Today’s lesson is going to focus on Mental Health and Keeping Well and the ways we can do this.

What comes to your mind when you think of Mental Health?

Write out some words or draw an image in your home learning book.

Now, what do you think Mental Health means?  Can you come up with a definition?

Well done, Mental health is when we know someone feels good in their body and mind. Everyone including adults and children have mental health which means they have their mind, feelings and emotions. Mental Health includes how we feel about ourselves, our relationships and challenges and difficulties that we might face.

The World Health Organisation describes mental health as being:

‘A state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.’

Our mental health can be thought of as being on a scale that can move up or down, a bit like a thermometer. Mental health can move anywhere up or down the thermometer, between being healthy or unwell. We can all move along the scale at any time, but there are things that we can do to support us to stay in the health and coping areas. Sometimes, we may go in to the struggling or unwell areas. To support us with our mental health, we can put things in place to help us feel better and move out of the struggling or unwell areas.

What do you think these areas could be?

I would like you to draw an outline of a person. Inside the body, I would like you to write suggestions of how we would know if someone feels good in their body. E.g. they smile or they exercise.

On the outside, I would like you to do the opposite and tell me some suggestions of how you know that person does not feel good in their body. E.g. they do not smile or they do not exercise.

From this activity you should realise that how a person looks or behaves can suggest how they are feeling (in their body or mind), but we cannot always tell – sometimes illness or ill-health is not obvious to others.

Overall you should have a bank of suggestions that you have you come up with that help people with their physical health (looking after bodies) and helps them with their mental health (looking after minds – feelings and emotions).

Send a picture of your outline and your suggestions to your teacher on Seesaw.