Minds On

Being mindful of mental health

Why should we worry about someone’s mental health?

If you fall and break your ankle, you know that you need to go to the hospital, get an x-ray, get a cast, and rest. You know what to do. Before you can go back to doing your regular activities, you must take care of your physical health and let your body heal.

Journaling is one way people can take care of their mental health.

The same way you take care of your physical health, you must do the same with your mental health. Mental health affects the way you feel, think, and act.

It can be more difficult to take care of your mental health versus your physical health as you cannot see it.

When we see someone who is unhappy or not acting like themselves it is important to check in with them and offer to help and support them, if they are accepting of our offer. We can show empathy, by understanding the emotions and feelings of another person.

Brainstorm

What would you do?

Can you think of something you could say or do for someone who may be struggling and need your support? Record your thoughts using any method of your choice.

Action

Stigma and stereotypes

Think about different words and/or images that might help someone define the words stigma and stereotype.

Press ‘Definition’ to explore the meaning of the words stigma and stereotype to help in your brainstorming.

Stigma: a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something. Stigma leads to discrimination when it is acted on.

Stereotype: a stereotype is a fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person or thing.

Language and feelings

Sometimes we all feel challenging emotions that make it hard for us to feel like we belong.

We all experience these ups and downs at various points in our lives. It’s important for all of us to think about the ways we can make it easier for ourselves and others to recognize, accept, and manage these feelings.

For example, let’s think about language. Sometimes we make statements that we think are funny but that can cause stigma and make others feel uncomfortable.

Press ‘Definition’ to access a definition of stigma.

Stigma is a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something.

Explore the following image. How do you think the statement in the image reflects stigma?

Two people sitting on a bench. One appears to be homeless and drinks a beer. The other is dressed in a suit, and stares at the other person.

Supporting others

When it comes to supporting one another’s mental health, it is not easy to speak up or feel safe enough to talk about their needs.

Student Success

Think-Pair-Share

What are some of the things we can do to create a safe space to talk about mental health and ask for help?

What are three things you can say or do that may help or improve someone’s mental health?

With a partner if possible, share your thoughts and ideas to these questions. Record your thoughts using any method of your choice.

Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.

Consolidation

The power of words

The impact of our words is very important. Sometimes our choice of words contributes to increased stigma about mental illness.

Explore the following statements. Decide if each statement creates or prevents stigma and provide a reason why.

Complete the Creates or Prevents Stigma Chart in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts.

Creates or Prevents Stigma Chart
Statement Creates or prevents stigma. Why?
Having a mental illness is easy. You can just take medicine or pills and be cured.
People with mental illness are crazy.
I have a mental illness, but I am a person like everyone else. It does not define me.

Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Creates or Prevents Stigma Chart. 

Activity(Open PDF in a new window)

Personal statements

Explore and respond to two statements below.

  1. The thing that made the most sense to me today was…
  2. One thing that I just don’t understand is….
  3. One thing I would like more information about is…
  4. The most important concept that we discussed today was…
  5. An idea that is still going around in my head is…

Pause and Reflect

Pause and reflect

If someone was experiencing a mental health issue, how could we help this person who feels that they have been stigmatized and how can we improve mental health awareness?

Record your thoughts and ideas using any method of your choice.

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel…

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.