STRESSA Mental Health Lesson for 5th/6th Graders

By Miriam Fleck

Lesson Objectives:

Students will learn about the concept of stress.Students will learn how to identify stress within themselves, and how stress affects their bodies and decisions.Students will learn how to prevent stress from becoming overwhelming.Students will learn how to reduce stress with exercises they can utilize in various situations.

Sunshine State Standards: HE.5.B.3.5: Select a healthy option when making decisions for yourself and/or others. HE.6.C.1.2: Describe how the physical, mental/emotional, social, and intellectual dimensions of health are interrelated. HE.5.C.1.2: Explain the physical, mental/emotional, social, and intellectual dimensions of health. HE.5.P.1.2: Apply a variety of healthy practices and behaviors to maintain or improvepersonal health.

Necessary Equipment:ProjectorProjection ScreenLaptopPowerPoint SoftwareOptional: Flash drive

Procedures/Activities:Activities to reduce stress: Hand Alternations, Deep Breathing, Drawing With Your Nose: A Neck Tension Relieving Exercise, Reframing: How to Change Your Perception and Change Your Reaction.

Stress• Stress is a physiological response by the body

to a stimulus. In other words, stress is the strain caused by our responses to pressure.

• Stress can be physical, emotional, or mental tension.

• Stress itself is not necessarily bad.

Are you stretched too far?

When we have stress (good or bad), we are like a rubber band being stretched out. Usually, we can

return to our normal shape once the stressor is relieved.

But what if we’re spread too thin?

Even if we don’t break, are we really the same as before?

How much stress can we really handle?

How does Stress affect us?• 2/3 of all Doctor visits are related to stress• Bad Habits (drugs, alcohol, tobacco)• Sleep Problems• Bullying/Fighting• Driving/Car Accidents• Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, migraines,

cancer, etc.• School/Work productivity• Poor Judgment/Decision-Making

STRESS ALL OVERStress affects every

bodily system•Cardiovascular •Nervous System•Respiratory•Digestive System•Muscular•Immune System•Endocrine•Lymphatic•Skeletal•Urinary

Stressor

Central Nervous System

CORTISOL

Readies our bodies for injury or infection

Helps us remember vital information

ADRENALIN

Increases heart rate

Gives us energy

HEARTheart rate increases due to adrenalin surge

LUNGSBreathing increases, oxygen is

delivered to muscles

STOMACHDigestion Slows/Stops

BLOODFlow to brain and muscles increase by 400%

MUSCLESTighten: Fight/Flight/Freeze

SKINPerspiration (sweat) rises

How do you feel when you’re stressed?

How do you deal with stress?

Ask yourself:• Where in my body am I

holding my stress?• How do I feel?• Are there stressors I can

eliminate (temporary or permanent)

• What are my choices?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

LEFT BRAIN vs. RIGHT BRAINWhen we’re stressed, the two hemispheres of our brain have

difficulty communicating with each other, but there are ways to get them talking again.

BREATHETaking deep breaths slows your heart rate, gives

mental clarity, releases body toxins, eases pain, aids digestion, improves physical stamina, improves blood

quality, and releases tension.

Stress can cause us to have tension in our necks. We can relieve this tension by

“tracing” a small infinity symbol with our nose!

Counting Backwards

REFRAMINGWhen we look at our problems in

a new way, it becomes easier to handle them.

Assessment: What is stress?Is stress good, bad, or neither?How does our body react to stress?What chemicals are released in our body when we feel stressed?How does our brain react to stress?What 3 things can help us to prevent stress?What can we do if we feel stressed? Name 3 activities we can do to reduce our stress in the moment.How does deep breathing help us to de-stress?What is reframing?How does reframing help us to de-stress?