High School Lesson 4: The mind

Suggested script

The scripts for each lesson are designed to guide you (the teacher or presenter) through the material; they do not need to be read verbatim. We encourage you to adapt the scripts by using examples that are most relevant to your students. Links to an abbreviated version of this content, all videos, webpages, worksheets, and other materials mentioned in this lesson are available online.

Introduction (4–5 minutes)

Welcome and recap

Welcome back, everyone! Today, we have our fourth lesson in “BAM!” We’re going to talk about the third component of stress management: the mind. In our everyday lives, it is not always easy to tell if different thoughts we might have are accurate and if they are aligned with our values. Before we begin today’s lesson, let’s review what “BAM” stands for:

What does the B stand for? [Wait for student responses.] Yes, how our bodies react.
What is the A? [Wait for student responses.] That’s right, the impact of our actions when we are anxious, stressed, or irritated.

That brings us to today’s lesson on “M,” the mind.

What do we remember about the ways stress affects our body?

[Wait for responses that include increased breathing and heart rate, tense body, sweat, feeling tired, and changes in appetite. If students do not respond, remind them of these effects.]

How do we sometimes act in response to stress?

[Wait for responses that include withdrawing from situations or people; avoiding tasks that need to be done; yelling; feeling “on edge,” angry, or sad feelings; exercising; talking to friends; etc. If students do not respond, remind them of these responses.]

We have learned a lot so far! Who remembers the two magic words from our second lesson?

[Wait for students to respond.]

Yes, “Just Breathe!”

Let’s take a moment to breathe in for 4 seconds [breathe in with students], hold it for 4 seconds [hold breath with students], and exhale for 6 seconds [exhale with students]. [Students should be told that if they feel uncomfortable at any point, they can just sit quietly and not do the exercise.]

Let’s do it one more time. [Lead students through the exercise once more for practice.]

I hope you have been able to use this exercise when you feel stressed.

Today’s lesson is going to be focused on our minds. The mind is a very powerful thing. We know that an important part of being resilient is something we call “self-efficacy.” This means we have the belief that, while we can’t control everything in our lives, there are a lot of situations in which we can take control and make choices that reflect what matters most to us. Even when the world around us seems out of control, like when we hear about or experience social injustice and economic hardship, or we face difficult losses, we can still control our response to those terrible circumstances. We can advocate for what we believe in by using our personal values to inform what we do, or which causes matter to us. We can also pay tribute to someone very important in our lives but who may be gone.

Having a self-efficacy mindset helps us persevere during difficult times. To develop that mindset, it can be helpful to better understand how our minds work.

When we get stressed, nervous, irritable, or sad, our minds can come up with thoughts that can make us feel worse. The thoughts we have about ourselves and our situations are called “self-talk.” Self-talk is what we say to ourselves in our minds. It can be positive, neutral, or negative.

What kind of thoughts are you having right now? It could be about what you’re having/had for lunch, what you’re doing after school, a grade you got back that you didn’t like, or questions you have about why we are even talking about this today.

Thoughts can be about little things like lunch or something bigger like grades, a breakup, or a situation at home.

A thought is just a thought, which means it’s not always true or realistic.

Worksheet activity (3–5 minutes)

Let’s think more about self-talk as we look at these worksheets on thought habits.

[Distribute or project the worksheets.]

We all have different self-talk and thinking habits. It helps to be aware of our thoughts because sometimes they get in our way when they become a habit.

Let’s take a look at these nine thinking habits. As we go through them, I want you to reflect on how frequently you fall into these habits. Put one checkmark next to the habits you sometimes fall into, two checks if you fall into the habit a moderate amount of time, and three checks if a thinking habit describes how your mind typically works. Keep your answers to yourself and try to mark them as honestly as possible.

[Read aloud the nine thinking habits.]

[Option: Invite students to share personal examples related to the nine thinking habits.]

Now let’s look at the challenge questions worksheet. These are great questions to ask ourselves when we fall into a thinking habit that can be harmful. This helps us with our positive self-talk so we can build ourselves up to be the best we can be.

[Using the page that poses challenge questions, direct students to consider challenge questions to combat their thought habits (e.g., catastrophizing, fortune-telling, etc.).]

An example of an “I can’t” habit would be saying, “I am terrible at math.” If this was (or is) a thought you have, how would you challenge it?

[Allow students to respond with challenging questions. Feel free to use your example here in place of the math example.]

Those are great challenge questions! I could say, “I’ve passed math before, and I can do it again” or “Learning to solve mathematical problems is a skill and I can strengthen my math skills with practice and coaching.” These are all great examples of positive self-talk.

The great thing about self-talk is that we have the power to change our thoughts. Something helpful when looking at our self-talk is to ask ourselves, “What would I tell my friend who is thinking the same thing?” We are often much harder on ourselves than we are with people we care about.

Thoughts are just thoughts, but sometimes they are unrealistic or unhelpful. By challenging those thoughts, we can redirect our minds to think more realistically and helpfully. For example, thinking that failing a test means you will never get into college or have a successful career is an unhelpful thought. Staying in this kind of thought pattern could stop you from chasing your dreams or following your values. You could challenge this thought by thinking of the failing grade as an opportunity to learn more about the subject, study more next time, or allow yourself to ask for help.

Another example could be thinking that asking a question in class would make all the other students think you’re dumb. We can challenge that thought by thinking, “Someone else probably has this question,” or, “What are the chances someone is focused on just my question?”

[Feel free to add your example(s) here.]

Let’s talk about number two on our nine thinking habits worksheet: Catastrophizing habits. Catastrophizing thoughts are often referred to as “what if” thoughts. “What if I fail?” “What if my friends never talk to me again?” “What if I get hurt?”

Take a minute to think about a catastrophic or other hurtful thought habit you have. Now think of one challenge question to counter this thought habit. Remember, sometimes a quick way to become more realistic is by asking yourself what you would tell a friend who is thinking the same thing.

[Give students 30–45 seconds to look at their worksheet and process.]

Who would like to share a challenge question?

[Wait for students to respond; this might take a minute. If they do share, acknowledge that by sharing a challenge question, they might help someone else in the class. If students do not want to share, you can offer an example of your own (e.g., “When I first started teaching, I was worried that students wouldn’t listen to what I was teaching, so I challenged that thought by reminding myself that students answer the questions I ask them.”)]

[Note: If students get stuck trying to challenge a particular thought, they can always question whether focusing significant attention on that thought is helping the student with their stress and/or letting them engage in their own valued actions, or if it is causing distress and/or holding them back from their own valued actions.]

Closing (2 minutes)

Summary

We know that society affects us in so many ways. We aren’t born with difficult thinking habits – we learn them from the people and experiences we encounter throughout our lives. The good news is that we never stop learning! So, we can also learn to notice and challenge those thinking patterns. And even if we can’t change our thoughts, we can notice that our thoughts are not always facts, and we can also choose to shift our attention away from our thoughts and toward our body (through breathing) and our actions.

We’ve learned so many coping skills through these lessons! You will move forward as the world continues to change and evolve around you. You are resilient and building even more resilience. You’ve learned “BAM!”: how your body, actions, and mind are connected. You now have tools that will help you through many situations. I encourage you to use them as you go through this school year and beyond. [At this point, time permitting, consider engaging in one or more of the optional activities below.]

Optional activity 1: Journal reflections

Assign students with a journal reflective activity.
Ask students to go back to their nine habits checklist and choose one or two that they would like to improve as they move forward into the future.
This assignment is designed to:
- Allow students to think about self-talk in a more meaningful way throughout the year beyond the time spent with these lessons.
- Provide students with ways they might challenge the negative or unhelpful thoughts that come up for them throughout the year.

Optional activity 2: Mind-body connections

Bring up on the screen the APA mind-body webpage: Stress and the body or APA Topics: Stress used in Lesson 2: The Body to remind them of this connection.
Scroll through the webpage and demonstrate the various areas where stressful thoughts (the mind) affect the body by addressing each area of the body and reading highlights from the text out loud.

Optional activity 3: Mind lesson

Ask students to think about the lesson on self-talk and then ask what self-talk they have become aware of in themselves.
Ask them to identify two ways they might challenge the negative or unhelpful thoughts.
Ask the class to think about how “BAM!” connects to their own experiences and lead a discussion on what they’ve learned and ways they are trying to put some of these things into practice in their daily lives.

See the full module document (PDF, 927KB)opens in new window, for a resource list for students who may need additional or outside help.

Lesson 4: The mind