Session at Kannasa Mission School
An interactive session with high school and Higher Secondary students of Kannasa Mission School was conducted by Prof. Raghavan, on the topic “Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Literacies for Mental Health & Wellbeing”. This session covered topics discussed at Law academy but adapted so that school students can understand them. Three short films, the Recipe, the Verdict and The Destination were played for the students.
There was active participation by the students. A boy said that mental health is the “Well-being of the mind”. A girl said “We don’t speak much about depression” alluding to the fact there is limited conversation about topics around mental health. A couple of students drew comparisons between mental and physical illness which were mostly misconceptions, one student felt that physical illness is treatable while this is not the case with mental illness, she said “physical health can be changed by medicine while mental health cannot be changed by medicine”. Another student felt that physical illness happens from within [biological], which is not the case for mental illness. These misunderstandings were cleared in the session through discussion. The short films also generated discussion on mental health and the stigma around it. They talked about misconceptions about mental health and the need to eradicate them. Students also commented about the social stigma around mental health after watching the film. A boy after seeing the Verdict said, “the belief in society about mental illness is such that by supporting people with mental illness people tend to avoid them”. To this, a girl added, “A person having a mental illness is normally avoided, instead we need to support them”. Another girl said, “these short films helped her understand the difference between mental health and mental illness”. At the end of this discussion, the handbook and brochures were distributed to the students and teachers.
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