Energizer Overwhelmed

60 min. without dissemination

For the first, broader version of this module visit: http://startnow-learning.eu/home/no-udo-not-need-that/

to get familiar with what depression is; to distinguish feeling of being depressed from actual disease; to recognize factors and symptoms of depression; to get more involved and aware in taking care of own mental health; to be ready to give and get support needed in fighting depression; to boost creativity and group work

20 min.

any Ishoe boxes, bags, balloons or other items that are difficult to hold with following labels sticked/written on them: feeling lonely, can’t have fun with my friends, feeling isolated, feeling anxious or afraid feel sad all of the time, being bullied, can’t sleep, can’t get out of bed, feeling no-one takes you seriously, break up of a relationship, feeling rejected, under-achieving, feeling you can never do anything right, the pressure to always do well, loneliness, feeling constantly judged by others, lack of family support, feeling totally helpless

The facilitator asks for a volunteer from the group. When they have a person, they load up the volunteer with as many shoe boxes or balloons as they can carry and then add some more. Each shoe box should be labelled with one of the many symptoms or feelings associated with depression. In this moment the facilitator can ask the group what do they think this person represents? They should also encourage participants to read out the labels on the boxes/ballons.

The facilitator follows the answers by saying that when people are trying to help someone who is depressed, there are some common things they say. Many people will tell someone who is feeling depressed or hopeless not to worry, things will get better etc.Next the facilitator asks another person to tell the volunteer not to worry about their load. Ask the volunteer does that help? Can they pull themselves away from the shoe boxes?Sometimes people will tell someone who is feeling depressed to concentrate on their work, studies, or throw themselves into another activity to help them feel better. Another participant can ask the volunteer to concentrate on something else. Does it help? It might temporarily but does not help depression in the longer term. The facilitator goes around the group and asks for positive ways to support someone who is feeling depressed. Each time someone makes a suggestion that will be constructive and lightening the load, the facilitator takes a shoe box/ballons away until as many shoe boxes as possible have been removed.Next the facilitator can ask the rest of participants if the lack of „boxes” =problems mean that the person doesn’ t have depression anymore. If necessary the clarification that depression is an illness and takes time and medical support to feel better should be done.

At the end the facilitator emphasizes that even if we are not doctors, there are things we can do to show our support, and asks participants for their ideas (for example: asking the person if there is anything you can do to help, offer support by listening carefully, invite the person to join you in activities that you know he or she used to enjoy, take comments about suicide seriously - seek professional advice, encourage the person to make an appointment with a doctor, encourage the person to try relaxation methods such as deep breathing, walking or other exercise etc.)

Hints for The Facilitator: * If you don’ t have enough shoe boxes, you could use bags stuffed with newspaper, or you could use things that are in the room, such as a pile of books, or bags and coats. * Listen carefully to what the group say - give feedback, collect their thoughts, ask about more ideas.