Mental Health & Illnesses 101
Everyone has mental health?
Yes, mental health is our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It's our feelings, thoughts, emotions, and mood.
Does everyone have anxiety?
Yes, anxiety is a natural emotion.
True or False: Teens don't suffer from real depression.
False, 1.9 million youth between ages 3-17 have been diagnosed with depression. It is one of the most common mental health concerns among teens.
True or False: Being in a theatre troupe member means being a peer educator as well.
True, we hope to equip you not only to share information through performance but also be able to talk to your friends or classmates if you see them struggling.
True or False: Mental Illnesses are very common?
True, About 1 in 5 American adults and 1 in 5 children will experience a mental illness at some point in their lives - that's 20%!
Name two reasons people may not get help for mental health concerns...
Stigma or shame
Denial/ "Nothing's really wrong"
Cost/Lack of Insurance
Physical Access/Don't know Where to Get Help
Can't really put what they are feeling in words
Distrust/Lack of Providers That They Feel Safe With
Name three signs of anxiety...
Excessive sweating, Fast heartbeat, Trembling/twitching, Worrying, Panic, High alertness, Poor concentration, Stomach issues (bubble guts), No motivation, Avoidance, Social withdrawal, etc.
True or False: Depression has to be triggered by a tragic event.
False, depression can "come out of the blue". Nothing dramatic or tragic has to happen to cause depression. Additionally, if depression runs in your family you are more likely to experience depression as well.
True or False: Self medicating mental health issues with drug or alcohol can have long term negative impacts?
True, drugs and alcohol don't actually fix the problems, even if it makes you feel "good" short term, they leave long term negative impacts.
True or False: African Americans are 20% more likely to develop a mental illness during their lifetime than their white counterparts.
True, and only 25% of African Americans seek treatment for a mental health concern compared to the 40% of white individuals.
Name three things that can impact our mental health...
Loneliness/Isolation
Grief/Loss
Unhealthy Relationships/Family/Friendships
Bullying
Unemployment/Lack of Resources
Sexuality
Sleeping problems
Life Events or Stages (new parent, childhood trauma, puberty, moving into adulthood, etc)
Alcohol/Drug Use
Name two things you should NOT do to a friend that shows anxiety...
Make fun of them, Ignore them, Make them feel alone, etc.
True or False: The difference between just feel "blue" or "down" is having the intense feeling of sadness or other symptoms of depression for more than two weeks.
True, depression usually last for a prolonged period of time.
How do know if it may be a good idea if you or a friend seeks therapy?
If a behavior, mood, or emotion is impacting your everyday life. If it gets in the way of you being the best you can be in your relationships, in school, at work, or impacts your physical health it may be a good idea to seek help.
What is a trauma?
Your emotional or physical response to anything that you consider too overwhelming without enough support to understand or cope with. This could be abuse, accidents, parent separation, tornado, etc.
How is Mental Illness Different From Mental Health?
Mental illness is an illness that affects the way people think, feel, behave, or interact with others. Mental illness is a term used to group many different illnesses and they all have different symptoms that impact peoples' lives in different ways.
Ex: Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, etc.
How do you know when anxiety has turned into something you should seek help for?
When anxiety starts to impact daily functioning.
Such as trouble sleeping, not getting work done due to your worries, avoiding situations/area, your realize your worries are unrealistic or out of proportion for the situation, etc.
True or False: If you just do something fun, you can just shake depression off!
False, depression is the "funk" you can't just shake off. It includes any of these symptoms lasting longer than 2 weeks:
-Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
-Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
-Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
-Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
-Loss of energy or increased fatigue
-Fidgeting (inability to sit still or pacing)
-Slowed movements or speech usually severe enough to be observable by others
-Feeling worthless or guilty
-Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
-Thoughts of harm, death, or suicide
True or False: At the Corner if you are at least 14 years old you can legally sign up for therapy without parent permission.
True, we understand not all youth will have their parent's support and we don't want that to be a barrier, if you want to seek help, you can make the choice to do what's best for you!
Suicide is the ______ leading cause of death among people 15-34 in the US.
a. 1st
b. 2nd
c. 3rd
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people ages 15-34 in the United States.
Your grandma calls and talks to you about your cousin. She says, "Your cousin wants to tell everyone they have a mental illness, but I KNOW they are just wanting to make people feel bad for them." What do you say or do...
Nicely, educate grandma about mental health and mental illness being a real thing. Tell grandma saying it's not real only makes it worse for your cousin. Tell your grandma that your cousin should feel supported and be encouraged to get help.
Your friend has sweaty arm pits, sweats from his forehead, and paces back in forth before gym class. He does not want to go into the gym because he doesn't want to work out in front of everyone. He says, "I'm just going to keep doing what I always do, I'll say my stomach hurts and I'll sit in the office until next hour." What do you say or do...
Encourage your friend to talk with a school counselor or someone he trusts about their anxiety.
Don't make fun of him or make him feel alone.
Explain that this plan is not going to work forever so coming up with a different plan would work best.
Your best friend has been acting weird lately so you want to go over their house to talk to them about it. Their mom lets you in and says they are up in their room. You walk up to the door and hear crying. You slowly open the door and you see your friend with a razor and their legs are cut. What will you say/do in this moment...
Try to get them to talk to you about what's wrong. Try to get them to talk to someone they trust (their parent in the home, a crisis helpline, your parent, a school counselor, etc). Talk to them about where they can get help. Don't leave them alone until you both have a plan in place for what to do next.
Your friend wants to talk to their mom about the way they've been feeling but they don't know where to start. Help your friend start the conversation...Give them the first 3 lines of what they should say...
Improv
You want a new therapist, list two questions you can ask to make sure they are a good fit for you...
It's okay to interview your therapist to make sure you would be a good fit!
Ex: Do you have experience helping people with ________ concerns.
Do you have experience with the _________(minority) community.
What is your style of therapy? What is important to you in a therapeutic relationship. Etc.