Prioritizing Mental Health
The Please Stay Pledge is an interactive mental health resource created in 2020 to meet the moment and respond to the increased rates of depression, suicide, and anxiety disorders among young people. Please Stay is rooted in lived experience and supported by evidence-based resources. Chicago Public Schools is proud to partner with Born This Way Foundation and Find Your Anchor to bring the Please Stay Pledge to our district.
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Mental Well-Being
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
Mental Health Helps You:
- Cope with the stresses of life
- Be physically healthy
- Have healthy relationships
- Show kindness to yourself
- Validate your experiences
Finding Your Anchors
An anchor is anything that someone can hold on to for another day or another minute. It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. It can be a smile from a stranger, it can be steak tacos, it can be your band releasing a new album – literally anything and everything that you can enjoy or look forward to.
Some Anchors Include:
- Game nights
- Playing basketball
- A chocolate cake shake from Portillo’s
- Listening to music
- Pink Starbursts
- Lazy Sundays
- Spending time with your friends and family
Self-Care
Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, help and care for others, and do everything you need and want to accomplish in a day. Self-care is not synonymous with being selfish. Self-care is taking actions to improve your physical, mental, and emotional health. It is important for you to practice self-care in order to maintain healthy relationships with yourself and those around you.
Some self-care ideas: Enjoy your favorite movie, listen to music, unplug for the day, journal for five minutes, spend time outside, practice deep breathing, stay hydrated, and reach out to others when you need help.
Self-Care
Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, help and care for others, and do everything you need and want to accomplish in a day. Self-care is not synonymous with being selfish. Self-care is taking actions to improve your physical, mental, and emotional health. It is important for you to practice self-care in order to maintain healthy relationships with yourself and those around you.
Some self-care ideas: Enjoy your favorite movie, listen to music, unplug for the day, journal for five minutes, spend time outside, practice deep breathing, stay hydrated, and reach out to others when you need help.
Soul-Filling
A soul-filling act refers to a way that you help support the mental health of those around you. The size or amount of help is not as important as the gesture of genuinely wanting to help. The emphasis is on the ‘genuine’ part.
Some soul-filling act ideas: Cheer someone on, make someone laugh, plant a seed, use less plastic, and reach out to a friend.
Ready to Make Your Pledge?