Lesson video

Hello, my name's Miss Willow and I'm going to be your teacher for today's lesson.

Today's lesson is called Mental Health Conditions and it fits into the unit, What Are Common Types of Mental Health Conditions? During this lesson, we are going to be talking a little bit about discrimination and mental health issues, so for this lesson, we require you to have an adult with you.

If at any point you do feel worried or uncomfortable, it's really important that you stop the lesson and that you speak to a trusted adult.

Okay, let's make a start.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain what a mental health condition is and the factors that may contribute to it.

Before we get started with today's lesson, we need to go over some ground rules.

These help to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable during today's lesson.

First of all, Laura says that we need to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should always listen properly before we make any assumptions or before we decide how to respond.

When we disagree with someone else, it's important to challenge the statement and not the person themselves.

Next, Andeep says that we need to respect each other's privacy.

It's okay to discuss examples, but we shouldn't use any names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves.

If we do want to share a story or an experience, we could just refer to someone as "my friend." This means that we're not giving away any identifying information.

Izzy says that we can choose our level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or to join in with discussion, and we should never put anyone on the spot, as this can make people feel uncomfortable.

And finally, Jacob says that we need to not have any judgement.

We can explore any beliefs or any misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged by someone else.

We're now going to go through the keywords for today's lesson.

First of all, we have the word "anxiety." This is a state of unease, worry, or nervousness about uncertain outcomes, often accompanied by physical sensations.

Next, we have the word "support." This is the actions taken to help someone who's in a difficult or dangerous situation, such as providing care and seeking medical attention.

Next, we have the word "stigma." This means being judged or treated unfairly just because of a particular characteristic, situation, or condition, like having a mental health problem.

And next, we have "depression." This is a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest that affects how you think and feel.

It can make daily activities hard and it may include physical symptoms. Today's lesson is split into two learning cycles.

By the end of the first learning cycle, you'll be able to answer the question, "What are mental health conditions?" and by the end of the second learning cycle, you'll be able to answer the question, "How can I get help with mental health conditions?" Let's make a start on our first learning cycle.

What are our mental health conditions? Aisha and Lucas' class have been asked to think about how they're feeling today.

Aisha says, "I did well at my gymnastics performance last night, so I'm feeling really proud of myself," but Lucas says, "I feel nervous and a bit worried about the school performance.

Opening night is tonight and I'm the lead part." Ms. Walsh says that we all have emotions and we'll have good days and bad days.

Mental wellbeing helps us live a healthy, balanced, and fulfilling life.

Good mental wellbeing doesn't mean that we feel happy all the time.

It means that we can cope with life's ups and downs in a healthy way.

Signs of good mental wellbeing includes our emotions, meaning that we can experience a range of feelings and manage them without feeling overwhelmed.

With our relationships, we should have healthy, supportive relationships with friends and family and we should be able to communicate honestly with them.

And our self-esteem.

We should generally feel good about ourselves and believe that we have value.

When it comes to coping, we should bounce back from setbacks and ask for help when needed.

In terms of our purpose, we should feel that we have goals and interests that motivate us and give us direction.

Enjoyment.

Even when life is challenging, we should still enjoy some of the activities that we do.

And our physical wellbeing.

We should take care of our body by generally eating well, regularly exercising, and getting enough sleep every night.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're doing so far.

Good mental wellbeing is when you, A, regularly feel overwhelmed by emotions, B, can take care of yourself physically, or C, have good connections with others.

Can you finish the sentence, "Good mental wellbeing is when you"? Pause the video, discuss with the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that B and C are correct.

Good mental wellbeing is when you can take care of yourself physically and you have good connections with others.

Regularly feeling overwhelmed by emotions is not a sign of good mental wellbeing.

This suggests that our mental wellbeing is something that we may need support with.

Well done if you said the same thing.

It's normal for our moods to fluctuate, and this can sometimes be because of something that happens in our lives, like an event, or physical changes that can impact our mood.

For example, during a day, we might feel good because we've hung out with friends at the cinema, but then we might feel worried about an upcoming test.

Next, we might be praised for our artwork and this can make us feel good again.

Then we might argue with a friend, which means that we don't feel very good.

Next, we could play the winning shot in a basketball match, but we might then hurt our ankle so we can't play the next basketball match.

This shows how our moods can fluctuate throughout the day, and this is normal.

Dr.

Elsie says that a fluctuating mood is not always a sign of a mental health condition.

It's normal to experience anxiety and to feel low, especially when this is linked to an event that would cause these emotions.

For example, if we feel anxious about an exam or we feel low after an argument with a friend.

However, a persistent low mood could be a sign that someone is experiencing a mental health condition, especially if it affects their sleep, their appetite, their motivation, their relationships, or just their ability to function every day over a long period of time.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Which statement best defines a mental health condition: A, experiencing any strong emotion, B, when emotions start to impact daily life, C, having a physical illness, or D, feeling nervous before an exam? Which statement best defines a mental health condition? Pause the video, talks to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that B is correct.

A mental health condition is best defined as when emotions start to impact our daily life.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Signs of a potential mental health condition can include our emotions, meaning that we're feeling sad, anxious, angry, numb, or overwhelmed most of the time, and our thoughts.

We might experience constant worry.

We might think negatively about ourselves.

We could feel hopeless or unable to concentrate and focus.

Our appetite could change too, so we could either eat more or less.

We could experience a decrease in energy levels or unexplained tiredness.

In terms of our relationships, we might experience withdrawing from our friends and family, we might feel disconnected, and we might find it difficult to spend time with the people that we love.

And in terms of our daily activities, we could experience some difficulty with keeping up with doing our schoolwork, we could have challenges with our personal hygiene, so for example, showering regularly, or just going about our normal routine.

In terms of sleep, we might experience that we're sleeping too much or too little.

We could find it hard to fall asleep or to stay asleep, so we could find ourselves waking up multiple times in the night.

And enjoyment.

We could experience losing interest in things that we used to enjoy.

We could struggle to start or finish tasks.

And our physical health can be affected too.

We might experience headaches, stomach aches, rashes, or other physical symptoms with no clear cause.

These are all signs of a mental health condition.

Dr.

Elsie says that if these signs and symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks and they're affecting how you function or how you feel, it's important to take the first step and talk to a trusted adult or a healthcare professional.

Mental health conditions are common and they are treatable.

Noticing the signs early can help you to get the right support sooner so that you can feel like yourself again.

Let's do another check for understanding.

This time, I'd like you to decide if this statement is true or false.

Feeling sad, anxious, or overwhelmed most of the time is normal for teenagers.

What do you think? Is this true or false? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that this is false, but why? You might have said that experiencing ups and downs is normal for everyone, but feelings of sadness or anxiety over a prolonged period of time, for example, more than a couple of weeks, could be a sign of a mental health condition.

Well done if you said this or something similar.

Sometimes, we might notice that a friend is struggling with their mental health and this can be really tricky.

Being supportive is really important, but it's also important to know your limits and to set your own healthy boundaries.

We can be a supportive friend by listening without judging, so let them talk and show them that you care.

Be patient with them.

Don't expect them to get better overnight.

Managing a mental health condition can be difficult and it can take a while with some support in order for them to feel like themselves again.

It's important to include them, to invite them to join in with activities, but to not pressure them.

We should check in regularly.

A simple, "How are you doing?" can mean a lot.

And encourage them to speak to a trusted adult.

You could offer to go with them to do this if this is something that they're worried about.

It's important not to try to be their therapist or counsellor.

These people are especially qualified to work with people with mental health conditions.

It's important to not give advice about medication or treatment, and we shouldn't promise to keep serious concerns a secret, for example, if a friend is engaging in harmful or dangerous behaviour, and we shouldn't take responsibility for fixing our friend, and we shouldn't compare their situation to others.

Remember, you can be a great friend and a great source of support, but you're not responsible for someone else's mental health.

When to get help from a trusted adult.

It's important to talk to a trusted adult about your worries about a friend if your friend talks about harming themselves or others, if you're worried that they're in immediate danger, if their behaviour is getting worse over time and they don't seem to be getting any better.

If supporting them is also starting to affect your own mental health, this means that it's time to ask for help, and if they ask for help but they don't know where to start, this is when you could tell a trusted adult so that they can get support.

Remember, getting help from trusted adults shows that you care and that you want the best for your friend.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Your friend tells you that they've been feeling really low for weeks and asks you to promise not to tell anyone.

What should you do? Should you A, promise to keep it a secret to maintain trust, should you B, listen supportively, but explain that you might need to get help, C, immediately tell a teacher without discussing it with your friend, or D, just tell them to cheer up and think positive thoughts? What should you do in this situation? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that B is correct.

In this situation, we should listen supportively to our friend, but we should also explain that we might need to get help.

Well done if you said the same thing.

We're now moving onto our first practise task.

I'd like you to write an explanation describing how someone might recognise that they or someone else is struggling with their mental health.

I'd like you to include three emotional, physical, and behavioural signs, a sentence on why spotting signs early is important, and I'd like you to include one example of how someone could get support.

Pause the video and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Let's have a look and see if your explanation looks similar to mine.

You might have said something like, "Someone might be struggling with their mental health if they show emotional signs like feeling sad, anxious, or overwhelmed most days.

They may get physical signs like headaches, stomach aches, or rashes with no clear cause.

Their appetite might change, they may withdraw from friends and family, or they may lose interest in things that they used to enjoy.

Spotting these signs early is important because it allows the person to get the right support before things get worse.

Advising someone who's experiencing these signs to talk to a trusted adult or healthcare professional is the first step towards getting help." Well done if your answer looked similar to this.

We're now moving onto our second learning cycle: how can I get help with mental health conditions? Some people don't talk about their mental health because they're worried about the stigma surrounding it.

Dr.

Elsie says that being worried about stigma can have a negative impact, as it may mean that people hide how they truly feel.

They might not ask for help early and it can make them feel isolated.

It's important to speak to someone if you're experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition as there are lots of ways to help.

The two most common mental health conditions are anxiety and depression.

These conditions can affect anyone, and they can last a few weeks, months, or they can be ongoing.

Being able to spot the symptoms can help a person to get treatment and the support that they need earlier.

Dr.

Elsie says that anxiety is when someone experiences persistent feelings of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.

Depression is when someone has feelings of persistent sadness.

This and other symptoms can interfere with daily life and they can prevent people from doing and enjoying the things that they normally would.

Symptoms of anxiety and depression can include.

So, for anxiety, some symptoms are a feeling of constant worry, nervousness, dread, racing thoughts, overthinking, fear of losing control, avoiding situations, and feeling restless.

Some symptoms of depression include persistent sadness, hopelessness, feeling empty, negative thoughts, low self-worth, guilt, trouble with daily routines, and school performance issues.

Some people can also experience symptoms of both, so this may be irritability, low self-esteem, difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness, isolation, withdrawing from activities or from people, reduced motivation, and feeling disconnected.

I'd now like you to rewrite this sentence to correct the misconception.

Feeling sad for a few days always means that you have depression.

For this check for understanding, can you rewrite the sentence to make it correct? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Okay, let's have a look and see how I've rewritten it and you can see if yours is similar.

Feeling sad for a few days doesn't necessarily mean that you have depression.

Depression is a persistent low mood that lasts for a prolonged period and affects daily life.

Well done if you had something similar.

Dr.

Elsie says that anyone can experience mental health conditions.

There are some experiences that may influence our mental health, but it's never anyone's fault.

There are lots of things that you can do if you think you spot symptoms of a mental health condition.

The most important first step is to talk to a trusted adult.

This could be a parent or carer, a teacher or pastoral member of staff, a counsellor, nurse, or your GP.

Once you have started to talk, it will make it easier for you to get the right help and support too.

There are lots of different ways to help improve mental health conditions.

There are self-care strategies that can help to protect our mental wellbeing, prevent some mental health concerns developing, or they can improve mental health conditions in the early stages.

People can also participate in talking therapies, and in some case, they can take prescribed medication to help reduce their symptoms. Preventative and self-care strategies can include improving our sleep.

Some people find it helpful to use techniques like calming apps and deep breathing to ensure that they get a full night's sleep.

A balanced diet is important too.

It's important to ensure that you have all the nutrition that you need to support physical and cognitive development, and it's important to do regular exercise too, as this helps to maintain physical health, which can improve our mental health too.

We can also limit our screen time.

We can monitor the use of screens to avoid it becoming overwhelming, and we can keep a gratitude journal too.

This is a list of things to be grateful for and it can help someone to remind them of all the positives in their life too.

We can also use mindfulness apps and keep a feelings journal to help too.

Okay, let's do another check for understanding.

A self-care strategy for protecting mental wellbeing is A, regular physical activity, B, ignoring your feelings, C, comparing yourself to others online, or D, skipping sleep to revise.

Which of these is a self-care strategy for protecting our mental wellbeing? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that A is correct.

Regular physical activity is a great self-care strategy for protecting our mental wellbeing.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Talk therapies can also be helpful for helping people with mental health conditions.

This could be counselling, so talking with a trained person about feelings and problems, for example, a therapist or a counsellor.

There's also something called CBT, which is cognitive behavioural therapy, and this is a way to help change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and develop them into more positive ones.

There's also group therapy, which involves talking with others who are going through similar experiences.

And now we're going to talk a little bit about how medication can be used to help people with mental health conditions.

So, Dr.

Elsie says that medication for mental health is sometimes given to under-18s, but only when it's really needed and with expert support team.

It's not usually the first step if someone is experiencing the early signs of a mental health condition.

Often, looking after yourself and talking to someone that you trust, like a counsellor or a teacher, can be more helpful at first.

Nurse Daniel says that having good support systems such as trusted adults that you can talk to, joining NHS or charity peer support groups, or accessing help and advice from mental health charities can also be hugely beneficial.

Let's do another check for understanding, and this time, I'd like you to decide which of the following Oak National Academy pupils is correct.

A, Andeep says that only adults can get depression and anxiety, B, Sam says that anyone with a mental health condition needs medication to help them, and C, Jun says that there are lots of self-care strategies that we can use to protect and improve our mental wellbeing.

Who do you think is correct? Pause the video, talk to the people around you, or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Jun is correct.

There are lots of self-care strategies that we could use to protect and improve our mental wellbeing.

Andeep is not correct because young people can experience depression and anxiety too, and Sam is incorrect because not everyone who experiences a mental health condition does need medication to help them.

Whilst it's helpful for some people, it might not be helpful for everyone or recommended by a doctor.

We're now moving onto our final practise task.

I'd like you to read the following statement and I'd like you to write a response advising the pupil on what they should do.

Here is our statement.

So, "I haven't enjoyed anything for three weeks and I can't focus in class.

What should I do?" I'd like you to write a response that includes suggestions on who to talk to, any lifestyle changes and self-care strategies that this person could use, and some talk therapy options too.

Pause the video and we'll go through a model answer in a few minutes.

Okay, let's have a look and see what you might have said.

So, your answers may have included, this person should talk to a trusted adult like a parent, carer, or teacher, they should visit their GP to discuss options like talk therapy or group counselling, they could focus on lifestyle changes like making sure that they're getting regular sleep, healthy meals, and taking screen breaks too, they could try to keep a feelings journal or a gratitude list to help remind them of the things that they feel grateful for, and they could avoid isolating themselves too.

They could develop some support networks which help them to feel supported and cared for.

Well done if your answers were anything like this.

We're now going to summarise the key learning from today's lesson.

In today's lesson, we've learned that feeling worried or down sometimes is a normal part of life and it doesn't always mean that you have a mental health condition.

Everyone can experience fluctuating feelings every day, however, anxiety and depression are common types of mental health conditions that can affect our thoughts, emotions, and daily life.

Some signs that you might be struggling include losing interest in things, changes in sleep or appetite, or withdrawing from friends or family.

There are many ways to protect your mental health, like regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, taking screen breaks, and getting enough sleep too.

Finally, we've learned that stigma can stop people from asking for help.

If you are struggling, support is available through trusted adults, school or mental health services, and seeking help early ensures that you get the right support needed.

In today's lesson, you might have found that you've got some worries or questions, and if you do, it's really important to speak to an adult that you trust.

There's also some resources on the screen that are there to help you too.

Well done for your hard work today.

I hope to see you in another lesson soon.