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BREAKING
THE SILENCE
Teaching the Next
Generation about
Mental Illness
National Alliance on
Mental Illness
A self-help organization dedicated
to improving the lives of people with
a serious mental illness
• support •education • advocacy
Overview of Talk
• Why is it vital to teach young people about
mental illness?
• What are the warning signs of mental
illness?
• What perpetuates stigma and what can we
do about it?
• How does “Breaking the Silence”
approach this challenging topic?
How common is mental illness in
children & adolescents?
• 1 in 12 children and adolescents have a mental illness
severe enough to require treatment
• Of those needing it less than 1 in 5 will receive treatment
• 1 in 5 adults will develop a mental illness at some point
in their lives
• Before the age of 14 half of those are who will go on to
develop a mental illness are already showing the early
warning signs
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death in teenagers
ages 15 to 24.
Surgeon General’s Report - 2001
Impact of Untreated Mental Illness
in the Classroom
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Inattentive students
Poor attendance
Bullying
Disruptive behavior
Weak social skills
Low achievement
• Mental illness affects
people from all walks
of life, regardless of
age, race, income,
religion, or education
• Mental illnesses are
no fault brain
disorders
Jessica Lynch
Miss New York State
2004
What are the warning signs of
mental illness?
• Dramatic changes in behavior
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Personality change
Mood swings
Inability to concentrate and cope
Bizarre behavior and speech
Reckless and uncontrolled behavior
• Duration - Persist over an extended
period of time
• Affect quality of life
– Friendships, social life
– Fearful, anxious, withdrawn
– No longer enjoy life
What are some of the mental
illnesses that affect young people?
• MOOD DISORDERS – depression, bipolar
disorder
• THOUGHT DISORDERS – schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder
• ANXIETY DISORDERS – examples:
phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic
disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder
• EATING DISORDERS – anorexia, bulimia
Severe mental illnesses are NOT:
• Anybody’s fault
• A character flaw
• Hopeless!
What causes mental illness?
• Often people who develop a mental
illness have a biological
predisposition to these disorders
• Environmental stressors may trigger
the onset of symptoms such as
complications during pregnancy,
viruses, starvation, disaster, traumatic
events, head injury
QUESTION #1
If you had someone in your
class or school that you
thought had a mental illness
what would you do?
Let’s talk about
Stigma
Stigma is destructive
• There are long delays—sometimes
decades—between the first onset of
symptoms and when people seek and
receive treatment
• Students often self-medicate with drugs
and alcohol instead of seeking treatment
Surgeon General’s Report, 2001
Stigma Learned at Early Age
• Children’s media
parallels adult
stereotypes
• Predominant image is
violent, fear producing
• Message is that
isolation not treatment
is the answer
Sheldon Silverstein, “Uncle
Shelby’s ABZ Book”
Are people with mental illness
really violent?
• People arrested multiple times for drunk
driving pose by far the greatest risk to
society
• Social risk factor, not mental illness,
predict violence
 Substance abuse
 Victims of violence in childhood
 Live in neighborhoods where
Jack Nicholson in the
movie The Shining
violence is common
• More likely to be victims of violence than
perpetrators – 1 out of 6
Mental illness as the
object of ridicule
• “Crazy for You” straitjacketed teddy bear
• Valentine’s Day gift from
Vermont Teddy Bear
Company
• Comes with
commitment papers
How does stigma affect someone
struggling with mental illness?
• Feelings of shame and isolation
• Loss of friends
• Future thrown off course –
education, profession, marriage
• Lowers self-esteem
How are families affected by
stigma?
• Feelings of secrecy and
shame
• Difficult to get family
member to accept treatment
• Family becomes isolated
from friends and extended
family
• NAMI study showed that
70% of their members’
marriages ended in divorce
How are siblings affected
by stigma?
• Loss of relationship
with brother or sister
• Am I responsible?
• Feelings of neglect
• Survivors guilt
• Will I get it?
• Fearful of
classmates and
friends finding out
QUESTION #2
What examples of stigma have
you seen in your class or
school? How did you
respond?
BREAKING THE SILENCE: Teaching the
Next Generation About Mental Illness
• For three grade levels: upper
elementary, middle school, and high
school
• Each grade level packet includes
lessons with fully scripted questions
and responses, posters, games and
definitions.
• User friendly and fully scripted
• Lessons are story based
• Emphasis on serious mental illness
Following up in the classroom
• Suggested crosscurricular activities
• Topics for further study
• Annotated book/video
lists
• Recommended websites
for further exploration of
the topic
Elementary School Fighting Stigma
Big Mouth Kevin
• Lisa’s brother who is seeing a psychiatrist is called “a
mental” by an insensitive classmate
Stay-at-Home Mondays
• Jessica, who suffers from depression is isolated and treated
abusively by her peers
Knock-Knock Who’s There?
• David suffers in silence as caretaker for his formerly fun
loving mom who is in a deep depression
Role plays
• Using brain puppets students practice listening and
responding empathetically – Listen, Care, Ask, Suggest
Middle School – Fighting Stigma
Stop Pretending Poems
• Poems illustrate the cruelty of other students
who make jokes about the author’s older
sister who has developed bipolar disorder.
Famous Persons with Mental Illness Word
Search
• Includes names such as Lincoln, Mark
Twain, and Monica Seles who suffered from
a mental illness
The Brain Game
• A board game in which teams compete in
answering review questions. Game cards
provide multiple examples of stigmatizing
and stigma busting behavior.
High School – Fighting Stigma
Ross Szabo – bipolar disorder
• Director of Youth Outreach for the
National Mental Health Awareness
Campaign
• Ross travels around the country to
college campuses educating people
about mental illness
• Featured in stories in Seventeen and
Parade magazines
Jessica Lynch - depression
• Miss NYS 2004
• Made mental illness her platform
Meera Popkin – schizophrenia
• Actress. Major roles in London and
Broadway productions
• Continued to pursue her musical theatre
career despite her illness
Ross Szabo
Lectures at colleges
Elementary School – Symptoms of
Mental Illness
Stay at Home Mondays –
depression
• Multiple moves caused Jessica to
withdraw socially
• Didn’t want to go to school
• Complained of aches and pains
• Suicidal thoughts
Knock-Knock Who’s There
• Mom’s dramatic change in
behavior
• Unable to cope with functions of
daily living
• Can’t get out of bed. Sleeps too
much.
Brains Can Get Sick Too poster
Middle School – Symptoms of
Mental Illness
A Mother’s Day Gift
• Story of a high school student’s struggle with
schizophrenia.
• Extreme anxiety
• Bizarre and obsessive behavior
• Deterioration in grooming
• Grades went down. Couldn’t concentrate.
• Delusions – The CIA was after him.
Nothing to Sneeze At
• Story of Emily’s resistance to acknowledging
her OCD
• Fear of contamination
• Counting rituals
• Excessive hand washing
• Late to school
The Brain Game
• Team competition questions include symptoms
High School – Symptoms of
Mental Illness
Schizophrenia as a Thought Disorder
• Delusions – paranoid thoughts
• Hallucinations – auditory & visual
• Excerpts from books, short stories
--Lori Schiller told by TV it was her
responsibility to save the world.
--Brandon Fitch felt covers on magazine
covers were jumping out a him
--Colors too intense to bear
--Couldn’t block out background noise
Are These the Normal Ups and Downs of
Adolescence or Mental Illness?
--Students asked to distinguish normal from
abnormal behavior
Warning signs of Mental Illness Poster
National Health Education Standards
support teaching about mental illness
STUDENTS WILL:
• Comprehend concepts related to health
promotion and disease prevention.
• Demonstrate the ability to access valid health
information and health promoting products and
services.
• Analyze the influence of culture, media and
technology and other factors on health.
• Demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal,
family, and community health.
How teachers can integrate mental
illness into the existing curriculum
• Teach tolerance toward
people with mental illness
as part of anti-bullying/
character education
curriculum
• Integrate into Substance
Abuse curriculum. At least
half the people with
mental illness selfmedicate by using drugs
or alcohol
What message do we want to
communicate to young people?
• Recognize the warning
signs of mental illness
• It is biology, not a character
flaw, that causes mental
illness
• Learn that mental illness is
treatable
• Fight the stigma that
surrounds mental illness
Parents & Teachers as Allies
A booklet written by NAMI to encourage parents and
teachers to work together for the child’s benefit when a
child has a mental illness. Here’s what teachers can do:
• Remove feelings of blame
• Acknowledge denial and anger as normal
• Communicate empathy and compassion for
the parent’s dilemma
• Destigmatize mental illness
• Emphasize the importance of early intervention and
treatment
• Be sensitive to parents with special needs and concerns
• Provide parents with resources
QUESTION #3
How do you intend to use or
encourage the use of Breaking
the Silence in your school?
Resources
• NAMI – www.nami.org 1-800-950-NAMI
• NAMI-NYS – www.naminys.org, 1-800950-FACT
• NAMI Queens/Nassau – www.namiqn.org
• NAMI-NYC Metro – www.naminyc.org –
Community of Care (multiple languages)
• 1-800-LifeNet; Spanish – 1-877-298-3373;
Asian languages – 1-877- 990-8585
Contact us for more information
BREAKING THE SILENCE
NAMI Queens/Nassau
1981 Marcus Avenue, C-117
Lake Success, NY 11042
(516) 326-0797 or (718) 347-7284
www.btslessonplans.org
HELP EDUCATE
YOUNG PEOPLE
ABOUT
MENTAL ILLNESS