Mental and Emotional Development
1. What is Mental Health
a. Mental health: ability to deal reasonably with the stresses and changes of
everyday life
b. Personality: a combination of traits, feelings, attitudes, and habits and is
shaped by heredity, environment, and behavior
2. Building Positive Self-Esteem
a. Self-concept: the way that you view yourself
3. Managing Stress
a. Stress: your body’s response to changes around you
b. Distress: stress that keeps you from doing the things you need to do or
causes you discomfort
c. Eustress: positive stress
d. Physical vs. psychological fatigue: tiredness of whole body vs. tiredness
caused by mental state
e. 5 defense mechanisms: denial, rationalization, repression, displacement,
projection
f. Stress management skills
4. Mental Disorders
a. Mental disorder: feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness over a prolonged
period of time
b. Anxiety disorder: real or imagined fears keep a person from functioning
normally
c. Mood disorder: a person undergoes changes in mood that seem
inappropriate or extreme
d. Depression: feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, guilt,
and extreme sadness
e. Schizophrenia: a person’s perceptions loses their connections to reality
f. Suicide: intentionally killing oneself
g. Warning signs of suicide
5. Sources of Help
a. Knowing when and where to go for help
Mental and Emotional Development
Lesson Plan
1. Personality (9 students in the hallway for artist)
a. BRAINSTORM: Have students list ideas of what goes into a personality
b. DISCUSS: heredity, behavior, and environment
c. DISCUSS: What do you have control over?
d. FUN QUIZ: Myers-Briggs personality Test
e. JOURNAL (10pts): Do you agree or disagree with these results?
2. Self-Esteem
a. VIDEO: Dove Beauty commercial, possibly student sketches
b. KNEE TO KNEE: What does this video demonstrate? Is this gender
oriented? What contributes to these self-perceptions?
c. DISCUSS: How does our self-concept affect our choices, relationships,
etc.
d. JOURNAL (10pts): Write about people you admire, what do you admire
about them?
e. ANALYZE/PAIR/SHARE: What seem to be the qualities that you find
important? Do you have these qualities? (Kenny from Starbucks story)
f. LOVE NOTE: How can you work towards high self-esteem? Focus on
successes, send positive messages, set realistic goals, ask people for help,
and learn from your mistakes. Ego poem on the back
3. Stress Management
a. BRAINSTORM: Good vs. Bad Stress.
b. DISCUSS: Ultimately, what do you have control over?
c. NOTES: 7 defense mechanisms
d. DISCUSS: What is the benefit of defense mechanisms? When do they
become detrimental?
e. VIDEO: Examples of defense mechanisms: projection/regression:
Breakfast Club clip
f. PROJECT (50pts): Defending the Issue: students will create a short
video to exemplify 3 defense mechanisms. They may use movie clips or
act out their own. Bonus points for movie clips. Due Tuesday
4. Mental Disorders and Suicide
a. NOTES: Common Mental Disorders, Suicide
b. PROJECT (50pts): Mental Disorder or Suicide Prevention: Create a
short, informational video about the disorder and where to find help.
c. Bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorders,
autism, schizophrenia, eating disorders, ADD/ADHD
TICKET OUT THE DOOR (10pts)
Write one idea that you learned today about mental and emotional health. Write one
question you have about anything regarding mental and emotional health.