LESSON 1 Health

Objectives
Materials: module, computer/phone
 Identify common mental and emotional health problems encountered
Tape measure or ruler
by teenagers
 Demonstrate concern and address these problems

Understanding Mental and

Emotional Health Concerns

You and your classmates come from different walks of life and situations that may directly affect each of your mental
and emotional health. For this reason, each of you may react differently towards emotional abuse, harassment, bullying,
and even simple teasing.
How do you safeguard yourself toward such an unpleasant experience? Have you ever experienced being subjected to
such behavior and treatment? What did you do?

The most common mental and emotional health concerns among teenagers like you include:

A. Emotional Abuse. A pattern of behavior that attacks the emotional development and sense of worth of an
individual. This includes yelling, bullying, name-calling, and posing threats of physical and verbal harm.

B. Bullying. The most common conflict encountered by pupils in school. It involves kicking, hitting, pushing or being
shooed or locked indoors by bullies. Research shows that pupils who are victims of bullying develop low self-
esteem, become very anxious, have problems expressing himself or herself and, at some point, refuse to go to
school.

Bullying may come in various forms like:

 Verbal bullying: name-calling, teasing, and spreading rumors.
 Physical harm (kicking and hitting)
 Social bullying also known as exclusion and shunning. This is more prevalent among girl groups.
 Extortion or demands for money, food, or other material possessions.
 Sexual harassment which includes sexually explicit comments or jokes, inappropriate and unwanted
touching, sexual name-calling, peaking under girl’s dress, and/or attempts to remove clothing like pants.
 Cyber-bullying or use of social media like Facebook and Twitter to harass and embarrass another person.

C. Personality Disorders. People afflicted with a personality disorder think and behave in ways that make it difficult
for them to get along with others. This could be any of the following:

1. Anti-social Personality Disorder

People with this disorder tend to be irritable, aggressive, impulsive, and violent. They also do not show
remorse for their behavior. Some have the tendency to shun the company of others.

2. Borderline Personality Disorder

These are people who experience troubled relationships. They tend to engage in high risk activities and
have poor self-esteem. They have a fear of being left and abandoned.

3. Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder

People suffering from this disorder are often times uncooperative. They resent being told what to do,
yet rely on others’ direction. They have issues on control and show anger indirectly.

Any pupil suffering from any of these mental and emotional health concerns must be referred for professional help. It is
not enough to show empathy. Although providing moral support, patience, and understanding will help a lot, it is
important to undertake a more proactive type of solution to the problem.

1
Practice
A. Create a slogan advocating a Bullying-Free School.

B. How does bullying affect one’s mental and emotional health?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

C. What are the signs of emotional abuse and bullying?

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

D. What is your stand towards bullying?

________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
End of the lesson