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Mental health awareness


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Last fall my golf team did a fundraiser for depression and mental health awareness.  I was originally hoping to be able to get a speaker to come to our school for an assembly, but I couldn't find anything in our budget.

Instead, we're planning on putting up signs around the community.  Somebody brought up the idea of mental health bracelets like the Lance Armstrong Livestrong ones.  I have a few questions for anybody who wants to partake.

I'm really trying to make it something that is easy for the kids and parents in the community to see and be aware of.  One sign would have a handful of mental health awareness apps.  Another would have a 24/7 hotline number to call.  I'll probably have some signs with mental health awareness facts on it.

Another one would be "I'm fine" like the attached picture. I know that is a big one.  I heard someone say that a lot, and then later came to find out they attempted suicide.  The last sign idea I had was to have one section of signs together that say "I wear green for ___________" and we could have different names for why people wear green for mental health awareness.

I would love some more ideas for signs or different things we could do either at or school or throughout our community.  If nothing else, maybe this will give people ideas for things they could do if the opportunity ever arises for somebody else!

Mental-Health-Awareness-featured.jpg

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This is coming from a man whose wife was diagnosed as bipolar over 15 years ago.

if you are trying to reach kids at your school, the emphasis should be on outreach. Too many people who view themselves as having mental health issues become isolated from their friends and peers. Identify those kids who we used to label "loners" and develop an outreach plan to help them feel included.

My wife struggles every day with the worry that people view her as different. She worries that whatever issues she is dealing with are evident, almost like the scarlet A. Self esteem and feeling that she is accepted is a big deal for her. Self doubt is a constant battle to overcome. 

Lead your students to reach out to those kids who appear a little different... a little odd even. Include them. Accept that they might take a little more time to trust and open up. Help your students to not be judging and provide experiences where all can add value 

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2 hours ago, Jerry Lundergaard said:

This is coming from a man whose wife was diagnosed as bipolar over 15 years ago.

if you are trying to reach kids at your school, the emphasis should be on outreach. Too many people who view themselves as having mental health issues become isolated from their friends and peers. Identify those kids who we used to label "loners" and develop an outreach plan to help them feel included.

My wife struggles every day with the worry that people view her as different. She worries that whatever issues she is dealing with are evident, almost like the scarlet A. Self esteem and feeling that she is accepted is a big deal for her. Self doubt is a constant battle to overcome. 

Lead your students to reach out to those kids who appear a little different... a little odd even. Include them. Accept that they might take a little more time to trust and open up. Help your students to not be judging and provide experiences where all can add value 

I really like the idea!  I'll make sure I really go over it with them when I get the chance.

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2 hours ago, Jerry Lundergaard said:

This is coming from a man whose wife was diagnosed as bipolar over 15 years ago.

if you are trying to reach kids at your school, the emphasis should be on outreach. Too many people who view themselves as having mental health issues become isolated from their friends and peers. Identify those kids who we used to label "loners" and develop an outreach plan to help them feel included.

My wife struggles every day with the worry that people view her as different. She worries that whatever issues she is dealing with are evident, almost like the scarlet A. Self esteem and feeling that she is accepted is a big deal for her. Self doubt is a constant battle to overcome. 

Lead your students to reach out to those kids who appear a little different... a little odd even. Include them. Accept that they might take a little more time to trust and open up. Help your students to not be judging and provide experiences where all can add value 

Jerry,  thanks so much for sharing your story. It's funny how you can post with someone for years and know nothing of them and then within a few short weeks you get an understanding for what a wonderful person someone is; and not because of anything to do with the core purpose of the board. 

:cheers:

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6 hours ago, KoB2011 said:

How can HSN help with this? Outside of ideas...

 

6 hours ago, rico said:

Kind of what I was thinking as well.......

I think we're alright for right now, but the offer means a lot!  I was really happy with how the fundraiser went this year, so we're going to do the same one again this fall.  We did it on a pledge system where people could donate money as a lump sum, or they could give for each birdie or par.  I'll try to remember to post about it next fall when it rolls around again.

Maybe I could kind of combine my idea with @Jerry Lundergaard's idea.  I could give each of my golfers (20 kids) 5 wristbands that they have to give out to kids that say something like "you make a difference" or "to the world you are someone, but to someone you are the world."  They would each pick out 5 students who they think need one and give the bracelets to those kids.  I would like to think the kids would be able to hand deliver them to each of those 100 students, but I know that probably wouldn't be realistic to expect high schoolers to reach out like that.  Maybe I could have them write a handwritten note to each of their 5 and tape it on their locker.

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8 minutes ago, Leathernecks said:

 

I think we're alright for right now, but the offer means a lot!  I was really happy with how the fundraiser went this year, so we're going to do the same one again this fall.  We did it on a pledge system where people could donate money as a lump sum, or they could give for each birdie or par.  I'll try to remember to post about it next fall when it rolls around again.

Maybe I could kind of combine my idea with @Jerry Lundergaard's idea.  I could give each of my golfers (20 kids) 5 wristbands that they have to give out to kids that say something like "you make a difference" or "to the world you are someone, but to someone you are the world."  They would each pick out 5 students who they think need one and give the bracelets to those kids.  I would like to think the kids would be able to hand deliver them to each of those 100 students, but I know that probably wouldn't be realistic to expect high schoolers to reach out like that.  Maybe I could have them write a handwritten note to each of their 5 and tape it on their locker.

I like the "sayings".  I do have one thing at my disposal.  My baby sister own her own t-shirt business.  I will reach out to her if you want something along those lines.

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16 minutes ago, rico said:

I like the "sayings".  I do have one thing at my disposal.  My baby sister own her own t-shirt business.  I will reach out to her if you want something along those lines.

Thanks!  We do have a guy close to us who does most of the shirts for our school and he does a pretty good job with it, but he can be a pain in the butt to get ahold of.  For our fundraising match this fall, I want to get team shirts that everyone wears, so I will definitely keep that in mind for this fall!

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  • 1 month later...

I would love to hear an update on how your kids have embraced your project.

I have had this in my mind and hope that at least one kid has been impacted by this 

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I haven't had time to get into it with it being the end of the school year and also helping coach baseball.  I'm going to try to get all the signs figured out and ordered once school gets out to have them in time for the start of golf season in August.  I think it is going to be easier to start the year running with it instead of trying to throw it in right at the end.  Its going to be our theme for the season this year and I'm really going to push it with the kids at school.

I want to make sure it is pretty ironed out for the start too.  From seeing different things around the school, I know that if we don't hit the ground running with it, it will likely die out and not have the impact I'm hoping for.  I'm going to get all the minor details ironed out over the summer so we can really make sure we do everything right to hopefully make it something that is impactful and can last.

Another idea I just had is to get a list of all 300 or so kids in our school and have a competition with the team.  Whoever can talk to the most kids in the school and ask them how their day is going will win a prize.  Maybe I can even have a whole point system.  Sit with somebody new at lunch, +5 points (and I supervise lunch, so I'd know).  Ask somebody how their day is, +1 point.  We could do a pizza or ice cream party after practice once a week for everybody who gets above a certain number of points.

Thanks for the interest in the project!  Once I get the signs made, I'll take a picture of it and post it here.

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Okay, not going to attack anyone's efforts to do what they think is good, (I really do commend the efforts) but God I should have read this thread earlier!!! But then maybe the time was right that I had enough liquid courage to overcome my extreme phlegmatic personality!! I'm sorry, but I hope I offend everybody that has a Sanguine or choleric personality! Ban me forever, but this needs to be said!! Hippocrates first postulated that there are 4 different personalities, and he postulated that none was more deficient than the others. Unfortunately, the world has been forever ruled by the sanguine and choleric!   Worse, they think that anyone who doesn't think like them is mentally deficient! Can't tell you how many 1000's of meetings I have attended knowing I was the most intelligent person in the room only to listen to the dominant personalities dominate the meeting!! (Yes that comes at a significant psychological toll!, Something you might say is a mental illness that we need to try and help someway) Your friends may have been put in their precarious place by your misguided efforts to make them conform to your reality of how people should think! If you really want to help, stop trying to force everybody into being something they are not, and try letting them excel as who they are! Many of the social outcasts were put there by the people that thought they were doing good by trying to force them to change into something they are not! If you really want to help mental illness, you need to first acknowledge that people who have a different personalities than you are not mentally deficient!! It is very much the same as realizing that people who come from different cultures are not necessarily bad!

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17 hours ago, Drroogh said:

Okay, not going to attack anyone's efforts to do what they think is good, (I really do commend the efforts) but God I should have read this thread earlier!!! But then maybe the time was right that I had enough liquid courage to overcome my extreme phlegmatic personality!! I'm sorry, but I hope I offend everybody that has a Sanguine or choleric personality! Ban me forever, but this needs to be said!! Hippocrates first postulated that there are 4 different personalities, and he postulated that none was more deficient than the others. Unfortunately, the world has been forever ruled by the sanguine and choleric!   Worse, they think that anyone who doesn't think like them is mentally deficient! Can't tell you how many 1000's of meetings I have attended knowing I was the most intelligent person in the room only to listen to the dominant personalities dominate the meeting!! (Yes that comes at a significant psychological toll!, Something you might say is a mental illness that we need to try and help someway) Your friends may have been put in their precarious place by your misguided efforts to make them conform to your reality of how people should think! If you really want to help, stop trying to force everybody into being something they are not, and try letting them excel as who they are! Many of the social outcasts were put there by the people that thought they were doing good by trying to force them to change into something they are not! If you really want to help mental illness, you need to first acknowledge that people who have a different personalities than you are not mentally deficient!! It is very much the same as realizing that people who come from different cultures are not necessarily bad!

For someone supposedly as smart as you ( and who has needed to tell the board that, numerous times), I can't believe some of the stuff you post on here.

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