The final GGC "Make a Difference" day for the 2015-2016 Guiding year is Mental Health Awareness Week, May 2nd to 8th. A big Thank You to Emily and the 1st St James Guides from the UK who created the Mental Health Awareness Challenge that we used. This challenge asks girls to take part in activities in 3 categories: What is Mental Health?; Say NO to Stigma; and Get Practical. As the girls arrived, they were asked to add their thoughts to a graffiti wall. One part was headed "Mental Health" and the other "Mental Illness". We then had our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game. While the girls were playing Everybody's It Tag, the leaders reviewed what the girls had written. It quickly became clear that the Guides had very little awareness of Mental Health and/or Mental Illness.
We started off with a discussion to get everyone on the same page, explaining that mental health includes how we think, feel and behave; how we cope with what happens in our lives; and self esteem/self confidence. We explained that mental illness refers to certain medical conditions (i.e. depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder) and that when someone has a mental illness, they are sick and need help to get better. (We kept it very simple given the minimal awareness of these concepts among the girls.)
Our next activity tied in nicely and was an active "Fact vs. Myth" game. The girls sat in their patrols at one end of the room. Each patrol had two cards - one labeled "Fact" and the other labeled "Myth". A Guider read out a fact and the patrols had to decide if it was a fact or a myth and then send someone running up with their chosen answer. The first patrol to come up with the correct card received 2 points and any other patrol bringing up the correct card received 1 point. Where patrols chose the wrong answer, we clarified why the statement was a fact or myth. Here are the statements we used:
- Mental illness is very rare. MYTH - 1 in 5 Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetime.
- People with mental health problems caused them themselves. MYTH - There are many influencing factors, including genetics and stress.
- Anyone can have a mental health problem. FACT
- Stress can be a factor that influences mental illness. FACT
- Taking care of yourself, eating well and sleeping well can help you stay mentally well. FACT
- Depression is more severe than feeling sad. FACT
- If you wash your hands frequently you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). MYTH - OCD is not just about hand washing. It is characterized by any repetitive behaviour as well as intrusive thoughts that something bad will happen if you stop the behaviour or do not do it correctly.
- Mental illness is best not talked about. MYTH - As long as it is talked about sensitively, talking can help us to understand how people living with mental illness feel, and help to break down the stigma associated with mental illness.
- You can catch a mental illness from someone else. MYTH - Mental illnesses are based in the brain and are not something that can be passed between people.
- People living with mental illness are not smart. MYTH - Intelligence and mental illness are not related.
- People who have a mental illness don't care what people think or say about them. MYTH
- Mental illness is a medical problem, just like diabetes or asthma. FACT
- People with mental illnesses can't work. MYTH
- Many people with mental illness don't go to treatment because of the stigma of mental illness. FACT
- People with mental illness can't be successful. MYTH - Many highly successful people live with mental illness, including Brad Pitt (Bipolar), Oprah Winfrey (Bipolar), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Bipolar), Emma Thompson (Depression), Jim Carrey (Depression), and J.K. Rowling (Depression)
As a transitional activity, we did one of the Mindfulness exercises in the GGC Activity Pack. The girls were asked to find a comfortable spot on the floor and close their eyes:
Picture your sense of hearing like a radio that can be tuned into different stations. Right now I want you to tune your radio to the sounds that are farthest away from you for a moment. (Pause to allow the girls to listen.)
Now I want you to change the station and listen to the sounds right around you. (Pause to allow the girls to listen.)
I want you to change your station again now and this time, listen to the sounds of your own body - your breathing, heartbeat and so on. Bring your attention to each part of your body. Staring with the tips of your toes, move your attention slowly up through your legs, hips, back, arms, shoulders, neck and head. (Pause between each body part, and allow the girls time to listen.)
I want you to now change your station again and just listen to your own breathing. (Pause to allow the girls to listen.)
Now change your station again and listen to the sounds right around you. (Pause to allow the girls to listen.)
One last time, I want you to change your station and listen to the sounds furthest away. (Pause to allow the girls to listen.)
When you feel ready to do so, open your eyes and take a deep breath.
Next up was a bit of drama, where the girls split up into small groups to act out scenarios about how to handle unhealthy actions in a relationship. We only used three scenarios, however, the four we had are here:
Scenario #1
Mary is friends with Sally. While
talking with a group of friends, Mary insults Sally because of the way she
looks.
Sally is friends with Mary. Although
Mary is insulting her, Sally makes excuses for the way Sally treats her.
Jane is friends with Mary and is worried
about the way Mary treats Sally, and wants to be supportive.
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Scenario #2
Chris is classmates with Leah. She has
talked Leah into helping her complete a project.
Leah is classmates with Chris. She is
afraid to tell Chris no because she doesn’t want to be disliked.
Emily is friends with Leah. Emily
wants to tell Leah that she doesn’t deserve to be treated this way.
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Scenario #3
Paige is hanging out with a group of
friends, including Beth and Jessie. Paige leaves her phone with Beth while
they go to the bathroom.
Beth is hanging out with a group of
friends, including Paige and Jessie. Beth finds an embarrassing picture of
Paige on her phone and sends it to the rest of the group.
Jessie is hanging out with a group of
friends, including Paige and Beth. Jessie gets the texted photo and knows
that Paige didn’t send it and wouldn’t want others to see it.
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Scenario #4
Julie is friends with Carly and
doesn’t want her to be friends with anyone else.
Carly is friends with Julie. She wants
to be friends with other people as well, but is afraid Julie will be jealous.
Riley is Carly’s sister and is worried
about how jealous Julie gets if Casey talks about doing something with
another person.
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Our final activity was to make Stress Balls. We filled a balloon with rice to make the core, and then stretched two other balloons over the ball to give it more strength. The meeting ended with reminders for next week and Taps.
Resources
Girl Guides of Canada - National Mental Health Week Instant Meeting
Kids Help Phone - 1-800-668-6868 or www.kidshelpphone.ca
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) - www.cmha.ca
Children's Mental Health Ontario - www.kidsmentalhealth.ca/
Healthy Minds Canada-Mental Health Resources - healthymindscanada.ca/resources/
Bell Let's Talk - letstalk.bell.ca/en/
