniors that aren’t as digitally savvy and therefore less able to adapt to the situation with Zoom calls or chats on social media.
The recent passing of World Mental Health Day on 10 October brings the term to the forefront of public attention once again.
But what does the term ‘mental health’ actually refer to? Does it refer to just the brain and its functioning, or the heart, soul and spirit? Is it even a term that we should be using, given its sporadic use as a pejorative?
Dr Felix Lim, a psychologist with over 25 years of experience in applied clinical and community counselling-based programmes, makes the case for a different term – wellness.
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"We should replace the word mental with this instead. Hence, we start by asking ‘Are you well today?’"
The definition of wellness
The only issue, says Dr Lim, is that wellness is a poorly defined concept, differing depending on who you ask.
Outcomes are key
That is why he believes that an “integrative and collaborative stance” by various disciplines involved in the wellness industry is necessary – not just to develop the study of wellness, but the techniques that make up the applied practice of the field.
Wellness in every facet of being
These outcomes, a result of multidisciplinary wellness techniques, will also present in four multifaceted aspects of being: Heart, mind, soul, and spirit.
"The reason I bring this up is this – people tend to use these terms very loosely. Religious people bring in talk about your soul and your spirit, and what happens when you die. Although you can say it is religious, isn’t it part of your wellbeing? "
He brings up the anecdote of his late brother – a highly successful banker who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (better known as ALS), a type of degenerative motor neuron disease, at the peak of his career.
Dr Felix Lim will be giving a talk at SilverStreak Social, SilverStreak’s first social event for its readers. The event will be held at AIBI Maxwell on 28 October, 3pm to 7pm. Dr Lim’s talk will last from 4pm to 4.30pm.
