New animated mental health videos tackle Healthy vs. Unhealthy Stress and Health & Wellness
The next two in our series of six animated, multilingual mental health videos are now available for students, families and educators.
Healthy vs Unhealthy Stress defines the different types of stresses – explaining that some kinds of stress are actually ok, while others can have negative impacts on well-being. The video outlines the potential harms of unhealthy stress and healthy strategies to manage it.
Health & Wellness explains what physical and mental wellness is and how best to takes steps – even small ones – toward achieving it.
The latest videos follow last month’s release of two others – Navigating Life Changes and Digital Stress.
The topics addressed in the short videos were identified by our district’s school psychologists and counsellors as challenges they commonly see students of all ages face. They are intended to start important conversations around mental health and support and provide resources to students and families. Resources are also being provided to teachers, who are encouraged to watch them with their classes.
“It’s an ongoing priority in our district to ensure students and families have the healthy resources and strategies they need so they can better cope with any wellness challenges that may arise,” said Surrey Board of Education chair Laurie Larsen. “We need to have open and honest conversations about mental health and we hope these videos help to reduce the stigma, and assure our young people that what they are dealing with is manageable and that they are surrounded by support.”
Each of the videos is available in an elementary version for primary students and a secondary version for students in upper-intermediate and senior grades. All of the videos are also available in French, Punjabi, Arabic and Mandarin, and all have closed captioning.
"We recognize that mental health is just as important as physical health," said Supt. Mark Pearmain. "We want to normalize talking about mental health and provide students with the tools they require to navigate challenging situations and feelings. We hope that these videos will help our students feel more comfortable talking about their mental health and seeking the support they need."
The district will be launching two videos each month, with accompanying teacher resources. The first four new videos are available now, with the final two released next month.
The videos were developed in partnership with Fraser Health and the Ministry of Education and Child Care, which provided financial support for the project. The new series complements two previous mental health videos, You Are Not Alone and Coping with Stress & Anxiety.
The videos, in all languages and learning levels, are available to view HERE (under Video Resources).
