Lesson 1- Mental Health Continuum

 

 

Materials Used: Townsley, D., Hughes, R., & Crooks, C. (2016). The Fourth R: Healthy Relationships, Safe Choices, Connected Youth. London, ON: The University of Western Ontario.

Introduction

Welcome to our Health Unit 2 in PE 9. This health unit is going to focus on Mental Health & Support. This a very important portion of the grade 9 curriculum that will give you the opportunity to think about your health and what it means to be healthy. It will also provide you with information about factors that can positively and negatively impact your health, and various health related skills for you to apply everyday.  Often there are sensitive topics and conversations that may come up. Our goal is that everyone can feel comfortable  to share their thoughts and ideas using the following guidelines.

Guidelines

• Respect (No laughing, listen to others, etc.)
• No names (Do not use real names)
• Participate (Do your best to contribute and share)
• Right to pass (If you feel uncomfortable with a topic, you always have the right to pass)

Today’s Lesson:

Today the focus will be on mental health concerns, how to recognize them, and how to seek help and help from others. Perfect lives don’t exists. We all think things we shouldn’t, feel sad at times, angry at times, and negative at times. It is perpetual sadness, fear and anger that is not typical and requires some special attention. Honest people will tell you about their personal challenges and not present themselves and their lives as perfect. Today the focus is keeping the lines of communication open with friends, and avoiding putting up barriers when communicating. We will do a lot of role playing and group practicing to develop skills that will help maintain an open dialogue.

Activity #1 – Video

Activity #2 – Recognizing Warning Signs/Symptoms Related to Mental Health Concerns

Strategy: Partner Collaboration

Take a look at the Mental Health Continuum. The continuum represents the idea that our mental health is constantly changing our physical health. The far right side of the continuum represents a time when a person has achieved optimal mental health while the far left end represents a time when there are mental health concerns.

Mental Health Continuum (3.1 V)

Take a look at the Mental Health Cards link below. You will be placed in groups of 2 and assigned a health card to assess. Identify numerous warning signs associated with mental health concerns and be aware of these signs both in ourselves and in those around us.

Mental Health Cards (3.2 H)

Mental Health Card Reference (3.2 REF)

Activity #3 – Coping Strategies

In the moment Coping Strategies

Coping Skills Form (3.3 H)

• Rules of 5

Sometimes we escalate things with people when in reality, what matters to us in this moment may not matter as much or at all five days from now. The Rule of Fives is a great strategy to use when thinking about how much a problem means to us so that we don’t get worked up and possibly cause conflict or problems for something that in the end is minor or insignificant.

Choose an issue or concern you have and use the Rule of 5 to work throughout it using the form above.

• Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the ability to keep your mind focused on this moment and not think of other things that might be racing through your mind. It is the ability to center your thoughts and breathing. 

Lifestyle Coping Strategies

• What kinds of lifestyle coping strategies could you use to manage your mental health?→ Exercise, get outside, get off device, get quality sleep, talk face to face with a friend …

Activity #4 – Supporting a Friend – Reflecting Feelings

Strategy: Group Work

You now are going to work on listening and paraphrasing skills. You will be using the reflective listening model.

Reflective Listening Model (4.0 H)

Activity #5 – Knowing When to Seek Adult Help

Strategy: Discussion

Sometimes our friends disclose information to us that we can not keep to ourselves. For example, sometimes you might worry about the types of things a friend is saying as it might relate to suicidal thoughts. If this ever happens, it is really important that you speak to an adult or take your friend to speak to an adult. Some topics of discussion are too difficult for you to handle on your own, therefore, it’s important to seek professional and/or adult help. Our friendships are important. It is often our peers who see the first warning signs or see the struggles with suicidal thoughts. Take a look at the When to Seek Help chart below.

When to Seek Help (4.2 H)

Activity #6 – Reflection

Unit 2 Lesson 1: 

Strategy: Inquiry

My Personal Health and Wellness Inquiry

The purpose of your Personal Health and Wellness Inquiry is to create a culminating health and wellness plan. Your plan is created and built by you, based on your own personal inquiry into a number of important questions about your health and wellness.  It is a journey of learning more about yourself, exploring a variety of valuable topics, and understanding how they relate to you. You will use each lesson’s topic as a springboard to the begin your personal inquiry. It is expected that you will refine and improve your responses, as you gain more knowledge and understanding, until the final product is completed in grade 10. A draft will be submitted at the end of each of the three units.

Steps

1. Open your Office 365 Word document titled My Personal Health and Wellness from Unit 1 lesson 1
2. Create a Heading – Unit 2 Lesson #1 – If you have a friend who you are concerned about (think of the mental health continuum), describe the steps will you take to help/support them?
3. Using information provided in this unit, personal reflection, and additional research, answer the question above to the best of your ability in complete sentences. Please feel free to use real life examples whenever applicable.

Health Education Rubric

Additional Resources

www.anxietybc.com (MindShift app)

www.mindyourmind.ca (Interactive mental health tools and information)

www.mindyourmind.ca (BeSafe app)

www.camh.ca (Center  for Addiction and  Mental Health- information and resource links)

www.morethanalabel.acrossboundaries.ca/ (Raising awareness about mental health in racialized you and what we can do to improve it