Topic 1: Mental Health

Introduction / Procedures / Reminders:

1. Introduce the topic by asking the students: How many of you have been sick last year?" Why were you
sick? How long were you sick? Take 3-5 responses. Reinforce that students (1) are describing physical
symptoms (headache, fever, chills, upset stomach, etc.); (2) sought help from a doctor; (3) took medicine;
and (4) recovered.
2. Start the Motivation: Fact or Fiction? by stating that not all sickness is physical in nature. There may also
be mental illnesses. It is important to find out what they know about mental illness. Read out each
statement and ask students whether this is fact or fiction. You may give answers later, after all 12
statements are answered by the students.
3. Get students’ reactions to the Fact or Fiction activity. To be able to correct students’ perceptions better,
read and discuss the Reading: Change Your Mind about Mental Health.
4. Introduce the lesson on Media Motives.
a. Body image continues to be a topic of interest in high school, as students attempt to define and
discover who they are. On a daily basis, students are bombarded with messages in the media which
affect this process. Helping them to navigate through it all is an important task.
b. The activity in this lesson is intended to make students look at media advertisements so they are more
critical of what they are seeing and less apt to internalize the messages. You may set the pace, meaning
that if there is a particular concept that requires reinforcement, there is opportunity to use this lesson as
a springboard for further discussion.
c. Advertisers have developed a multi-billion-dollar industry to convince consumers that we need to buy
their products. In this lesson, we are going to examine the advertising methods that are used. Body
image can be a sensitive topic to many individuals, so it is important that others be respectful to
emotions and feelings that may arise.
d. Break students into small groups.
e. Have each group look at the advertisements brought by their members and decide which advertisement
they will critique.
f. Instruct them to “decode” the ad as they proceed through the worksheet questions.
g. Have each group present their ad back to the large group.
h. As groups present their ads, students will fill in a “definition” sheet that serves to identify the
advertising methods.
i. There is no formal answer key to accompany the definitions sheet – the intent is to have students arrive
at their own understanding of the techniques. They will be better equipped to neutralize the impact of
media messages.
j. Explain Additional Information: Strategies for Becoming a Critical Viewer of the Media.

Motivation: FACT OR FICTION?

Read through the answer key and correct the students’ misconceptions.
1. One person in every 100 True. One per cent of the general population develops schizophrenia.
persons develops
schizophrenia.
2. A person who has one or True. Mental illness can be hereditary. For example, the rate of schizophrenia in
both parents with mental the general population is one percent. This rate rises to eight per cent if one parent
illness is more likely to has the disorder and to 37–46 percent if both parents have it. One in 10 people in
develop mental illness. the general population has experienced depression, compared to one in four for
people whose parents have experienced depression.
3. Mental illness is False. Mental illness is not contagious. Heredity can, and often does, play a factor
contagious. in the development of the disease.
4. Mental illness tends to True. The first episode of a mental illness often occurs between the ages of 15
begin during adolescence. and 30 years. Early intervention is currently thought to be one of the most
important factors related to recovery from mental illness. Embarrassment, fear,
peer pressure and stigma often prevent young people from seeking out help.
5. Poor parenting causes False. Childhood abuse or neglect does not cause mental illnesses such as
schizophrenia. schizophrenia. However, stressful or abusive environments may seriously impair
a person’s ability to cope with and later manage the illness.
6. Illegal drug use causes True and False. Alcohol and other drugs sometimes play a role in the
mental illness. development of some symptoms and disorders, but do not usually cause the
illness. However, long-term drug and alcohol use can lead to the development of
drug-induced psychosis, which has many of the same symptoms of organic
 mental illness. Alcohol and drugs are often used as a means to cope with the
illness, although using alcohol and drugs can make the symptoms of mental
illness worse.
7. Mental illness can be False. Mental illness is associated with chemical imbalances in the brain and
cured with willpower. requires a comprehensive treatment plan.
8. People with mental False. With the right kind of help, many people with a mental illness do recover
illness never get better. and ho on to lead healthy, productive and satisfying lives. While the illness may
not go away, the symptoms associated with it can be controlled. This usually
allows the person to regain normal functioning. Medication, counseling and
psychosocial rehabilitation are treatment options that can help people recover
from mental illness.
9. People with mental False. People who experience a mental illness acutely sometimes behave very
illness tend to be violent. differently from people who do not. While some of their behaviors may seem
bizarre, people with mental illness are not more violent than the rest of the
population.
10. All homeless people are False. Although studies have shown that between 17 and 70 percent of people
mentally ill who are homeless have mental illnesses, it is clear that being homeless doesn’t
automatically indicate a mental illness.
11. Developmental False. Mental illness is often confused with developmental disabilities, even
disabilities are a form of though the two conditions are quite different. Mental illness does not affect an
mental Illness. individual’s intellectual capacity, whereas developmental disabilities do.
However, people with developmental disabilities are more susceptible to
developing mental illness.
12. Poor people are more False. Income is not a factor in overall rates of mental health problems. However,
likely to have mental illness people with lower incomes experience slightly higher rates of depression. People
than those who are not who live with major mental illnesses often end up in lower social classes because
the illness may interfere with their ability to hold a job.
Source: Talking about Mental Illness. Retrieved from:
http://www.camh.ca/en/education/Documents/www.camh.net/education/Resources_teachers_schools/TAMI/
tami_teachersall.pdf

Reading: CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH

Mental health. It’s the way your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect your life. Good mental health leads
to positive self-image and in-turn, satisfying relationships with friends and others. Having good mental health
helps you make good decisions and deal with life’s challenges at home, work, or school. It is not uncommon for
teenagers to develop problems with their mental health. Problems can range from mild to severe, and can include
depression, anxiety, body esteem issues, and suicide, among others.
Unfortunately, most young people with mental health problems don’t get any treatment for them.
Research shows that effective treatments are available that can help members of all racial, ethnic, and
cultural groups. If you broke your leg or came down with pneumonia, you wouldn’t let it go untreated. Often
however, young people ignore mental health problems thinking they will “snap out of it,” or that they are
something to be ashamed of. That kind of thinking prevents people from getting the help they need. Sometimes
getting help is a matter of understanding mental health issues and changing your mind about them.
Source: American Psychological Association, available from: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/change.aspx

Additional Information: Strategies for Becoming a Critical Viewer of the Media

Media messages about body shape and size will affect the way we feel about ourselves and our bodies, only
if we let them. One of the ways we can protect our self-esteem and body image from the media’s narrow
definitions of beauty is to become a critical viewer of the media messages we are bombarded with each day. When
we effectively recognize and analyze the media messages that influence us, we remember that the media’s
definitions of beauty and success do not have to define our self-image or potential. Remember:
 All media images and messages are constructions. They are NOT reflections of reality.
Advertisements and other media messages have been carefully crafted with the intent to send a very
specific message.
 Advertisements are created to do one thing: convince you to buy or support a specific product or
service.
 To convince you to buy a specific product or service, advertisers will often construct an emotional
experience that looks like reality. Remember that you are only seeing what the advertisers want you
to see.
  Advertisers create their message based on what they think you will want to see and what they think
will affect you and compel you to buy their product. Just because they think their approach will
work with people like you doesn’t mean it has to work with you as an individual.
 As individuals, we decide how to experience the media messages we encounter. We can choose to
use a filter that helps us understand what the advertiser wants us to think or believe and then choose
whether we want to think or believe that message. We can choose a filter that protects our self-
esteem and body image.
Through the use of magazine advertisements, we have discussed what motivates the advertising industry
and the effect that media has on body image. A final conclusion is that each student is left with strategies about
how to strengthen themselves against these messages.

SELF ESTEEM AND BODY ESTEEM

Does any of this sound familiar? "I'm too tall." "I'm too short." "I'm too skinny." "If only I were shorter or
taller; had curly hair or straight hair; had a smaller nose; or had longer legs, I'd be happy."
Are you putting yourself down? If so, you're not alone. As a teen, you're going through lots of changes in
your body. And, as your body changes, so does your image of yourself. It's not always easy to like every part of
your looks, but when you get stuck on the negatives it can really bring down your self-esteem.

Why Are Self-Esteem and Body Image Important?

Self-esteem is all about how much you feel you are worth — and how much you feel other people
value you. Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself can affect your mental health and how
you behave.
People with high self-esteem know themselves well. They're realistic and find friends that like and
appreciate them for who they are. People with high self-esteem usually feel more in control of their lives and know
their own strengths and weaknesses.

Body image is how you view your physical self — including whether you feel you are attractive and
whether others like your looks. For many people, especially people in their early teens, body image can be
closely linked to self-esteem.

What Influences a Person's Self-Esteem?

Puberty and Development
Some people struggle with their self-esteem and body image when they begin puberty because it's a time
when the body goes through many changes. These changes, combined with wanting to feel accepted by our friends,
means it can be tempting to compare ourselves with others. The trouble with that is, not everyone grows or
develops at the same time or in the same way.

Media Images and Other Outside Influences

Our tweens and early teens are a time when we become more aware of celebrities and media images — as
well as how other kids look and how we fit in. We might start to compare ourselves with other people or media
images ("ideals" that are frequently airbrushed). All of this can affect how we feel about ourselves and our bodies
even as we grow into our teens.

Families and School

Family life can sometimes influence our body image. Some parents or coaches might be too focused on
looking a certain way or "making weight" for a sports team. Family members might struggle with their own body
image or criticize their kids' looks ("why do you wear your hair so long?" or "how come you can't wear pants that
fit you?"). This can all influence a person's self-esteem, especially if they're sensitive to others peoples' comments.
People also may experience negative comments and hurtful teasing about the way they look from
classmates and peers. Although these often come from ignorance, sometimes they can affect body image and self-
esteem.

Common Eating Disorders

The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (usually called simply
"anorexia" and "bulimia"). But other food-related disorders, like avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, binge
eating, body image disorders, and food phobias, are becoming more and more commonly identified.

1. Anorexia
 People with anorexia have a real fear of weight gain and a distorted view of their body size and shape. As a
result, they eat very little and can become dangerously underweight. Many teens with anorexia restrict their food
intake by dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise. They hardly eat at all — and the small amount of food they do eat
becomes an obsession in terms of calorie counting or trying to eat as little as possible. Others with anorexia may
start binge eating and purging — eating a lot of food and then trying to get rid of the calories by making
themselves throw up, using some type of medication or laxatives, or exercising excessively, or some combination
of these.

2. Bulimia
Bulimia is similar to anorexia. With bulimia, people might binge eat (eat to excess) and then try to
compensate in extreme ways, such as making themselves throw up or exercising all the time, to prevent weight
gain. Over time, these steps can be dangerous — both physically and emotionally. They can also lead to
compulsive behaviors (ones that are hard to stop).
To have bulimia, a person must be binging and purging regularly, at least once a week for a couple of
months. Binge eating is different from going to a party and "pigging out" on pizza, then deciding to go to the gym
the next day and eat more healthfully.
People with bulimia eat a large amount of food (often junk food) at once, usually in secret. Sometimes they
eat food that is not cooked or might be still frozen, or retrieve food from the trash. They typically feel powerless to
stop the eating and can only stop once they're too full to eat any more, or they may have to go to extreme measures
(like pouring salt all over a dessert to make it inedible) in order to get themselves to stop eating. Most people with
bulimia then purge by vomiting, but also may use laxatives or excessive exercise. Although anorexia and bulimia
are very similar, people with anorexia are usually very thin and underweight, but those with bulimia may be an
average weight or can be overweight.

Portfolio Output No. 12: Media Influences (How Ads Affected My Self-Esteem)
Name some ads that appear on TV, billboards, the internet.
1. What messages do these ads give to middle adolescents like you?
2. How have these ads affected your lifestyle, self-esteem, and values?
3. How has this lesson changed your perception about ads?