Topic 3: Mental Health Issues and Stigma

Introduction / Procedure / Reminders:

1. Review Homework. Ask students to discuss some of their research findings on anxiety disorders and depression.
2. Introduce the topic on Mental Health Issues with lecturette.
3. Give instructions for students to fill out Activity 1 survey: Signs of Trouble: Depression.
4. Important Note: Teachers must be aware of the limits of confidentiality.
 Any disclosure, incident or thoughts of self-harm require serious attention and should be passed on to
appropriate referral. Talk to your school’s guidance counselor about referral-making strategies.
 Confidentiality must be broken when a student reports neglect or physical, sexual, or psychological abuse.
All teachers are mandated to report suspected child abuse.
 Privacy should be respected, even though confidentiality cannot be promised. When information is passed
on, tell the student, and inform and involve them in passing on the information to the appropriate people.
5. Do the Activity on Suicide Prevention
a. Preparation: Talk to your school’s guidance counselor about support agencies where students can get help
for themselves or a friend when any signs of depression or suicide become apparent. Present these at the
end of the lesson.
b. Discuss the background information on Suicide.
c. Write the following scenario on the board:
“Your friend isn’t acting like his old self. He seems really down, and has been doing strange things like
giving his favorite things away. He recently told you that he thought the people he knew would be better off
without him around and that he’s thought of killing himself. After he tells you, he asks you not to tell
anyone else about what he has said.”
d. As a class, brainstorm answers to the following questions:
i. Do you think he has a mental health problem?
ii. Is he in trouble?
iii. What should you do?
e. Present things to do when someone you know may harm himself / herself. Put these on manila paper or
poster.
6. Give lecturette: Support Strategies/Community Mental Health Resources
7. At the end of the lecturette, present the school and community resources that students may access when they
need them. Consult your counselor for information on these resources. It is important that you yourself have
confidence in the resources. Also, if there is any student that approaches you for help, refer to the counselor.
Consult the school counselor for the best ways to make a referral.
8. You may also refer to the Additional Reading: Help How-To’s.
9. Give assignment for next session. Ask students to bring pictures, print ads, wrappers or labels of food that they
usually eat for snacks or merienda.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

Having access to reliable information on positive mental health and mental illness is crucial for adolescents
for a number of reasons. Mental and emotional problems need to be addressed, just like student’s physical health
problems. Even if students have not experienced mental illness, it is very likely that they will know someone who
has. Consider the following statistics:
 Mental health problems affect one in five young people at any given time.
 Mental illness is second only to heart disease as the leading cause of disability worldwide.
 The first symptoms of mental illness generally appear between the ages of 15– 24.
 An estimated 50% of young people with mental illness are not getting help.
 Fear of stigma and the resulting discrimination discourages individuals and families from getting the help
they need.
An interesting fact is that 30% of people diagnosed with mental illness will also have a substance use disorder.
When people have both, we call it a concurrent disorder. It is often difficult to predict why someone with a mental
health problem is “using”. Sometimes drug use is a form of self-medication for mental health problems, other
times the substance use might have caused the mental health problem. Regardless what the reason, using drugs is
not a good thing to do!
 The cause of mental illness is often very complex. The stress-vulnerability theory explains why someone
develops a mental illness:
Vulnerability: There is a genetic characteristic to mental illness, but just because a family member has a
mental health problem, it doesn’t mean that you will too. Sometimes mental illness happens right “out of the blue”.
Stress: Stress can trigger the development of a mental illness, but stress alone doesn’t cause the mental illness
unless you have a vulnerability gene. Causes of stress can be varied, sometimes a change in environment, e.g.,
where you live or the school you attend, or even psychological trauma, e.g., exposure to teasing/bullying, other
violence or abuse.

Activity 1: SIGNS OF TROUBLE: DEPRESSION

What’s the difference between just having a bad day and something potentially more serious? Put a check mark
under the Column Yes or No for each of the items below:
Test Your Mood Yes No
Do you feel sad, depressed or down most of the time?
Are you unable to enjoy the things that once gave you pleasure?
Do you feel tired and/or lack energy most of the time?
Do you have trouble sleeping or do you sleep too much?
Do you find it difficult to concentrate or make decisions?
Have you had an increase or decrease in appetite or weight?
Have you had feelings of worthlessness or guilt?
Have you felt frightened or panicky for no apparent reason at all?
Have you felt restless and found it difficult to sit still?
Have you been feeling anxious or worried?
Have you felt like you just cannot go on or had thoughts of death or dying?

Activity 2: SUICIDE PREVENTION

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24. At least 90% of those who die by
suicide have a mental illness. If a friend mentions thoughts of suicide or self-harm, you NEED to tell an adult. This
may be a parent, teacher or a guidance counselor. It’s better to have a friend who is angry with you than to keep
their secret and live with knowing you could have helped, but remained silent when your friend was in trouble.
Here’s a scenario: “Your friend isn’t acting like his old self. He seems really down, and has been doing
strange things like giving his favorite things away. He recently told you that he thought the people he knew would
be better off without him around and that he’s thought of killing himself. After he tells you, he asks you not to tell
anyone else about what he has said.”
1. Do you think he has a mental health problem?
2. Is he in trouble?
3. What should you do?

SUPPORT STRATEGIES/ COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

Here are some strategies for supporting someone with mental health concerns:
 Encourage the person to seek help and support from an adult.
 Spend time with the person, listen to his/her concerns.
 Be hopeful; help them feel like their life will get better.
 Stand by them. Invite your friend to things that you are doing; keeping busy and staying in touch with
friends will help your friend feel better, when they are ready.
 Learn as much as you can about mental illness so that you understand what is going on for them.
 If you are a close friend or family member of someone with a mental health problem, make sure that you
get help as well. Talk to someone about what is happening. This will help you be a better support person.
 Put the person’s life before your friendship. If the person mentions thoughts of suicide, don’t keep it secret,
even if the person has asked you to.

HELP HOW-TO’S
First Step, Reach Out to People You Trust
 Sometimes people don’t get the help they need because they don’t know where to turn. When you’re not
feeling well, it can be a struggle to take the necessary steps to help yourself get better.
When dealing with mental health or emotional problems, it’s important not to go at it alone. Healing is a
combination of helping yourself and letting others help you. Comfort and support, information and advice, and
professional treatment are all forms of help.
Think of all the people you can turn to for support. These are people who are concerned about you and can
help comfort you, who will listen to you and encourage you, and who can help arrange for treatment. In other
words, find caring people in your life who can help you.
These people might include:
 friends
 parents and other family members
 someone who seems “like a parent” to you
 other adults whose advice you would value—perhaps a favorite teacher or coach, a member of your
church or other place of worship, or a good friend’s parent.
Research shows that males are more reluctant to look for help and receive it than females are. While some
people may have difficulty reaching out to others they trust, taking the first step in getting help is important for
everyone to do.

Second Step, Take Action

The more you know, the easier it is
Libraries are an excellent source of information about mental health. Bookstores often have “self-help” or
“psychology” sections.
For those with Internet access, there are many websites related to health and mental health. Some are better
in quality than others. It is important to know if the information on a site comes from sources you can trust. Use
caution whenever you’re sharing or exchanging information online: there’s a chance that it will not be kept private.
Nothing is worse than nothing
The consequences of not getting help for mental health problems can be serious. Untreated problems often
continue and become worse, and new problems may occur. For example, someone with panic attacks might begin
drinking too much alcohol with the mistaken hope that it will help relieve his or her emotional pain.
It’s All in the Attitude
There are many reasons why people do not get help for mental health problems. Fear, shame, and
embarrassment often prevent individuals and their families from doing anything.
Sometimes being able to get the help, support, and professional treatment you need is a matter of changing
your mind about mental health and changing the way you react to mental health problems. Here are some
important reminders:
 Mental health is as important as physical health. In fact, the two are closely linked.
 Mental health problems are real, and they deserve to be treated.
 It’s not a person’s fault if he or she has a mental health problem. No one is to blame.
 Mental health problems are not a sign of weakness. They are not something you can “just snap out of” even
if you try.
 Whether you’re male or female, it’s ok to ask for help and get it.
 There’s hope. People improve and recover with the help of treatment, and they are able to enjoy happier
and healthier lives.