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High school students' mental health issues have significantly increased in the span of the last fifteen years. With a 40% increase since 2009, the CDC noted in their Youth Risk-Behavior Surveillance Data Summary & Trends Report that more than one-third of the students polled had experienced "persistent emotions of sadness or hopelessness." Research also found that one in every five students has seriously considered suicide and approximately 16% have made a suicide plan.
According to another study, more than 1 in 3 high school students experienced poor mental health during the pandemic, while nearly half of the students felt persistently sad or hopeless.
Insecurities, bullying, anxiety, and loneliness are at an all-time high due to quick access to social media. We have the chance to educate our children about these problems in the classroom and help them develop coping mechanisms. Read on to find out more about how certain activities can help with mental health problems.
5 activities to enhance mental health
These five exercises can be used to improve mental health in teens:
1. Talk about mental health
While this might seem commonsensical, many educational institutions, even in the 21st century, don't acknowledge mental health concerns. If you are a teacher, ask your students questions like, "How is mental health now perceived in the United States?" or "How might mental health awareness affect your school?" before starting a lecture on the fundamentals of mental health.
Your students' understanding of mental health issues can be enhanced and encouraged with open dialogue in the classroom. Mental health workshops emphasize the importance of both physical and mental wellness, and students can learn about self-care, healthy coping mechanisms, and other topics.
2. Expressing gratitude
According to a UC Davis study, gratitude helps lower cortisol levels, which in turn minimize anxiety and mental health problems. Another excellent strategy for managing students' mental health in the classroom, therefore, is the use of gratitude journals.
According to other research, teenagers who practice gratitude are more likely than their less grateful peers to be happy, less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and less likely to have behavior problems at school.
3. Mood tracking
Students can be just as creative while tracking their mood. You can just tell your students to color a box or something similar every day to express how they are feeling that day. They can have various colors to represent various emotions. An insightful way to see where their emotions are heading is to look back at how they were feeling throughout the month.
Some students might need to segment their day into various pieces. People have a tendency to let one event spoil their entire day, which is why it's important to check their mood frequently during the day. The rest of the day would be disrupted if something happened to them in the afternoon.
4. Picture their control
Many students feel as though they have no control over their lives. However, you can encourage them to look closer and realize that there are aspects of their lives that they can control.
Ask your learners to picture their own circles of control. Help them focus on what they can control on the inside, instead of all the factors on the outside that they simply can’t change. Thinking about all the things they do have control over right now will make them feel more empowered and capable.
5. Providing safe spaces
There are numerous examples of students not being able to bond well and share their feelings with their teachers or parents. Giving your students and children the assurance that you are a safe space is the last and, perhaps, finest practice. Knowing that you won't pass judgment if they turn to you when things get worse for them and that you might be the one to help them reorient themselves, can go a long way in improving their mental health.
If students know they can approach you, they might not do so every time, but they will be aware that you are available in case they do.
Takeaway
With so many variables at play, such as social media, bullying, violence, and others, we know that the youth in our lives are now facing a mental health crisis more than ever. Millions of students around the world have experienced mental and emotional distress as a result of the pandemic. If you're teaching students online, do everything you can to ensure they have access to the mental health resources they require.
Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.
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