Athena-Weston School District provided an opportunity for seventh through twelfth grade students to learn about mental health, the risks of substance abuse, and healthy lifestyles at the annual Mental Health Day on Friday, November 14th. Students were able to attend six sessions of 30 minutes each in various rooms at Weston-McEwen High School. The event was made possible through a grant of $1,750 from Lines for Life, Oregon’s home for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Topics included awareness of alcohol/drug/tobacco use, impacts of trauma, distracted driving, suicide and grief, sleep hygiene and more. The session about trauma emphasized that teenagers’ brains are more susceptible to trauma, but they can also recover more effectively from it. Sessions about substance abuse pointed out that one vape can equal 40 cigarettes and contain heavy metals and extremely poisonous chemicals. A session led by representatives from Yellowhawk Health touched on coping skills to lower stress, like doing art, listening to music or talking to someone.
Here are what students shared about the day:
Ross, 8th Grader at Weston Middle School, said he learned a lot of different things at the event, including how to take care of your body and your mental health. A stress-relieving technique he learned was box breathing, where you inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds and exhale for four seconds. Ross attended the Sleep Hygiene session, where he learned he is not getting enough sleep, like 60% of middle schoolers today.
Madi, 8th Grader at WMS, said she would encourage her classmates to attend the day. She learned that you get the best sleep when it’s really dark and people should put away phones/electronic devices an hour before they go to bed because light from them can cause your brain to not get enough melatonin.
Charlotte, WMHS Junior, said one of her takeaways from the day was how substances students may be using can affect them and how to protect classmates and friends from those. Getting mental health support early and talking to a trusted adult were helpful tips she learned about.
Megan, WMHS Junior, said she really enjoyed Mental Health Day. She thanked the speakers who shared their personal experiences, which is a hard thing to do, but helps students who are feeling the same way. “Everybody who came gave a very detailed presentation and every single person found a way to touch our hearts.”
AWSD thanks the many speakers from these organizations:
CHI St. Anthony Hospital
Community Counseling Solutions (CCS)
COPES
Eastern Oregon Trauma Center
IMESD School Safety and Prevention
ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation)
Sparrow Services
Umatilla County Health
Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center
Individuals impacted by suicide
Charissa Hixenbaugh, Counselor at Weston Middle School, coordinated Mental Health Day and said, “The day opened up conversations about grief, anger, family communication, self-truth, and many others. Learning about ourselves and how to handle life situations can be very powerful.”
Here are important numbers for a mental health emergency:
988 - CALL
741 - TEXT
