Events &
Activities
Mental Health Literary Spotlight
Organize a section in your school library to spotlight books focusing on mental health
Students at a high school in Michigan started the campaign 13 Reasons Why NOT, and you can do it too!
Group activity to show we are all affected by mental health struggles.
Athletic activity designed to encourage students to rip the mental health stigma off of others.
Ted Talk & Mental Health Assembly
Be inspired, get creative, and give a Ted Talk on Mental Health!
Ask any sports team at your high school to get involved by hosting a game to raise awareness of the importance of mental health. Dunk it, spike it, kick it… The puns are endless, so are the sports.
Activities for Men’s Mental Health
A wide range of activities can help men to bond with each other and foster better mental health
Coordinate a lunchtime yoga session.
Invite students to participate in a mental health trivia quiz.
Pose a mental health related question on a whiteboard and invite students to answer.
Start a PSA video campaign at your high school.
Hold an open mic event for the school community to help raise awareness about mental health!
Create your own therapeutic essential oil mix.
Curate a wall of compliments with polaroids or sticky notes.
Create a keep-sake that to remind you of how awesome you are!
Create a small trinket that can bring you comfort when you’re not feeling your best.
A calming activity to step back from your worries
Create a tree of all the things you’re grateful for.
Create happy spaces in classrooms all around your school.
Create a place for you to store items that promote feelings of happiness and relaxation.
Make stress balls during a meeting to help release tension throughout the day.
Create a box filled with your favorite things for when you could use some comfort
The goal of this activity is to allow students the opportunity to define what love means to them.
Create a bulletin board where students can take and/or leave uplifting messages for eachother!
Turn your stress & worries into art with this therapeutic craft project!
March to the Beat of Your Own Drum
Create a drum circle to reduce anxiety and stress.
Reminder of resources when you need a little extra support.
An activity to show yourself some love.
Use your Headspace app to dive into relaxing a calm moments.
Quick and easy mindfulness activity to ground and recenter yourself when you feel overwhlemed.
Write a letter to yourself or a friend to open at a certain time.
Highlight and give surprises to students who are being kind and helping others.
Create a poster with positive sticky notes that others can add to.
Write uplifting cards to hand out.
Dig deep into your self perception and build up your peers.
Learn how to positively rephrase a statement about yourself or a situation.
Work together to determine which relationship traits are “healthy” or “unhealthy”.
Discuss how to cultivate a community full of empathy, respect and compassion.
Mildly active group activity that teaches the importance of prioritizing your mental health while juggling other commitments.
A fun and interactive icebreaker activity to help your club members learn more about each other!
This activity allows club members to explore each other’s personalities, interests and identities through Pinterest!
Showcase your appreciation for the important faculty members in your life by writing letters to them!
Spark a meaningful discussion around why you are a mental health advocate & cultivate your passion in an action-oriented manner.
Organize a mental health scavenger hunt at your school.
Organize an off campus trip to a local resource for mental health.
A bake fest of symbolism.
Curate a school art exhibit that showcases feelings and thoughts surrounding mental health.
Woof, Woof, Woof!
How to reach out and implement a mentorship program between high school and middle school students.
Host a walk or run in your community for mental health.
Organize a movie night and screen a movie that relates to a topic surrounding mental health.
Cultivate friendships in your club by sharing cultural dishes!
Disconnect to reconnect!
Organize a parent mental health night to help raise awareness about mental health and bridge the gap between generations!
Mental Health and the Outdoors
Staying inside has been an important sacrifice for many during the pandemic, but going outside is an important part of your mental health too.
Take some time with your club to envision how your BC2M club can make the biggest impact in mental health awareness in your community.
In need of a calming indoor activity? Folding origami might be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Making connections with new people can be hard, even when face-to-face interaction is possible. Use these icebreakers to welcome new peers into the BC2M community and reconnect with returning members.
Presentations
Healthy Relationships and Teen Dating Violence
In the U.S., 20 people experience domestic violence every minute. Learn more about healthy and unhealthy relationships, signs of abusive relationships, and the effects of domestic violence on mental health.
Check out this presentation that empowers club members while suggesting tools to advocate for specific change within their communities.
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 15-24 & the 2nd leading cause of death for those 10-14 & 25-34. Learn more about ways you can help prevent suicide and tips for communicating about suicide in person and online.
Initiating conversations about mental health with family members can feel especially difficult. This presentation provides guidance about this situation.
Sexual Assault and Mental Health
Learn more about what it means to give proper consent and how it affects our mental health when we are unable to do so.
Bullying affects the mental health of both the bullies and of the bullied. Learn more about the short and long term mental health outcomes of bullying here.
Learn about how to have empathy and compassion for those around you as well as for yourself.
Learn about toxic positivity, student opinions and experiences surrounding the topic, and ways to counteract this phenomenon.
Research has suggested that many media portrayals of mental illness are stereotypical, negative or totally wrong. Learn more about how the media perpetuates stigma in society.
This presentation is an ideal tool to use to kick off the school year as it provides an opportunity to educate new club members about the different types of stigma and how they can be fought against.
Academic Stress & Test Anxiety
Many teens struggle with academic stress and test anxiety. Learn more about sources of academic stress and test anxiety, their effects on mental health, and healthy coping strategies.
Societal Beauty Standards & Mental Health
Society’s beauty expectations can have a substantial consequences on one’s self
– esteem and mental health in general. Read on to learn more as well as some tips to counterbalance these negative effects.
Immigration, Citizenship, and Mental Health
The United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. Learn more about how the unique experience of migration can directly impact a person’s mental health experience.
Homelessness and Mental Illness
At any given moment, there are more people with chronic mental illness who experience homelessness than those who receive medical attention. Learn more about this very real relationship between homelessness and mental illness in the United States.
Social Media and Mental Health
Social media is not all bad. Learn about the positive and negative impacts that social media has had on the mental health of iGen (Gen Z).
Community Gun Violence & Mental Health
Mental illness is not the cause of community gun violence, but community gun violence can make an impact on our mental health status. Learn more about the connection between community gun violence and mental health here.
Institutional racism affects all BIPOC individuals, both in visible and invisible ways. Learn more about how this embedded disadvantage can affect your or your peers’ mental health.
Many of us are aware of the impending consequences of accelerating climate change, and feel powerless to do anything. This feeling is called climate anxiety, and while it can seem paralyzing, it doesn’t have to be. Learn how to navigate stress around climate change, and how you can be an activist and advocate for our environment.
Self care is talked about a lot in the media nowadays, but what really does it mean? Learn more about the proven benefits of practicing self – care.
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting 300 million people. By adulthood, 20% of teens will have experienced depression. Learn more about warning signs, symptoms, and effects of depression, as well as tips for helping a friend with depression.
Each year, 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males engage in self-injury. Learn more about the reasons people self-injure, the effects on mental health, tips for coping with self-injury urges, and ways to help a friend who self-injures.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide, affecting 1 in 13 globally. Learn more about signs and symptoms of different anxiety and anxiety-related disorders, tips for managing anxiety, and tools for helping a friend with an anxiety disorder.
Ever wonder what comes next after receiving a mental health diagnosis? This presentation covers the many different kinds of mental health treatment and which conditions they benefit most.
Substance-Use Disorders are not the product of poor life choices. They are a real mental health condition. Help to end the stigma by learning more about the facts and realities of substance-use disorders here.
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that is still often very misunderstood by those who have not experienced it. Learn more about the facts, signs, and symptoms of experiencing bipolar here.
ADHD can have very serious effects, yet it is often misunderstood and not taken seriously. Learn more about the realities of living with ADHD, common misconceptions, and current controversies.
Personality disorders affect 9% of U.S. adults, but they are often misunderstood and stigmatized. Learn more about personality, the 10 different personality disorders, and how to support those living with personality disorders.
Eating disorders (EDs) can negatively affect anyone, regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity. Eating disorders are characterized by both physical and psychological symptoms, and in serious cases can even result or hospitalization or death. Learn about the different types of EDs and how to seek help if you suspect you may be suffering from an ED.
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is challenging to understand if you have not experienced it yourself. There are many common misconceptions about what it is like to live with PTSD. Learn the key facts, statistics, and realities here.
LGBTQ people are 3x more likely to deal with mental health problems. Find out more.
Cultural Stigma: Asian American
A person’s cultural identity deeply influences their experiences with mental health in America. Learn more about the unique perspectives of the Asian American community.
Cultural Stigma: Hispanic + Latinx
The United States has the second-largest Hispanic population in the world after Mexico. Learn more about the unique experiences of the Hispanic + Latinx communities with mental health.
Standing Up and With Transgender Peers
Learn about how you can validate and support your trans peers as an ally.
Cultural Stigma: Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples
Learn about the unique stigma that native and indigenous peoples face in the U.S. and abroad.
Allyship Series 1: Understanding Privilege
Some people go through lives with hidden benefits, while others face additional challenges. Learn to recognize the privileges you have, and those that you and others don’t.
Allyship Series 2: Aspiring Allies Welcome
Learn to use your own privilege to advocate for and uplift other members of your community.
Allyship Series 3: Ally as an Action
What concrete action can you and others take to be supportive allies?
Racial Trauma Series 1: Nurturing a Positive Cultural Identity
Recognize, reflect, and celebrate your unique cultural identity
Racial Trauma Series 2: What is Racial Trauma?
How can the threat of discrimination based on one’s race or ethnicity impact their daily lives?
Racial Trauma Series 3: How Does Trauma Affect the Body?
Trauma doesn’t only affect the way we think and feel, it can also affect our bodies.
Racial Trauma Series 4: Meaningful Resistance
Empower yourself to resist injustice through protesting, organizing, art, and more.
Masculinity & Men’s Mental Health
Traditional ideas about masculinity hurt everyone – regardless of their gender identity. Learn to unlearn these harmful standards and be yourself.
Middle Eastern Mental Health & Cultural Stigma
Learn about the unique experiences of the Middle-Eastern community in the lens of mental health and cultural stigma.