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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 26 ,2 01 9 | 22 Visit Our Showroom 247 Armstrong Avenue Unit 10 Georgetown Monday-Friday, 8:30 to 4:30. Evenings and weekends by appointment Call for a free estimate: 905-494-1915 See our work atMiracleMethod.com/brampton We Also Repair and Refinish: • Countertops • Tile Showers,Walls & Floors • Sinks & Vanities • Fiberglass Tubs & Showers • Cabinet Doors We Also Repair and Refinish: • Countertops • Tile Showers,Walls & Floors • Sinks & Vanities • Fiberglass Tubs & Showers • Cabinet Doors NOW HIRING ! 905-873-0000 We Also Repair and Refinish: • All Types of Bathroom/Kitchen Countertops • Tile Showers,Walls & Floors • Sinks & Vanities • Fiberglass Tubs & Showers • All Types of Bathroom/Kitchen Cabinets Charge throughout the NIGHT Wear throughout the DAY And love what you HEAR Call to book your complimentery assessment today Armstrong Ave Delrex Blvd 905.877.8828 360 Guelph St., Unit 44 Georgetown (In the Knolcrest Centre) There may not be an ac- tual 'r' in wellness, but there is an r-word that is crucial to our overall health and wellness: 'resil- ience.' Resilience is the ability to cope when faced with a challenge or stress and maintain or return to healthy functioning. It doesn't mean that we don't experience sadness, grief, anger, or other difficult emotions -- it means that we can use our strengths to face challenges, cope in healthy ways, and ultimate- ly learn from experiences. We may all strive for this, but what can trip us up? A psychologist named Martin Seligman cautions us about 3 P's: personaliza- tion, pervasiveness and permanence. Personalization -- "It's all my fault" When bad things hap- pen, we tend to look for a cause and may blame our- selves in the absence of any- thing else. But analyzing our role in difficulty isn't constructive if it's some- thing over which we did not have control. Over time, we can shift our thoughts to fo- cusing on recovery and cop- ing rather than criticizing ourselves, or feeling bad about how others may be affected by something that was out of our hands. Pervasiveness -- "Ev- erything is terrible" Feelings of pervasive- ness take time and effort to manage, especially when the challenge is something that affects a number of ar- eas in our life, such as the death of a loved one or the loss of a job. Resilience doesn't mean denying neg- ative feelings and impacts -- it means accepting them as normal and coping in ways that help us to also ex- perience positive feelings and appreciate that though it may sometimes feel like it, not everything in our life is terrible. Permanence -- "It will always be like this" Since we can't predict the future, it is tempting to assume that our present feelings will always be there. If we're sad or anx- ious, we feel like we will al- ways be sad or anxious. What is often helpful is pay- ing attention to the words we are using when thinking and talking about our feel- ings. For example, thinking "I will always feel stressed" will be more difficult to deal with than "I am feeling stressed today." The first implies an overwhelming lifetime of stress to manage while the second suggests that things may change -- maybe not right away or as soon as we would like, but healing can happen when we take the right steps and get the right support. Resilience is not an in- born, you-have-it-or-you- don't quality. It's some- thing we can develop over time and that we can all fo- cus on for our lifelong well- ness. Melanie McGregor is the communications and ad- vancement specialist at the Canadian Mental Health Association Halton Branch, which provides mental health/addiction communi- ty support and education. Visit www.halton.cmha.ca for more information and follow @cmhahalton on Twitter. THE 'R' IN 'WELLNESS' OPINION RESILIENCE KEY TO MENTAL HEALTH, WRITES MCGREGOR MELANIE MCGREGOR Column The cooler weather is right around the corner, and outdoor activity is slowly winding down for many of us. But there's still plenty to keep Halton residents busy - namely all the bazaar and craft shows that will be coming up this fall. Metroland Halton aims to keep its readers in the know about all of these fall/winter events. So if your church, business or group is holding a craft show or bazaar, please let us know. Send us all the pertinent details (the when, where, exact hours, a brief de- scription, etc.) of your event in Burlington, Mil- ton, Oakville or Halton Hills to either sle- blanc@metroland.com (Burlington, Milton) or knagel@metroland.com (Oakville, Halton Hills). COMMUNITY LET US SHARE YOUR COMMUNITY BAZAAR OR CRAFT SHOW Please keep our community clean!