The purpose of this lesson is for teachers to discuss the impact of anxiety and depression on their students, colleagues, communities, and themselves. Teachers will define various emotional conditions, reflect on their own health, discuss mental health trends, research best practices, proactively problem-solve some issues at school, and learn about available resources.
Depression and anxiety affect people’s work, well-being, and life satisfaction. Educators witness first-hand how mental health affects students, administrators, staff, and even themselves. These conditions can be complex to handle, so understanding what they are is a great place to start:
Everyone experiences sadness and worry. That’s part of life. However, when sadness and worry turn into long-lasting emotions that affect daily life, it may be time to get some professional help. There are many resources within schools and communities that students and staff can utilize. Identifying signs and symptoms within ourselves and others can be the first step toward improving mental health.
Signs and symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder from the Mayo Clinic:
Signs and symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder from the Mayo Clinic:
Activity 1: (20 minutes) MATCHING VOCABULARY
As a group, create a word cloud using either a whiteboard or an online anonymous poll website (e.g. Poll Everywhere) to answer the following question as a group: What word comes to mind when you hear anxiety and/or depression?
Divide participants into groups of 3–4. Then pass out the Matching Vocabulary cards to each group along with a pair of scissors. Invite them to sort the cards, matching the definition with the vocabulary word. After sufficient time, reveal the answers on the slideshow.
Next, invite groups to sort the vocabulary words into piles, based on similarities and differences that they find. Then groups should name a category for each of their piles. There are no correct answers for sorting or categorizing. The purpose of this activity is to compare and contrast various conditions, so answers may vary.
Have a discussion:
Activity 2: (15 minutes) SPECTRUM
Have teachers think-pair-share using the following prompt:
How do you know when normal sadness or worrying has become a bigger problem?
Display the picture of the anxiety/depression spectrum. Invite teachers to privately journal for 5 minutes about the prompt: Where on the spectrum would you usually plot yourself? What personal clues or observations did you use to come to that conclusion?
Have a discussion:
Activity 3: (20 minutes) MENTAL HEALTH TRENDS
Analyze the statistics together, pulled from Mental Health America (MHA).
Have a discussion:
Watch the following videos. As participants watch, have them pay attention to the differences between everyday sadness or worry compared with clinical depression and anxiety. Invite teachers to share their thoughts.
Have a discussion:
Activity 4: (30 minutes) BEST PRACTICES
Divide the teachers into 6 groups. Teachers will use reputable sources (e.g., “.org” “.edu” “.gov”) to research their assigned group topic. Provide the list of recommended websites on the slideshow.
Group 1: Best Practices for Students with Anxiety
Group 2: Best Practices for Students with Depression
Group 3: Best Practices for Adults with Anxiety
Group 4: Best Practices for Adults with Depression
Group 5: Best Practices for Personal Anxiety
Group 6: Best Practices for Personal Depression
Next, pass out a Best Practices for Anxiety and Depression handout to each teacher. As each group presents the information that they researched (citing each source that they used), invite educators to take notes on the best practices that they learn about during the presentations.
Extension: For a deeper dive, invite teachers to read through a historic timeline of how people with mental illnesses were treated through the ages, written by PBS. Discuss what advances we have made and where you think treatments of mental illnesses are headed.
Have a discussion:
Activity 5: (20 minutes) PROACTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING
Invite teachers to call out answers to this question while they are listed on the board:
What are the elements of your job that most influence feelings of worry/anxiety or sadness/depression?
Explain that the lesson will come back to this list later. Next, read the quotes about building resilience:
Educators will now get to proactively problem solve based on one or more of the elements listed on the board. Pass out the Creative Problem Solving handout to each teacher. Walk through the 2 examples on the slideshow together. Invite teachers to fill out their form and collaborate with people around them. Encourage them to discuss their simple solutions with anyone that they would like to involve, reminding everyone not to take on too much.
Have several people share their problems and solutions, if they are comfortable.
Extension: Repeat this lesson with students in your class.
Have a discussion:
Activity 6: (45+ minutes) AVAILABLE RESOURCES
Invite a school psychologist, district specialist, or community expert to come and speak to the staff about mental health resources that are available for students and staff. They can also share their thoughts on best practices for school settings. Ask teachers to come prepared with any questions that they have for these experts.
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