The document discusses mental health and mental illness. It defines mental health as encompassing outlook, relationships, self-image, and ability to handle stress and emotions. Mental illnesses exist on a continuum from mild problems to serious conditions. About 1 in 5 teens experience mental health problems annually and 1 in 17 Americans have a serious mental illness. Common mental illnesses include depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. The document provides warning signs of mental illness and emphasizes that treatment through medication, therapy, and lifestyle changes can help with recovery. It aims to reduce stigma by noting that mental illness can affect anyone and is not their fault.
4. MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
Are short term reactions to a life stressor
A relationship ending
The death of someone close
Conflict with family or friends
Stresses at home, school, or work
5. Serious mental illness
Good mental health
Fill in the blank
1 in ___ teens has some type of mental
health problem in any given year.
5
Mental health
problems
6. MENTAL ILLNESS
A medical condition
Disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to
relate to others, behavior and daily functioning
Interferes with a person’s ability to care for
themselves, to get along with others, to go to school or
work, and to learn
7. Serious mental illness
Good mental health
Fill in the blank
1 in ___ Americans suffer from serious
mental illness.
Good news!!
Recovery is possible. Most
people can experience
relief from symptoms…
Mental health
problems
17
9. WARNING SIGNS
The longer the signs last…
the more serious they are…
the more they interfere with daily life…
The greater chance that professional treatment
is needed.
10. WARNING SIGNS
finding little or no pleasure in life
feeling worthless or extremely guilty
crying a lot for no particular reason
withdrawing from other people
experiencing severe anxiety, panic, or fear
11. WARNING SIGNS
having big mood swings
experiencing a change in eating or sleeping patterns
having very low energy
losing interest in hobbies and pleasurable activities
12. WARNING SIGNS
having too much energy, having trouble
concentrating or following through on
plans
feeling easily irritated or angry
experiencing racing thoughts or
agitation
13. WARNING SIGNS
hearing voices or seeing images that
other people do not experience
believing that others are plotting
against you
wanting to harm yourself or someone
else
15. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What mental illness does this person have?
How did the illness affect the person’s thoughts?
How did the illness affect the person’s feelings?
How did the illness affect the person’s behaviors?
16. What kinds of treatment did the individual get?
How has the individual’s life changed after
treatment?
What is hopeful about this story?
If this was one of your friends or a family member,
what would you have done to help?
17. TAKING CARE OF YOUR
MENTAL HEALTH
a trusted adult to talk with
a healthy balance between
work, play, and relaxation
good nutrition (food pyramid)
plenty of sleep (8 ½ to 9 hrs
per night)
regular exercise
learning how to control stress
getting professional help if
something is wrong
18. ATTITUDE SURVEY
1: People should work out their own mental health
problems.
When people have a physical
health concern, they usually
go to the doctor or seek other
help.
Mental health problems are
associated with disturbances
in the brain and can require
professional help.
19. ATTITUDE SURVEY
2: Once you have a mental illness, you have it for life.
Most mental illnesses are lifelong, but they often
happen in episodes.
People with mental illness can, when their illness is
managed, live positive and productive lives.
20. ATTITUDE SURVEY
3: Medication is the only treatment for a mental illness.
Medication can be a very effective part of managing a
mental illness, but not the only one.
Counseling, social, school/work, housing supports,
peer support, and lifestyle changes are important in
helping people recover and stay well.
21. ATTITUDE SURVEY
4: People with mental illness are violent and dangerous.
Mental illness plays no part in
the majority of crimes
committed in our society.
More often, people living with
mental illness are the victims
of violence.
22. ATTITUDE SURVEY
5: Children and adolescents cannot get a mental
illness.
Mental illnesses often strike during adolescence
and young adulthood.
Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by
age 14.
23. ATTITUDE SURVEY
6: You can tell by looking at
someone whether they have
a mental illness.
Generally, you can’t tell if a
person has a mental illness
based on their appearance.
During acute episodes of an
illness, people may display
bizarre behaviors.
24. ATTITUDE SURVEY
7: Mental illness can happen
to anybody.
It’s likely that you, or
someone you’re close to
will experience a mental
illness.
Persons of any age, race,
religion, or income can be
affected.
25. Reminders
Mental health is as important as
physical health.
Mental illnesses are real and
deserve to be treated.
It's not a person's fault if he or
she has a mental illness.
26. Mental health problems are not
something you can “just snap out of
” even if you try.
It's OK to ask for help and get it.
There is hope. People improve and
recover with the help of treatment,
and they are able to enjoy happier
and healthier lives.
27. WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
Be a good friend to those who struggle with mental
illness.
Take care of your own mental health.
Communicate with adults any concerns you have.
Help change attitudes around you.
28. CHANGING ATTITUDES
Learn more about mental illness
Listen to people who have experienced mental
illness
Watch your language – for terms that perpetuate
stigma
Respond to stigmatizing material in the media
29. CHANGING ATTITUDES
Speak up about stigma
Talk openly about mental
illness
Demand change from your
elected representatives
Provide support for
organizations that fight
stigma
31. TYPICAL TEEN BEHAVIOR
Typical teenagers may:
Be moody at times
Be short tempered-especially when parents are setting
limits.
See family activities as less important and view friends
as the focus of their life.
Seem embarrassed to be with their parents or siblings.
Use angry responses to get some distance from
parents.
Be distraught when they are having relationship
difficulties.
32. TYPICAL TEENAGERS SHOULD
Enjoy a number of activities.
Have fun when they are with friends-smiling and laughing.
Have good relationships with other adults, teachers, coaches,
etc.
Enjoy occasionally a few activities with parents/siblings.
Talk with their parents about feelings intermittently.
Be able to function in school.
Ask yourself- what percentage of time are you happy? Or,
what are you enjoying about your life? If you are not happy
most of the time or if joy is missing from your life, it is time to
talk to a trusted adult. There is help out there!
33. CAUSES OF MENTAL ILLNESS
Genetics
Environment
Social influences
All of these factors
interact to increase
or decrease a
person’s risk for
developing mental
illness.
34. A COMPARISON
DIABETES MENTAL ILLNESS
Pancreas Brain
Pancreas produces little or no
insulin affecting person’s blood
levels.
Brain produces too much or not
enough of neurotransmitters.
There is no cure yet but people
manage their illnesses through
medication treatment, lifestyle
changes, etc .
There is no cure yet but a
usually be treated effectively to
reduce the symptoms and allow
person to function in work,
or socially.
18.2 million people When applied to 2004 Census
estimate for 18 or older 57.7
people.
In the United States-6.3 percent
the population-have diabetes, a
serious, lifelong condition.
An estimated 26.2 percent of
Americans ages 18 and older —
about one in four adults — suffer
from a diagnosable mental
in a given year.
Editor's Notes
See lesson plan for activities to do before you start the PowerPoint presentation (e.g. setting the focus activity, attention activity, and the attitudes survey).
Ask students, what is mental health? You can ask or refer back to previous discussion in the setting the focus activity about words they came up with.
Explain that mental health falls along this continuum. We are all on this line somewhere, our place can change throughout our lifetime.
Good mental health helps us face our daily activities, handle stress, bounce back when bad things happen. It leads to a positive self image and good relationships.
Explain that these problems refer to the common struggles and adjustment difficulties that affect everyone from time to time.
Ask class members to fill in the blank before clicking the figure up.
Define mental illness.
Ask students to fill in the blank before clicking the figure.
Explain that most people can experience relief from symptoms…by actively participating in an individualized treatment plan.
Give examples from 1h and have students place them on the continuum. Ask students what they could do to take care of their mental health using the same examples.
Help students to understand this general rule.
Explain that sometimes the friends or family members notice these signs in a person before the one experiencing them does.
Explain that it is not easy to figure out what these signs may mean.
Emphasize that if students notice these in themselves or a friend, to talk to a trusted adult about his/her concerns.
Friends often confide in each other about problems. If a friend mentions suicide, take it seriously and seek help immediately from a trusted adult. Never keep talk of suicide a secret, even if a friends asks you to. It’s better to risk losing a friendship than to risk losing a friend forever.
Ask students, by a show of hands (raise your hand): Have any of you experienced any of these signs?... Yes! We all do from time to time, but remember, the longer the signs last, the more serious they are, and the more they interfere with daily life- the greater the chance that professional help is needed.
Explain that these illnesses show up in childhood or adolescence. See the lesson plan for more information on each illness.
Read the personal stories found in the lesson plan and discuss the questions on this and the next slide.
Explain that wherever we are on the mental health continuum, there are always things we can do to take care of our mental health. Here are some suggestions. Do you have others?
Students may agree or disagree with the statements. The answers are not provided, but information for each question is given with the purpose of raising awareness in hopes of dispelling the myths our society has and the stigma that mental illness carries.
Ask students to think about how people who live with chronic physical illnesses like arthritis and asthma can learn to manage their symptoms. Some days are easier than others to live with the illness. It is very similar for those living with mental illness.
Explain that the best treatment approach is to have a combination of strategies that work best for the individual.
Ask students: How does the media influence this perception?
Explain that the U.S. Surgeon General has reported that the likelihood of violence by people with mental illness is low. In fact, "the overall contribution of mental disorders to the total level of violence in society is exceptionally small."
Explain that researchers supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have found that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and that despite effective treatments, there are long delays — sometimes decades — between first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment (NIMH, 2005).
Discuss how sometimes, when people are experiencing an acute episode of their illness, their behavior may be bizarre, especially if they are experiencing an episode of psychosis.
Ask: Did anything surprise you with the information we have discussed?
What did you learn?
Explain that many of the warning signs and symptoms of mental illness look typical to the rocky road of adolescent development. Cover the following typical behaviors and talk about the differences.
Emphasize that as a general rule: the longer the signs last, the more serious they are; and the more they interfere with daily life, the greater the chance that professional treatment is needed.
Explain that everyone has some risk for having a mental illness. Factors such as genetics, environment, and social influences interact to increase or decrease a person’s risk for developing mental illness.
If someone has one or more risk factors it doesn’t mean that he or she will get ill. There is no need to feel afraid that if you have a relative with an illness or if there is something in your environment that places you at risk that you will become ill. We just need to acknowledge that these illnesses can affect anyone. What are ways that you can take care of your mental health?