Mental Health Awareness

National Emotional Health Month, National Mental Health Awareness Month, and National Depression Awareness Month all fall in October. You’d think they’re trying to tell us something!

And, they are.

October's Double-Whammy

Those holidays stack up because October provides a double-whammy when it comes to maintaining mental health.

First, the days get progressively shorter and darker. Our brains lose those wonderful sunshine-endorphins of summer and the outdoors. Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD as it is so aptly called) affects many Americans, young and old, and that waning sunshine is a major trigger.

Secondly, we begin the cycle of the holidays as we gear up for Halloween and then the succession of get-togethers, parties, obligations, and stresses that will continue through the new year.

Avoiding Winter Blues

But, the good news is we know it’s coming—so we can prepare.

Sue Pavlovich of the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (SADA) offers these tips that you can incorporate into your classroom.

Keep active. A walk in the middle of the day can be as helpful as light treatments to alleviate symptoms.
Get outside. Get as much natural light as possible—especially around midday.
Keep warm. Hot beverages, an extra sweater, cozy socks and such can help ease feelings of depression.
Eat healthily. Yeah, we all crave carbs—but, try to balance those cravings with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
See the light. You might add a full-spectrum light to a corner of your room.
Try a new hobby. Keeping the mind active is beneficial for winter blues. Add creative activities regularly during the holiday season. Not only do you get those holiday obligations handled, but you lift spirits, too!

Overcoming Sad in the Classroom

The attached free lesson will help you increase productivity and overcome winter malaise in the classroom.

Pass out free lesson. Read the first page about Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Discuss. Have students discuss their own experiences with winter blues and how they feel about the change in seasons and/or coming holiday crunch. Have students list some things they currently do to make themselves feel better. Discuss the tips offered in the lesson and how they could be incorporated into the classroom.
Provide a challenge. Show students the second page of the lesson with the GLAD Report. Have students compete against each other (if that is appropriate) or compete against themselves to meet the challenges issued in the lesson. Can they get out into the light every day this week? How many steps did they get in this week? What veggies did they eat this week and what recipes did they make? Have a crazy socks day and let students show off their warm foot ware.
Turning SAD into GLAD. Use this phrase on your bulletin board to remind students how to take care of themselves and fight the winter blues. Post their GLAD Reports, or pictures of their crazy socks, or recipes for warming foods.
Extend the lesson. The Daily Living Skills series provides several options to extend this lesson, depending on the needs of your students. Picking Produce (fruits and/or veggies) provides students with the skills they need to buy produce at the grocery store while providing them with dozens of recipes that use that produce. Trying new “warming” recipes can enhance your cooking unit while helping students also learn healthy self-help skills. Practicing Mindfulness and Managing Stress each deal with different aspects of mental health and self-help techniques for optimum wellness. Practicing Mindfulness contains dozens of short mindfulness activities that can be easily incorporated into your classroom for bell-time or independent work to teach students emotion-management.

For Further Information

Like all books in the series, Practicing Mindfulness, Managing Stress, and Picking Produce are all written on a 3rd/4th grade level but are geared to teens and young adults. Books meet federal transition guidelines and Indicator 13 requirements.

If you like what you see, go to our Teachers Pay Teachers Website, or check us out our shop on our very own T2L & DLS Website! Books are written on a 3rd/4th grade level and include grading sheets, answer keys and parent information letters to comply with federal standards for transition skills. The Teacher’s Manual (sold separately) provides information on program set-up and maintenance along with pre/post-assessments, written ITP (Individual Transition Plan) goals for each book, and parent/student interest inventories.