Post by Admin on Jun 28, 2015 20:05:34 GMT
The following is a summary of a thread on the Social Anxiety UK Discussion Board where people were/are responding to the question, "what mental health topics and skills do you think grade schools should teach in health class, and why?". We invite you to read it and respond to it in some way. If you really agree with some of the ideas in it, you can use this thread to support it with research, reasoning, and your own lived experiences.
1. Mindfulness
-idea of having had option learn new skill is significant, even without a guarantee of efficacy
-->providing the option to learn a new skill could be as quick as explaining what the skill is, providing resources to pursue it out of class
-effective preventative measure
2. Assertiveness
-Teach assertiveness as empowerment and a form of prevention
-->Lack of assertiveness can feed certain mental health issues (anxiety, panic, depression)
-->Lack of assertiveness also common among people who deal with these issues
-Boundary setting an important assertiveness kill
3. Teach Social/Communication Skills
-There lessons in this category that would benefit EVERYONE (not only relevant to people with mental health issues)
-Teach through role-playing (fun AND practical)
4. Help people recognize when things aren't quite right/feel supported
-Support would ideally comes from people, but information can also serve as a kind of support
5. Anxiety reduction
-Help people recognize/understand anxiety and panic attacks
-->Could foster understanding among all people
-Help people use anxiety reduction to prevent panic attacks
6. Careful not to give people too many things that could be wrong with them
-Give people an idea of where/how to find out about mental health issues/troubling tendencies down the line//after leaving school
7. Address the unhealthy bottling up of emotions, particularly among boys
-Challenge is to do this in a way that is minimally cheesy/infantilizing
8. Teaching too much information about too many areas of mental health/mental disorders could cause overthinking/anxiety for some
9. Skills for building self-confidence
10. Teach the relationship between mental health and diet
-For example: www.foodforthebrain.org
11. Make information available about what support exists in a school's area
-People don't always know where to go for help/what kinds of help are available
-Provide leaflets/pamphlets containing specific addresses and telephone numbers
12. Teach/mention martial arts
-Teaches respect, decency, & confidence
-Emotional outlet
-Teaches discipline
13. Teach that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of (compassion, humility, understanding, supportiveness)
14. Diagnostic labels can be the source of stigma and shame
-Contributes to "us" and "them" attitude // "normal people" and "people with mental health problems"
-Mindfulness would be non-shaming and preventative
15. Tolerance/acceptance
-Teach anti-bullying
-Teach acceptance of people who are mentally/physically different
-Better responses to bullying
*The Original SAUK Thread is here.
Summary
1. Mindfulness
-idea of having had option learn new skill is significant, even without a guarantee of efficacy
-->providing the option to learn a new skill could be as quick as explaining what the skill is, providing resources to pursue it out of class
-effective preventative measure
2. Assertiveness
-Teach assertiveness as empowerment and a form of prevention
-->Lack of assertiveness can feed certain mental health issues (anxiety, panic, depression)
-->Lack of assertiveness also common among people who deal with these issues
-Boundary setting an important assertiveness kill
3. Teach Social/Communication Skills
-There lessons in this category that would benefit EVERYONE (not only relevant to people with mental health issues)
-Teach through role-playing (fun AND practical)
4. Help people recognize when things aren't quite right/feel supported
-Support would ideally comes from people, but information can also serve as a kind of support
5. Anxiety reduction
-Help people recognize/understand anxiety and panic attacks
-->Could foster understanding among all people
-Help people use anxiety reduction to prevent panic attacks
6. Careful not to give people too many things that could be wrong with them
-Give people an idea of where/how to find out about mental health issues/troubling tendencies down the line//after leaving school
7. Address the unhealthy bottling up of emotions, particularly among boys
-Challenge is to do this in a way that is minimally cheesy/infantilizing
8. Teaching too much information about too many areas of mental health/mental disorders could cause overthinking/anxiety for some
9. Skills for building self-confidence
10. Teach the relationship between mental health and diet
-For example: www.foodforthebrain.org
11. Make information available about what support exists in a school's area
-People don't always know where to go for help/what kinds of help are available
-Provide leaflets/pamphlets containing specific addresses and telephone numbers
12. Teach/mention martial arts
-Teaches respect, decency, & confidence
-Emotional outlet
-Teaches discipline
13. Teach that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of (compassion, humility, understanding, supportiveness)
14. Diagnostic labels can be the source of stigma and shame
-Contributes to "us" and "them" attitude // "normal people" and "people with mental health problems"
-Mindfulness would be non-shaming and preventative
15. Tolerance/acceptance
-Teach anti-bullying
-Teach acceptance of people who are mentally/physically different
-Better responses to bullying
*The Original SAUK Thread is here.