Toronto Metropolitan University: Flourishing together during Wellbeing Week
When you think of the word “flourishing,” you may picture a healthy, blooming flower or a successful business making record profit. But what does it mean for you, as a human being, to flourish?
The concept of flourishing has grown in popularity in the context of well-being. Flourishing can be understood as a process by which we find fulfillment in our lives through forging meaningful relationships, connecting with others at a deeper level, and relishing in our accomplishments. Flourishing also means to feel well, healthy and happy.
It is also the theme of the university’s inaugural Wellbeing Week, an initiative led by TMU’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Advisory Committee in partnership with Workplace Wellbeing Services and Student Wellbeing. From October 3-7, 2022, students, faculty and staff are invited to take part in a series of events and activities designed to help one another flourish.
“We are excited to offer this initiative in a time when we are coming back together on campus as a vehicle to support the flourishing of individuals and our collective TMU community,” says Erica McDiarmid, the university’s mental health lead. “Acknowledging the existing ongoing challenges that impact our individual and collective well-being, we also look to explore how TMU can pay more attention to structural factors that influence individual and collective capacity for flourishing through a function like Wellbeing Week.”
There are five factors that are key to promoting flourishing: playing; learning; connecting; interacting; and helping. These factors are reflected in Wellbeing Week’s scheduled programming.
“We know that mental health and well-being occurs in and through community and that social, emotional, psychological and physical well-being are all interconnected. Wellbeing Week strives to create opportunities for participants to build relationships, connections, and support systems through events that facilitate learning and playing together,”says McDiarmid
Many of the events and activities are presented in collaboration with various departments and units on campus. The Athletics and Recreation department is hosting glow in the dark yoga in the quad, and the School of Image Artswill present a screening of the mental health documentary, “When We Reach Out, Who Should Respond?”
Students can come and connect with service providers, campus programmers, and peers to ask questions and learn more about well-being support on campus at the Student Wellbeing Open House at the Student Learning Centre Amphitheater.
The School of Disability Studies will host a panel discussion on the topic of flourishing within the present-day context of post-secondary education and mental health advocacy.