Fight Kits

-
At a play a few of our youth were in

  This month I got the pleasure to help lead and participate in a girls-only event. The plan was for these young ladies to create “Fight Kits”. No, not a UFC training kit but a mental health first aid kit. Young people aged 15 to 24 are more likely to experience mental illness or disorders than any other age group and 70% of these mental health issues began during childhood or adolescence. I was very excited to not only engage in conversations regarding mental health but to also share my journey with an anxiety disorder to some of the youth. Mental health can be a tough subject to talk about and not everyone understands it. However, I think it should be talked about and shared because so many people, including youth, struggle with these issues on a daily basis, sometimes with no one to speak too about it.

  When someone is in a state of a panic attack, dealing with suicidal thoughts or eating disorders, your brain can become so debilitating your thinking can get out of sorts. This has led to the idea behind a fight kit - something the girls can make and load with positive, encouraging and helpful tools to get through their day. We want to foster positive mental health.

  The Public Health Agency of Canada describes positive mental health as “the capacity of each and all of us to feel, think and act in ways that enhance our ability to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face.” The kit includes a list of twenty activities to do when you are anxious, angry, depressed, lonely or even just bored. Some of mine that I included was playing guitar, going for a walk, calling a friend or doing some yoga. We also included lists of people who love us and our favourite uplifting quotes. It was encouraging to see how excited these girls were over something so simple. We filled the bags with journals, our favourite tea, snacks and pictures of our friends and family. This kit opened up meaningful conversations about mental health. Many were excited and looked forward to having a tangible tool they can take out of their closet and use in times of need. What are your thoughts on a fight kit? What would you put in yours?

- Savannah Deepwell

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changing Seasons

-
Image
As we move into the fall, we move into a new phase for the Langley Youth Unlimited team. This past winter saw a significant decrease in our funding. This led to a shift in staffing hours and caused us to refocus. As we took into account staff hours and the finances available to our team, we felt it was necessary to take a step back from how we had been doing things.

What does this mean?

As we go into the fall, we will be turning our focus primarily to our work in two Langley schools, working to build relationships with staff and students. By working in the schools, we are meeting youth where they are and entering into their day to day lives. This consistent presence helps to build up trust as these youth see our staff on a regular basis.

The relationships that begin at the school often grow into time outside of the school. Although these hangouts can often appear surface level and like way too much fun, they are actually necessary building blocks for deeper connections. In working si…
Read more

Renewed Vision

-
Image
One evening after putting my kids to bed and tidying the house I finally got a chance to sit. As I did, my vision suddenly turned into an array of bright shapes and colors, as if I was viewing the world through a kaleidoscope. I was able to make my way to bed and fall asleep. The next day everything seemed fine.Losing vision is a scary thing. I have an elderly neighbor I visit often who faces blindness more and more each day. It affects independence, safety and perception. While this incident only lasted a short time for me, his experience was echoing through my mind and I knew I should get things sorted out.
I checked in with my eye doctor. She told me, after an examination, that I’d experienced an ocular migraine. She informed me that unless I took steps to reduce my stress I’d likely have more frequent and severe reactions. My family doctor confirmed this and showed high concern for my health in this season. Stress is a normal part of life and while I work hard at caring for my phy…
Read more

The True Outcome

-
Image
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I drove.  I felt overwhelmed with grief over the news I’d received.  One of my former youth, who had beaten the odds, overcome their trauma, found Jesus and entered into ministry themselves, had suddenly done a major U-turn. They threw it all away in the pursuit of a newly developed passion. I questioned my purpose as one great success turned into a failure.  Pulling myself together, I came to our drop-in center to prepare for the 50-60 teenagers who would soon invade the space.  
As I walked in, one of my interns asked if I could help them with something.  Thinking it was a simple task, I agreed. It would help to get my mind off of things for a few minutes.  Instead, they pulled out a notebook and asked this question:
“What are some outcomes you’ve seen in youth you’ve shared the gospel with?”
I froze.  This intern wanted to hear victories. And there has been many ways in which Jesus has miraculously shown up - in dreams, transformations, softening h…
Read more