Student Help Desk Portal

A Starting Place for Students and Families

Online learning may be an option for students who are experiencing mental health problems and are seeking different strategies for their learning.

• The flexible nature of our courses allows students to work from locations that are safe and comfortable.
• Support from our professional educators is personalized to each learner’s individual needs and delivered in a private, confidential way.
• Our experienced team of student support teachers understand mental health and are trained to help identify and address learning challenges.

Our mental health is as important as our physical health. We only have one brain and one body, so its our job to keep it running in the best way we can by paying attention to and working to improve our mental and physical health.

- teenmentalhealth.org

Anxiety is something that affects many of our daily lives, and this is completely normal.  However, anxiety can become difficult to deal with when it starts to affect your everyday life in negative ways.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Anxiety is normal, it’s a part of life and it comes and goes – it helps us to survive and avoid dangerous situations.
• When anxiety, worries or fears interfere with our daily life (continuously over a long period of time) it can become a problem – if it’s a really big problem it may be necessary to talk with a health professional about it.
• Learning and using strategies to help us relax and be mindful can help us learn to cope when difficult situations arise. It’s better to help our children and ourselves learn to deal with anxiety, rather than avoid unknown situations.
• Practicing mindfulness is great for ALL people, regardless of age, anxiety or stress levels. It’s a great way to spend a break, start the morning, or relax before bed. Many teachers use mindfulness activities in their classrooms throughout the day.  Mindfulness is about focusing on what is important right now, and allowing other thoughts, worries and stressors to leave our mind for later, so that we can be calm and enjoy the present moment, on our own or with others. There’s a lot more out there, and people can be mindful in different ways. Colouring, meditating, cooking could all be ways to practice mindfulness – it is not just about yoga.

Anxiety affects my life and the lives of my loved ones, but luckily there are many resources available now to help us manage it from day to day.

Resources

A number of resources have been recommended by the Sun West School Division’s Positive Mental Health Committee and we would like to share them with you and your family.

We are committed to working with students and families to minimize stressors. Together, we can help make the online learning experience a positive one for all learners. Please reach out to our teachers for more information on strategies for success.

Apps

Mind Shift – This is a free app that provides information, solutions, inspiration, and activities to help you be mindful.  I have this on my phone and it is super helpful.

Guided Mind – This is a meditation app that I use all of the time.

I hope this information is helpful to those of you who are taking the time to read it.  Don’t hesitate to reach out to your DLC teachers to talk and find support!