Lesson Plans to Introduce Concept of Emotional Well-Being
Introduction
This booklet contains several lesson plans to introduce the concept of stress, mental health and emotional
well-being to young adolescents. The guide has been created for use within 45 minute lessons although
teachers are free to adapt this to better suit their teaching style and time-frame.
These lesson plans have been created in conjunction with the online secure web portal What’s-Up. The
What’s-Up web portal has been specifically designed to support young people to manage stress and foster
emotional well-being.
Further information about the What’s-Up portal is included at the end of this lesson plan and provides
guidance on using the web portal (see page 15).
Desired Learning Outcomes
By the end of these sessions young people should:





Have an understanding of the terms ‘mental health’ and ‘emotional wellbeing’.
Have an understanding of what stress is and the different ways that people experience stress.
Understand how thoughts, feelings and actions link together to impact on stress levels.
Some ideas and strategies for dealing with stress.
An understanding of how to use the What’s-Up website for further information and support for
dealing with stress.
 An understanding of how to access the interactive section of What’s-Up to self-manage stress.
Main Resources
1. What’s-Up website (https://whats-up.meganexus.com)
2. Activity worksheets
3. What’s-Up user guide
Getting Started
- Ensure YouTube clips are not blocked within the school network or gain access to these clips in advance
(e.g., save the clips on to the school network).
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Lesson 1 – Understanding Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
Time: 45 minutes
What you will need: Computer access for each student, A3/A2 sheet of paper and scissors.
Aim(s): To encourage young people to think about the concept of emotional wellbeing, what this means to
them and ways of promoting positive emotional wellbeing.
Activity 1
Activity: Split the class into groups of 4/5. Hand each group a large sheet of paper and ask them to
create a brainstorm based on their understanding of the term ‘mental health’. Allow 5 minutes for
this and then ask each group to feedback to the class.
Many young people may refer to slang words and stereotypes when discussing mental health and
may also refer to specific mental illnesses.
Explain: There are many differences between mental health and suffering from a mental illness.
Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, in the same way that people need to take care
of their physical health. Mental health is about being emotionally ‘healthy’ and does not always
refer to someone with a mental ‘illness’.
Discussion: refer back to some of the stereotypes and slang words used to describe mental health.
How might these terms affect someone with mental health problems? Are certain people more
prone to mental health problems? Why is there such stigma associated with the term ‘mental
health’?
Activity 2
Explain: Explain to the class that the school are using a new website which has been created to help
young people deal with stress.
Activity: Make sure that each student is seated at their own computer. Referring back to the sign up
instructions given on page 1, instruct the class to find the website (https://whats-up.meganexus.com)
and sign up.
Give the class a brief overview of the different areas of the portal and how these might be useful (see
the guide for introducing What’s-Up). Allow approximately 10-15 minutes for them to explore the
different areas, allowing a further 5 minutes for any questions or concerns.
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Lesson 2 – Understanding Stress
Time: 45 minutes
What you will need: Worksheet 1, juggling balls.
Aim(s):
 To provide students with an overview of stress, what it means to different people and how
different people cope with it.
 To introduce young people to the What’s-Up interactive portal and the content areas dedicated to
exploring stress in more detail.
Getting Started
Guide students through the What’s-Up ‘stress’ area (see 6.2 in the full guide for details of how to do
this).
Allow them approximately 10-15 minutes to look at all of the information contained within this area
and provide them with the opportunity to ask questions about what they have read.
Activity 1
Explain: Stress is a very general word used to describe lots of different feelings and is something
that can be experienced by everyone, at any time and for lots of different reasons. Sometimes a
little bit of stress can be useful but at other times it can make people feel worse and can also
prevent them from doing certain things.
Discussion: Ask the class to form small groups to think about different causes of stress. Allow 2
minutes and then ask them to feedback to the class.
Activity 2 – See Worksheet 1
Explain: Emotional well-being can be a bit like juggling. When we catch the balls life is normal, when
we keep them in the air for a longer period of time life is going well and sometimes we drop the
balls when life is not going so well (demonstrate if possible). By taking simple steps to look after our
emotional health, in the same way we would our physical health, we can help ourselves to feel
better and cope with potential stress.
Activity: Cut out the list of positive and negative statements (see worksheet 1) and hand them out
to small groups of 4/5 students. Ask each group to consider which statements might have a positive
and negative impact on emotional health by dividing them into categories.
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Activity 3 – See Worksheet 2
Explain: Stress circles can be used to explore underlying causes of stress and anxiety by breaking
down someone’s response to stress into thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Negative thoughts often
lead to negative feelings and unhelpful behaviours whereas positive thoughts can lead people to
feel happy and content and therefore behave in a positive way.
Teaching Tip: Before asking them to create their own stress circle, provide the class with an
example to illustrate the link between thoughts, feelings and actions.
You might want to create your own example or use the one provided below:
I’m not going to bother
with revision for my exam
and I might just skip it
altogether
I’m terrible at
Maths…
Anxious and
worried
Activity: Provide the class with worksheet 2 and ask them to make up their own stress circle for the
young person discussed.
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Worksheet 1
Activity: Read each statement carefully and think about how each one might have an impact on emotional
wellbeing. Divide the statements into categories; one for all statements which have a positive influence
and one for statements which have a negative influence.
Positive Influences on Emotional Wellbeing
Receiving
Having hobbies Making new
recognition for and interests
friends
your effort
Achieving
Feeling
understood by
others
Having selfrespect
Getting good
exam results
Good selfesteem
Having lots of
friends
Knowing what
makes you feel
good
Having a
supportive
family
Knowing when
to ask for help
Negative Influences on Emotional Wellbeing
Bullying
The death of a Exam stress
family member
Peer pressure
Loneliness
Feeling like you Sibling rivalry
don’t fit in
Low selfesteem
Feeling
worthless
Parents arguing Having no one
to talk to
Having no
hobbies
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Worksheet 2
Stress
Activity: Read Sarina’s story below. Think about the feelings she might be experiencing and some of the
thoughts that might be triggering these feelings. How are these affecting the way she behaves? Imagine
you are in Sarina’s position. Think of at least one thought, one feeling and one behaviour and complete the
stress circle below. See 6.1 for full details.
Sarina is 13. She has always achieved high grades at school, is the
captain of the netball team and learns music in her spare time. She
lives with her parents who are very proud of her and encourage her
to do well. She also lives with her brother who thinks she is too
uptight. In the past few months Sarina has started to dread going to
school and is falling behind in her work. Exams are now two months
away and Sarina is getting more and more stressed. She has stopped
seeing her friends to concentrate on revision.
Discuss: Once the class have created Sarina’s stress circle ask them to feedback some of their ideas for
the different stages. Ask them to think about ways that Sarina might work to break down the stress
circle they have created by tackling particular thoughts or feelings before these affect her behaviour.
Teaching tip: As this is the first time that you are introducing the concept of a stress circle, it may be
difficult for the class to know how to break it down to prevent behaviour from escalating. If they
struggle with this you might want to explain that you will be learning more about thoughts, feelings
and behaviour in future sessions and will revisit Sarina’s stress circle at the end of the sessions and
hopefully by then they will have a better understanding of how each area contributes to stress.
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Lesson 3 –Understanding Thoughts
Time: 45 minutes
What you will need: Worksheet 3
Aim(s):
 To encourage young people to think about the importance of thoughts in intensifying stress.
 To explore a range of thinking errors which trigger negative thoughts.
 To explore the benefits of positive thinking styles.
Getting Started
Guide students through the What’s-Up ‘thoughts’ area (see 6.3 in the full guide for details of how to
do this).
Allow them approximately 10-15 minutes to look at all of the information contained within this area
and provide them with the opportunity to ask questions about what they have read.
Activity 1
Explain: We all have thoughts; some good and some bad but it is when our negative thoughts
overtake the positive ones and we begin to have them too often that we may begin to feel stressed
or worried.
There are lots of different reasons behind negative thoughts:
Core beliefs – these are common and rigid thoughts that people often hold about themselves, other
people and the world around them. These may be positive in nature but they can also be negative
and unhelpful.
Teaching tip: Provide the class with some examples of positive core beliefs…
I am kind
I am clever
I am good at
football
Discussion: Ask the class to come up with some other core beliefs. Encourage a mixture of positive
and negative core beliefs.
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Activity 2
Thinking errors – these occur when people only think in a negative way, use all or nothing thinking,
magnify negative events and predict failure. Thinking errors can be common in people with low selfesteem and little confidence as they may be prone to blaming themselves for all negative events
that occur in their life, regardless of whether not they were actually to blame.
Teaching tip: Provide the class with some examples of thinking errors…
Jack only asked me to go to the
prom with him because he
didn’t have anyone else to go
with…
I didn’t get picked for the
netball team this year so I
must be terrible at sports…
Discussion: Ask the class to provide some more examples of thinking errors.
Activity 3 – See Worksheet 3
Activity: Provide the class with an activity sheet (see worksheet 3). Ask them to look at the people
in each picture and write a list of three thoughts they think they may have about themselves in each
situation.
Discussion: Have a brief discussion about this and make any corrections where students provide
examples of feelings rather than thoughts.
Activity 4
Explain: Balanced thinking occurs when we actively challenge negative thoughts. It is a way of
exploring the evidence for and against a particular thought, allowing us to confirm or disprove it.
This encourages us to take a more balanced view on the world around us and eventually leads us to
change persistent negative thoughts into more positive and helpful thoughts.
Activity: Encourage the class to take part in balanced thinking exercises every time they experience
negative thoughts. Ask them to write down the evidence for and against the negative thought.
Were they really to blame for the negative thought? Perhaps run the thought past a friend to see if
they would feel the same in that situation.
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Worksheet 3
Thoughts
Activity: Look at the people in the pictures below. Write a list of 3 thoughts that you think these people
might have about themselves in these situations.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
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Lesson 4 – Understanding Feelings
Time: 45 minutes
What you will need: Worksheet 4
Aims:
 To explore different feelings associated with stress
 To understand how feelings can be triggered by negative thoughts
 To understand how feelings can have an impact on behaviour and further intensify stress.
Getting Started
Guide students through the What’s-Up ‘feelings’ area (see 6.5 in the full guide for details of how to
do this).
Allow them approximately 10-15 minutes to look at all of the information contained within this area
and provide them with the opportunity to ask questions about what they have read.
Activity 1
Explain: Learning to identify different feelings is really important in understanding how to control
them. Three of the most common and unpleasant feelings are stress, unhappiness and anger.
Unpleasant feelings don’t normally occur alone; they are often the result of negative thoughts.
Teaching Tip: Provide the class with some examples of negative thoughts which shape negative
feelings…
I’ve got no friends
Sad
I can never find anything that looks good on me
I just can’t keep up with my work
Angry
Stressed
Discussion: Can they think of any of their own Thought
Feeling combinations?
Activity 2 – See Worksheet 4
Explain: An important focus of the feelings part of the stress circle is ‘triggers’. Triggers might relate
to a certain person, place, activity or thought.
Activity: Ask the class to look back at the feeling/s they created for Sarina’s stress circle on
worksheet 2. Provide them with worksheet 4. They should imagine that they are in her position and
are feeling this way. Think of some of the thoughts that Sarina might have to make her feel like this.
After they have done this, ask them to compare their thoughts and feelings with a partner. Did they
think of similar thoughts and feelings or were they very different?
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Worksheet 4
Feelings
Activity: Look back at the feeling you created for Sarina’s stress circle. Imagine you are in her position and
are feeling this way. Think of some of the thoughts that Sarina might have to make her feel like this. After
you have done this, compare the thoughts and feelings you created with a partner. Did you think of similar
thoughts and feelings or were they very different?
I feel……………………………………………………………….
Because I think…
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Lesson 5 – Understanding Actions
Time: 45 minutes
What you will need: Access to the YouTube videos within the ‘de-stress’ page on the What’s-Up portal.
Aims:
 To explore different negative behaviours associated with stress.
 To explore different coping strategies for dealing with stressful situations.
 To encourage young people to develop their own personal coping styles to deal with stress.
Getting Started
Guide students through the What’s-Up ‘feelings’ area (see 6.5 in the full guide for details of how to
do this).
Allow them approximately 10-15 minutes to look at all of the information contained within this area
and provide them with the opportunity to ask questions about what they have read.
Activity 1
Explain: Often when people are feeling stressed or down, they may carry out certain behaviours in
an attempt to reduce stress and to make themselves feel better. We might avoid situations,
withdraw to a place of safety or comfort, or stop doing certain things altogether.
Discussion: Ask the class to discuss this topic in pairs. Can they think of a time when they coped
with a stressful event using a negative coping strategy? If not, can they think of an example of when
and how someone might act in a negative way to stress? Do they think this is helpful or unhelpful?
Why?
Activity 2
Explain: Different people often use different coping strategies to manage stress, depending on the
activities they like to do to relax.
Ask the class to watch the ‘healthy stress relief for teens’ YouTube video which can be found within
the ‘de-stress’ area of the stress page on the What’s-Up website.
Activity: Encourage the class to make a list of some activities that they like to do or would like to
try. Ask them to pick one from the list and try to do that activity next time they feel stressed.
Teaching Tip: You might want to suggest that they create their own stress circle by recording their
thoughts, feelings and actions as well as the technique they used to manage their issue and
whether or not they found this to be successful. Recording their experiences with different
techniques can help them to explore which techniques work best for managing stressful times.
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Lesson 6
Plenary Session
Time: 45 minutes
What you will need: Coloured pens, large sheets of paper (poster paper)
Aims:
 To explore the different activities within the interactive section of What’s-Up.
 To develop an understanding of the different functions of these activities and the potential
benefits.
 To encourage young people to take part in self-management of stress.
 To gain feedback on what young people have learnt about emotional wellbeing, stress and using
What’s-Up to self-manage any emotional or behavioural issues.
Plenary
Encourage the class to draw together everything they have learnt about emotional wellbeing, stress
and using What’s-Up as a form of self-management.
Discussion:
What have students learnt about the links between thoughts, feelings and actions in creating and
managing stress?
- You may want students to explain how the link between thoughts, feelings and action intensifies
stress in less than 50 words/in under a minute.
- Ask students to volunteer which strategies or activities they will use to help them relieve stress in
the future/make a list of the top three stress-busting strategies.
Activity 1 : You might want to revisit the stress circles that the class created for Sarina in lesson 2.
Ask students to think about how they might now break down her stress cycle now that they know a
bit more about how thoughts, feelings and behaviour can be linked.
Have the sessions changed their perspective on emotional wellbeing and mental health problems?
If so, how?
Have the sessions made young people more aware of how to deal with stress? Would they feel
more confident now in approaching someone to talk about stress? Have the sessions allowed them
to think about their own self-management techniques?
Do they feel that What’s-Up will be a useful tool to use in the future?
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Activity 2:
Create a poster to display around the school to highlight the importance of understanding the link
between thoughts, feelings and actions in managing stress, and highlighting different stress-busting
strategies.
Summary: Encourage young people to visit the website as many times as they like, both in and
outside of school. They may want to do this when they are feeling particularly stressed about
something and want to unwind and de-stress or they may simply want some information and
guidance on a particular issue.
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General Guidance on using What’s-Up
Table of Contents
1.
Summary of this guide ............................................................................................................................. 16
2.
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 16
3.
Aims of the Project................................................................................................................................... 16
4.
Overview of the Portal ............................................................................................................................. 17
5.
Confidentiality and Safeguarding............................................................................................................. 17
5.1.
Confidentiality ................................................................................................................................... 17
5.2.
Safeguarding...................................................................................................................................... 17
6.
Finding the Right Environment ................................................................................................................ 18
6.1.
7.
Guidelines for use.............................................................................................................................. 18
Introducing the Main Content Areas: A step-by-step guide.................................................................... 18
7.1.
Step 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 19
7.2.
Activity: Introducing Emotional Wellbeing ....................................................................................... 19
7.3.
Step 2: Exploring Different Content Areas ........................................................................................ 19
7.4.
Stress ................................................................................................................................................. 20
7.4.1.
Activity: Understanding Stress ................................................................................................... 20
7.4.2.
Exploring Stress .......................................................................................................................... 21
7.5.
Thoughts ............................................................................................................................................ 22
7.5.1.
Activity: Understanding how thoughts link to feelings and actions .......................................... 22
7.5.2.
Exploring Thoughts .................................................................................................................... 22
7.6.
Feelings.............................................................................................................................................. 24
7.6.1.
Activity: Understand Feelings .................................................................................................... 24
7.6.2.
Exploring feelings ....................................................................................................................... 24
7.7.
Actions ............................................................................................................................................... 25
7.7.1.
Activity: Understanding Actions ................................................................................................ 25
7.7.2.
Exploring actions ........................................................................................................................ 25
8.
More Info ................................................................................................................................................. 26
9.
What Next? .............................................................................................................................................. 26
10.
How can we support you? .................................................................................................................... 26
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1. Summary of this guide
This guide provides an introduction to the What’s-Up portal, how to access and use the portal, as well as detailed
guidance of the various sections within the site. A lesson plan suitable for school PSHE lessons as well as copies of
activities and worksheets also accompany this guide. This guide is to support the use of What’s-Up either in a
classroom / group setting or as a standalone. Pastoral staff working 1-1 with young people experiencing emotional
and behavioural difficulties should also refer to the additional information provided in the ‘What’s Up for Individual
Support’ document. An index at the end of this document provides useful short cuts to relevant information, and we
have also included an index of the portal to enable you to quickly find information in the portal.
2. Introduction
In an average secondary school approximately 10-20% (on average 150 pupils) aged 11-16 will be at risk of or
experiencing mental health issues that affect their emotions and behaviours to such an extent that their academic
achievement, attendance and later life course may be detrimentally affected. What’s-up is a secure, interactive webbased portal designed to provide support and guidance with the aim of encouraging emotional wellbeing in young
people, particularly those experiencing stress, aggression, anxiety, or low mood. The portal is being developed as
part of a Department for Education funded project running until April 2015 and is being piloted across a number of
schools and youth centres in England. The portal provides:


A website with general information and psycho-education on ‘stress’, including how to understand and
manage stress and is aimed at all young people not just those experiencing emotional and behavioural
difficulties.
An interactive area where young people can log-in to access:
a) Content that will support and encourage young people to self-manage issues with emotions and
behaviours.
b) Additional functions that will support pastoral staff working on a one-to-one basis with vulnerable young
people.
3. Aims of the Project
The project aims to evaluate the provision of the portal in supporting:
a) Young people to become active participants in being aware of and managing their own
behaviour and emotions, and
b) Pastoral staff within schools and youth centres who are directly working on a one-to-one basis
with young people experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Our long-term aims for the project and the portal are to:


improve self-esteem and confidence in young people, as they will feel empowered and in
control of their own emotional wellbeing; and
improve school attendance and hence academic performance as a result of increased emotional
wellbeing.
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4. Overview of the Portal
(Please note: As What’s-Up is currently under development, some areas may not be accessible at present.)
The portal is hosted on the internet at this web address: https://whats-up.meganexus.com
The main website has been developed to educate, inform and guide all young people. Anyone can access the
different areas in the main website and there is no need to login to do this. The main website is framed around the
concept of ‘stress’ rather than ‘mental health conditions’. ‘Stress’ can manifest itself in different ways, such as
anxiousness, aggression, as well as issues such as self-harming and eating disorders. Hence, the term ‘stress’ is used
to encapsulate any emotional and behavioural difficulties that young people may be experiencing. The portal is
unable to deal directly with the cause of, or the manifestations of, the ‘stress’, but it does provide information and
advice on managing and lessening the stress it is causing. Furthermore, as described below, the interactive part of
the portal aims to address some of the causes of stress by supporting pastoral staff to explore more in-depth with
young people their issues around stress.
The remaining three content areas are designed to further educate and support young people to understand their
‘stress’ by recognising how thoughts, feelings, and actions link together. This relationship is the basic principle of
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT is a psychological approach that is frequently used to treat various mental
health conditions and attempts to teach people how to recognise the relationship between thoughts, feelings and
actions. What’s-Up is not a CBT programme, nor is it an alternative to therapy, nor does it aim to teach young
people how to use CBT. Instead, we have used these principles throughout the portal to try and encourage young
people to understand how their feelings and behaviours are linked to their thoughts.
In addition, the ‘more info’ section on the main website has links to other websites that support young people with
emotional and behavioural difficulties.
5. Confidentiality and Safeguarding
5.1. Confidentiality
Remind all young people that any aspect of the website that they access or any information that they
enter into the portal will remain private and will not be seen by anyone else. However, it is also
important to stress that teachers and other members of staff are available to discuss any concerns or
worries which may arise following the use of the website and this is very much in the hands of the
young person.
5.2. Safeguarding
Despite the confidential nature of the portal, it is also important to remain vigilant and aware of the possibility that
the use of the website may flag up potential safeguarding issues. If you are concerned about a particular student or
are informed of events which raise concerns in regards to safeguarding, it is important that these concerns are
discussed with the young person and then the teacher responsible for safeguarding within the school.
Exploring issues which relate to stress and emotional wellbeing may affect some young people more than others,
increasing the possibility that some young people may come to you with difficulties or concerns. If you feel a child is
vulnerable or requires addition support please follow the school’s usual safeguarding procedures and contact the
child protection lead within the school.
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Your organisation’s safeguarding lead is:
Name Click here to enter text.
Contact Number Click here to enter text.
6. Finding the Right Environment
It is important that all young people within your school or youth centre are introduced to What’s-Up so that the
portal becomes an accepted part of the curriculum. Ideally, the first time the portal is introduced will allow students
enough time and clear guidance so they can confidently explore the portal on their own.
6.1. Guidelines for use






In school, PSHE lessons are an ideal opportunity to introduce What’s-Up. Alternatively, you may want to
allocate several tutorial sessions to introduce What’s-Up.
We have produced some activity worksheets and lesson plans that may be useful for this purpose. These are
referred to throughout the guide.
Young people will need individual access to a computer.
The portal contains a number of videos so young people will need access to sound equipment, either via
computer speakers or using headphones. Headphones are preferable as this enables clips to listened to
privately. We anticipate that many young people routinely carry their own headphones. These videos are
freely available on YouTube, and as such we are unable to control the use of adverts and/or any other
content on YouTube.
Allocate enough time to go through the different areas of the portal and leave time for questions at the end.
The introduction session (steps 6.1 – 6.7) should take about 30 minutes.
Ideally, young people will be calm, quiet, free from distractions, and seated at their own computer before
you continue.
7. Introducing the Main Content Areas: A step-by-step guide
This section will provide you with some useful tips on introducing What’s-Up to young people for the first time. To
provide you with as much information as possible this guide will include:
 Teaching Tips
 Technical Tips
 Activities (with suggested lesson plans)
These tips are highlighted throughout the guide and should provide additional teaching and technical support to
staff members involved in the What’s-Up introduction sessions.
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7.1. Step 1: Introduction
When introducing the portal to young people for the first time you might want to say something like:
“I’m going to show you all a new website that the school/youth centre has access to that you
can use to help you if you feel stressed. You can use this website to learn more about stress and
it will also give you some useful tips on what to do if you are feeling stressed Everything you
read, watch and do on What’s-Up will be kept secret (private) unless of course someone
watches what you are doing on the website. There are lots of different activities which you can
try and also different video clips which might help you if you are feeling stressed, upset or angry.
After I have shown you the website and how it works you can look at it whenever you want, at
school or at home. If you do not want anyone to see what you are looking at there is a ‘hide’
button, which when you click on it will take you to straight to Google”
Give all students the What’s-Up web address:
https://whatsup.meganexus.com
Once everyone has successfully found the website you can then begin by guiding students through the different
areas.
Again, please stress confidentiality with a statement similar to:
“Everything you read, watch and do on What’s-Up will be kept private and confidential. No
one at school will have access to any information you look at or enter on the website.”
7.2. Activity: Introducing Emotional Wellbeing
See lesson plan 1 (page 2) for details of how to introduce emotional wellbeing within a classroom lesson.
7.3. Step 2: Exploring Different Content Areas
The main navigation tabs at the top of every page relate to the key components of CBT (cognitive-behavioural
therapy). The key topic areas are:




Stress
Feelings
Thoughts
Actions
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Each topic area is further divided into four sections to aid and encourage a deeper understanding of that topic. Click
on the different tabs to the left of each page to navigate around these sections.

What is stress? / How do you feel? / What do you think? / How do you act?
The first section in each topic area provides an introduction and how it may link to the other topic areas.

Understand: Stress / Feelings / Thoughts / Actions
The second section introduces young people to the ‘stress circle’ – a way of representing the relationship between
thoughts, feelings, and actions (see below for further information).

Hear from others
In the third section a range of YouTube video clips discuss the presentation, manifestation and management of
stress in young people. This section of What’s-Up also aims to normalise the young person’s worries by introducing
them to individuals who may be experiencing similar difficulties.
Technical Tip: All videos in this section and across the portal have been taken from YouTube. Please advise
students that these can be viewed in YouTube or in a larger screen format to improve the quality. To do this,
click on the ‘full screen’ icon at the bottom right hand corner of each video.

Feel better / think better / de-stress
In the final section of each topic area the young person is provided with tips and advice on how to tackle upsetting
feelings, thoughts and behaviours. Video clips are also available to provide practical support and guidance and to
demonstrate particular techniques in action.
Details of the content in each topic area are given below.
7.4.
Stress
7.4.1.
Activity: Understanding Stress
See lesson plan 2 (pages 3) for details of how to introduce the concept of stress within a classroom lesson.
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7.4.2. Exploring Stress
Technical Tip: Click on the ‘stress’ tab at the top left-hand side of the page. From here the user can navigate
their way through the different sections of the stress page by clicking on the different links on the left hand
side of the page.
This should be the first area that students are directed to as it presents an overall picture of how young people might
experience stress. A visual tool that is used throughout the portal to understand stress, thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours is introduced here and is referred to as the ‘stress circle’.
What is stress?
A ‘pop’ list of the top 10 causes of stress as well as two video clips which discuss
stress from the perspective of other young people.
Understand stress
This page introduces the visual concept of the ‘stress circle’ and explains in more
detail how all three components link together to heighten stress. A video clip from
the BBC gives a good overview of how our bodies react to stress.
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Hear from others
This page is made up of four YouTube clips of young people talking about:
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Clip 1: Family-related stress (parental separation) (2:08)
Clip 2: Exam stress (1:04)
Clip 3: Social status and teen stress (4:54)
Clip 4: A short video exploring anxiety in young people (5:08)
Technical Tip: As this is the first time that they will have access to the YouTube clips, check that all students
understand how these videos work, how to maximise the screen size and also whether the volume is working
on each computer.
De-stress
Links to other parts of the website and two YouTube clips:


Clip 1: How one young person de-stresses (1:35)
Clip 2: Ideas from others about de-stressing (3: 56)
7.5. Thoughts
7.5.1.
Activity: Understanding how thoughts link to feelings and actions
See lesson plan 3 (pages 7-8) and attached worksheet (page 9) for details of how to introduce the concept of
thoughts within a classroom lesson.
7.5.2. Exploring Thoughts
Technical Tip: Click on the ‘thoughts’ tab at the top of any What’s-Up page. From here the user can click on
the links down the left-hand side of the page to access the different content areas:
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What do you think?
This page provides an introduction on the importance of thoughts and the different ways that thoughts can shape
the way we feel and subsequently influence our behaviour. Three YouTube clips that explore:
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Clip 1: Family-related stress (3:36)
Clip 2: Dealing with negative thoughts (2:23)
Clip 3: Positive and negative thinking (2:00)
Understand thoughts
This page provides some psychological terms for the different thought processes that
people use in guiding their feelings and actions such as:


Core beliefs
Thinking errors
It also explores more positive techniques used to regulate helpful thinking styles such as:

Balanced thinking
Hear from others
This page is made up of four YouTube video clips with young people talking about:
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Clip 1: Coping with bullying (2:46)
Clip 2: How to overcome anxiety (3:57)
Clip 3: Social status and teen stress (4:55)
Clip 4: Overcoming low self-esteem (2:58)
Think better
On this page students are provided with a number of techniques that have been found to be useful in challenging
negative thoughts. Three YouTube video clips that explore:
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Clip 1: Dealing with depression (2:59)
Clip 2: How to overcome anxiety (3:57)
Clip 3: Replace negative thoughts with positive ones (1:00)
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7.6. Feelings
7.6.1. Activity: Understand Feelings
See lesson plan 4 (pages 10) and attached worksheet (page 11) for details of how to introduce the concept of
feelings within a classroom lesson.
7.6.2. Exploring feelings
Technical Tip: Click on the ‘feelings’ tab at the top of any What’s-Up page. From here the user can click on the
links down the left-hand side of the page to access the different content areas:
How do you feel?
This page provides examples of different feelings that young people might experience, the length of time these
feelings might last as well as the different ways that people may label their feelings. Two YouTube videos:
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Clip 1: Cyber bullying – tell someone (5:24)
Clip 2: How I felt when my parents split (3:44)
Understand feelings
This page refers to the ‘feelings’ component of the stress circle in more detail as well as the importance of triggers in
intensifying certain feelings.
Hear from others
Four YouTube clips with young people discussing different feelings:
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Clip 1: Young person talking about self-harming (3:20)
Clip 2: Parents, divorce and funky family stuff (2:15)
Clip 3: Understanding depression (2:14)
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Clip 4: Talk about depression (1:31)
Feel better
This page includes suggested activities for young people to try when they experience unwanted, negative or
upsetting feelings. These range from practical techniques such as having a bath and exercising to more psychological
techniques such as exploration of the feelings in more detail and linking them to particular triggers. Three YouTube
clips of young people discussing:
 Clip 1: Exams and anxiety (1:33)
 Clip 2: Fight depression (1:57)
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Clip 3: How to handle challenging people (3:14)
7.7. Actions
7.7.1.
Activity: Understanding Actions
See lesson plan 5 (pages 12) for details on how to introduce the concept of actions within a PSHE lesson
7.7.2. Exploring actions
Technical Tip: Click on the ‘actions’ tab at the top of any What’s-Up page. From here the user can click on the
links down the left-hand side of the page to access the different content areas:
How do you act?
This page draws together the previous sections as it encourages the young person to reflect on how thoughts and
feelings ultimately shape our behaviour. Two YouTube videos:
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Clip 1: Panic attacks (2:06)
Clip 2: Understanding teen anger (3:36)
Understanding actions
This page focuses on the last stage of the stress cycle. By this point students should have an understanding of the
different ways (positive and negative) that thoughts and feelings can be influenced by each other.
Students are provided with a number of examples which demonstrate how negative feelings can lead to negative
behaviours such as avoiding certain activities or missing particular lessons at school.
Hear from others
This page has four YouTube clips that explore how people manage their actions in different ways:
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Clip 1: General mental health (1:58)
Clip 2: Anger management (4:58)
Clip 3: Families and eating disorders (6:12)
Clip 4: Dealing with anger (1:32)
De-stress
This page has several videos that show different coping strategies for managing
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stress. Not all strategies will work for every young person, it is hoped that they will find a particular technique
helpful and go on to use that in and outside of school.
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Clip 1: Mindfulness (3:45)
Clip 2: Boost your mental health (2:01)
Clip 3: Exercise for stress relief (2:55)
Clip 4: Facing your fears (0:52)
Clip 5: Talk to someone (2:01)
Clip 6: Stay positive (1:10)
Clip 7: Healthy tips for healthy brains (2:47)
8. More Info
Once you have guided young people through the sections on the What’s-Up main website draw their attention to
the final tab along the top of the screen called ‘more info’. This page provides a list of external resources which can
be accessed at any time if a young person feels they would like further support or information.
9. What Next?
After you have taken the time to explain What’s-Up and its different areas, allow young people time to explore the
different pages and the video clips in the portal. Before ending the What’s-Up introduction session allow 5 minutes
to answer any queries that young people have about the portal.
Please also remind the young people that they can access What’s-Up during their free time at school, as well as
outside of school, at home or on their mobile phones and as many times as they like.
10. How can we support you?
We hope this guide has been helpful in introducing What’s-Up to young people. However, if you have any further
questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us on 020 7443 2218 or at whatsup@annafreud.org
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