Secondary
I & II
IT 'S COOL
TO TALK ABOUT IT!
Personal
and Social Education Program
Show that
satisfaction of needs helps maintain the proper functioning and
full development of an organism.
Indicate the
needs that must be met in order to feel good about oneself.
See, through
our behaviour, whether we are meeting our needs.
Become aware
of strengths within ourselves which contribute to our equilibrium.
Understand
that speech is the most powerful tool to end isolation.
| Should
you observe that some students show signs of serious problems
after
participating in these exercises, please refer them to the
school 's psychosocial services and advise these services.
|
Learning
Context
Write the
following phrases in a circle on the blackboard: "I often
have a lump in my throat ", "I have sweaty palms",
"I am often tense ","I often have back aches, stomach
aches or headaches ", "I cry easily ","I am
never hungry ","I have trouble sleeping ","I
eat excessively ".
Write in capital
letters, in the centre of the circle, the word STRESS,
mixing the letters. 
Write
in capital letters and in mixed order, at the bottom of the circle,
the title of the activity: it's cool about talk to it 's.
Tell the students
that if they can decode the w rd found in the centre of the circle,
they will uncover what all these symptoms are a sign of.
Tell the students
that if they can decode the phrase at the bottom of the circle,
they will already be on their way to finding a solution to these
problems.
Ask the students
the following questions:
- Is it possible
to imagine that a teenager may be stressed? (like an adult)
- Where does
excess stress lead to? (pursue the idea of personal imbalance,
mention other possible disorders-solitude, drug use, suicide,
violence, etc.).
Question/Problem
Ask the students
to define mental health.
Ask the students
to explain the link between mental health and the theme.
Try to elicit
the following ideas:
- Mental health
is a matter of balancing all aspects of our lives: physical, mental,
emotional, social, family and school.
- The slogan
suggests that, if confronted with personal problems, we must discuss
them, even consult.
- Remind
students that the expression "he's crazy" is derogatory
and can reinforce existing prejudices concerning mental health.
It can even result in some individuals not seeking needed help.
Seeking help is important not only when we are not feeling well
but also at moments when we wish to see things more clearly,
to understand what 's happening to us.
Underline
that the important question these activities will attempt to answer
is the following:
How is
it possible to maintain one 's personal equilibrium or mental
health?
Exploration/Discovery
Phase
1
"Talking
about what promotes my equilibrium and what hinders it, is cool."
Ask the students
to bring various magazines in which they can cut out. Provide
large pieces of cardboard and the material needed for a collage.
Explain to the students that they are window- dressers and that they must
design two window displays aimed at adolescents. One window must
illustrate what can contribute to an adolescent 's personal equilibrium.
It may feature a product (ball for sports, movie advertising for
leisure) or a symbol (heart for love, handshake for friendship).
The second
window must show various factors that contribute to stress and
threaten a teen 's personal equilibrium. It may feature a product
(Nintendo, alcohol, money) or a symbol (scenes of violence, pregnancy,
divorce of parents).
The collages
prepared by the students are hung on the walls of the classroom.
Each team explains its project to the group.
Phase
2
"Talking
about my emotions is cool."
Remind the
students that there are no positive or negative emotions, there
are only pleasant and unpleasant emotions. It is the actions associated
with these emotions that are positive or negative.
Distribute
the following chart and ask the students to put an X in the columns
representing what they feel personally. There may be more than
one X per emotion.
| Emotions |
Emotion
I often feel and makes me feel good |
Emotion
I often feel and makes me feel bad |
Emotion
I can easily detect in other people |
Emotion
I can not easily detect in other people |
| Anger |
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| Aggressiveness |
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| Excitation |
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| Fear |
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| Grief |
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| Guilt |
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| Joy |
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| Love |
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| Peace |
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| Pity |
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| Pleasure |
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| Rejection |
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Once this
exercise is completed, ask them to answer the following questions,
which are on the same sheet:
- What are
the positive aspects in this portrait · of your emotions?
- What are
the negative aspects in this portrait of · your emotions?
- What would
you like to improve?
- How will
you go about it?
- You may
ask the students to exchange papers and discuss the results.
Phase
3
"Talking
to my inner voice is cool."
Remind the
students of the existence of a little inner v ice. At times we
have great difficulty silencing this voice and it can be both
an ally and a fearsome enemy. This interior monologue is never
trivial, it has a direct effect on our self-esteem as well as
on our emotions and our level of stress.
To better
understand this, let us think about the following inner statements:
"I am worthless "; "Nobody loves me "; "Everybody
hates me "; "I'll never amount to anything ". Imagine
the impact of this voice if these statements have been repeated
for 10 years. Yet, the little voice could also be saying, "You
are nice ", "You are good ", "You can do it".
Impossible to hide from it, this voice follows us everywhere...We
might as well attempt to tame it, take control of our little inner
v ice, rather than allow it to cripple us with unkind words.
Ask students
to change the inner dialogue for each of the following situations:
- A girl
asks a boy to dance. He thinks to himself: She only wants to
make fun of me and make me look stupid.
- A girl
shows her father a report card that is not very good. She thinks
to herself: If I start by telling him off, maybe he'll leave
me alone.
- John must
begin a complicated math homework assignment. He thinks to himself:
I might as well not do it, I won't understand anything anyway.
- Julie receives
praise from her teacher for raising her average from 50% to
60%. She thinks to herself: What a hypocrite, she knows that
I am not good. She only congratulated me so I will keep quiet
in class.
- Jennifer
teases Robert because of his acne. He thinks to himself: I know
that I 'm ugly! All the girls feel the same about me.
Complete this
exercise by asking the students to share some of the positive
inner thoughts they found for each situation.
Encourage
students to become aware of their inner dialogue and avoid:
- expressions
that generalize (always, never, everyone, nobody);
- negative
expressions (not good, not able, not attractive, not nice).
Encourage
them to use kinder words (I am nice, I am intelligent, I am attractive
and capable).
Phase
4
Summarize and
provide an organized answer to the main question.
One of the
key elements in maintaining mental equilibrium is, without doubt,
a healthy lifestyle. Needless-to-say that mental health is nourished
by physical activity, sound eating habits, restful sleep, social
activities and interesting hobbies.
|
Resources
for Youth:
Pavillon
Foster Youth Services
(514) 486-1304
(Alcohol and drug rehabilitation center)
Suicide-Action
Montreal (514) 723-4000
(Hot line)
Tel-Jeunes (514) 288-2266
(Hot line for teens) 1-800-263-2266.
|
Nevertheless,
everyday events, life's trials and tribulations, and unfortunate
incidents continue to threaten us. Although we may have a healthy
lifestyle, we may not necessarily possess all of the skills needed to deal with these situations. It is therefore useful to develop
and to cultivate these skills, for example: the ability to manage
stress and emotions, to solve problems, to develop self-esteem,
self-confidence and self-affirmation, to communicate with others,
and to seek social support.
Despite all
of these protective factors, coping with a difficult situation
such as a death or dealing with abuse may prove impossible. It
is important to remind youth that they can always find a trustworthy
person to listen to them and appropriate professional help to
guide them towards a solution. The important thing is to rediscover
happiness. Unhappiness can kill bit by bit or in a flash, without
discrimination.
|
S
Y N T H E S I S
Put
the students in teams of two. Ask them to list all of the
people in their school and within their community who can
help them maintain their personal equilibrium, and to explain
how these people can help.
|
Introduction
| Secondary
I & II
| Secondary
III, IV & V
| Bibliography
| Links
| Home
|
Français
A publication of
The Canadian Mental Health Association, Montréal branch
847, rue Cherrier, bureau 201
Montréal (Québec)
H2L 1H6
Telephone: (514) 521-4993
Fax: (514) 521-3270
E-mail:acsmmtl@cam.org
