Become a Member
Log In

Memberships start on the FREE Explorer tier. Register today!

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental health and wellbeing are interconnected and complementary dimensions of human development. Each brings attention to different, sometimes overlapping aspects of our experiences and support needs across time.

Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social experiences. It shapes how people think, feel, connect with others, respond to challenges, and navigate daily life. At times, the demands or challenges a person encounters may exceed the personal, relational, or environmental resources available to them. Additional support may be helpful when distress, mental health symptoms, or changing circumstances influence experiences at home, school, work, or in relationships.

Wellbeing reflects the interconnected personal, relational, cultural, and environmental conditions that help people live meaningful and sustaining lives. These conditions may include belonging, purpose, affirming relationships, safety, rest, play, agency, and opportunities for growth. Wellbeing includes adaptation and resilience, as well as experiences of connection, development, flourishing, and thriving.

Mental health and wellbeing do not exist as opposing states. A person may experience distress or a mental health condition while also experiencing purpose, connection, capability, and growth. Similarly, the absence of significant mental health symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person is flourishing. Both mental health and wellbeing may change across life stages, circumstances, identities, relationships, and environments.

For gifted and twice-exceptional people, understanding mental health and wellbeing requires attention to each person’s strengths, needs, identities, lived experiences, and ways of engaging with the world. It also requires consideration of the systems and relationships that shape development, including families, schools, workplaces, communities, cultures, and access to affirming and responsive support.

SENG’s resources help gifted and twice-exceptional people, families, educators, and professionals better understand mental health and cultivate wellbeing. Together, these resources encourage connection, resilience, self-understanding, agency, and flourishing across the lifespan. 

Our Use of “Wellbeing”

SENG intentionally uses wellbeing as one word. This spelling reflects our understanding that wellness and being are integrated rather than separate. Wellbeing encompasses the whole person and emerges through the interaction of emotional, psychological, physical, social, relational, and environmental experiences.

Although both wellbeing and well-being are accepted spellings, our use of the unhyphenated form is a deliberate organizational choice. It communicates SENG’s whole-person, developmental, and systems-oriented approach to supporting gifted and twice-exceptional individuals across the lifespan.

Links

Mental Health Page
Wellbeing Page
I AGREE

SCG Forum Participation Disclaimer & Guidelines

SENG provides this forum as a dedicated resource to the SENG SCG Community. To ensure a safe, supportive, and focused environment for all participants, please review and adhere to the following guidelines and disclaimers:

Community Participation Guidelines

  • Views and Opinions: SENG is not responsible for the views expressed by participants in this group or for the perception of material presented herein.

  • Alignment with Mission: SENG expressly will not tolerate any action or expression of ideas that run contrary to its mission and vision.

  • Permitted Resource Sharing: Participants may share relevant books, academic papers, or educational resources that align directly with SENG’s mission. However, sharing these resources must remain purely informational and must not be used to direct traffic to personal businesses or commercial ventures.

  • Conduct: Participants must refrain from using profanity, as the forum maintains a respectful, inclusive environment suitable for all SENG community members. 

  • Prohibition of Harassment and Bullying: SENG is dedicated to providing a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for the SENG community. SENG expressly prohibits any form of harassment, bullying, discrimination, or abusive behavior among participants. 

  • Prohibition of Solicitation: SENG expressly prohibits the self-promotion of any products or services. This includes but is not limited to advertising private practices, selling commercial goods, distributing marketing materials, or sharing external links for direct financial gain.

  • Reservation of Rights: SENG reserves the right, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, to remove any post, message, or content that violates these guidelines.

  • Account Suspension: SENG reserves the right to suspend or terminate a participant’s access for failing to comply with the SENG program guidelines.

  • Limitation of Liability: SENG is not responsible for any events that take place as a result of meeting in this group.

Acceptance of Terms: By participating in this forum, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to the terms outlined in this disclaimer.

I AGREE