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Purpose: With this activity, the focus is to show the pariticipants the importance of how negative/hurtful words can affect others and when it comes to the time to apologize for those hurtful words, it does not always fully heal the pain the person endured during that time. It teaches the youth that if they are to continue to use these hurtful words that they will continue to support the stigma around mental illness. With this activity though, it gives the participants the opportunity to learn about how positive words can make a person feel better, and although saying the positive words after saying the hurtful words may not fully heal the hurt, it can make the person feel better.
Age: 12 years old and older.
Time length: 20 to 30 minutes
Environment: Is to be done within a classroom setting.
Broken Heart
Preparation: For this activity, all that is needed is 1 paper heart and tape.
Instructions: Start by showing the students the heart. Ask for a volunteer to come up and rip a piece of the heart every time they hear something that should not be said to someone with a mental health issue Tell the students to raise their hand if they can think of something that you shouldn’t say to someone living with a mental health issue. Now have them think of words or sayings that should be said to someone with a mental health issue. As they say the good things that should be said have the volunteer tape the ripped pieces of the heart back together. Ask the students if they think the heart is now fixed. Then tell them that there are still scars left from the things that should not have been said to the person with the mental health issue.
Discussion Questions:
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How did you feel knowing you couldn't fully repair the heart?
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How do you think a person who is living with a mental illness feels when going through the stigma and discrimination associated with that mental illness?
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