Year 8 · RSHE (PSHE) · beta

Mental health: How can I support my mental health?

This unit explores strategies for supporting mental health and wellbeing. Pupils learn how talking helps mental health, understand factors that influence it, develop skills for managing emotions, and practise calming and relaxation techniques to build resilience.

This is an attributed Oak National Academy lesson sequence, not a completed or academically approved DASKEREL course. Supporting transcripts may depend on video, images, practical equipment or teacher explanation. Follow each lesson’s supervision guidance. For religious education and RSHE, follow the school’s syllabus, policy and safeguarding procedures.

Prior knowledge

  • Pupils should understand from Year 7 that everyone experiences different emotions and that worrying or feeling down are normal responses that can affect anyone at different times.
  • Pupils should be familiar with talking about feelings using appropriate vocabulary from previous units, and recognise that discussing emotions with trusted people can help manage them.
  • Pupils should know about common mental health concerns such as anxiety and stress, and understand that seeking support from adults or professionals is important and helpful.

Source curriculum references

  • How to talk about their emotions accurately and sensitively, using appropriate vocabulary.
  • The benefits and importance of physical activity, sleep, time outdoors, community participation and volunteering or acts of kindness for mental wellbeing and happiness.
  • That happiness is linked to being connected to others.
  • That worrying and feeling down are normal, can affect everyone at different times and are not in themselves a sign of a mental health condition.
  • That managing worry and feeling down can be helped by seeing them as normal.
  • Characteristics of common types of mental ill health (e.g. anxiety and depression).
  • How to seek help via local third sector partners which may have specialist services.
  • Skills to support self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making, as well as skills to recognise and manage peer pressure.

Oak source metadata. DASKEREL has not independently verified school-level coverage.

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