Building a Path to Wellbeing

YOUTH Building a Path to Wellbeing

By Angela Li | Photography by Amber Liao | Layout by Natalie So and Joanna Wu

Mental Health. Wellbeing. Why has CIS chosen these words to emphasise, and what do they mean? Why is it important for teenagers to obtain mental wellbeing, and how do they do so?

CIS o ers a supportive and compassionate counseling team in order to aid students in achieving wellbeing. Ms. Monica Chang, an accomplished counselor, and leader of the newly introduced Peer Mentorship Programme, shared her insights and her advice regarding mental health from her profound knowledge and experience.

“Wellbeing and positive psychology have always been models of what every school wants to attain,” states Ms. Chang when I asked her about why CIS is putting in an extra e ort in introducing new wellbeing programs this year. She revealed that a er the counsellors observed that it’s not just getting good grades that students essentially need to be happy or healthy, they came to the conclusion that a permanent counselling resource during school time is necessary to improve the wellbeing of the general community.Ms. Chang notes that CIS is currently attempting to approach mental health holistically: preparing students to facing an eclectic range of challenges, and aiding them to gain resilience to overcome barriers and cope with stress.

Metaphorically speaking, when “a bottle is at risk of falling from a table”, you can either prevent it from falling by putting the lid back on or catching it before it falls. is is important because a huge part of establishing mental wellbeing is preventing emotional breakdowns and immense stress. When things do go awry or if someone is in an “emotional hijack”, the counselors are a haven with open arms. e counsellors have also tried to promote this behavior during choices sessions, in which students are given an opportunity to talk and share their worries and thoughts with peers and teachers - allowing them to secure their bottle before it falls. “When you break your leg, But when it’s not physical and the wound is in the heart, people are more reluctant to be open to support and perceive it instead as ‘special treatment‘,” states Ms. Chang, who uses this analogy to describe the prejudice and stigma held towards mental health issues. As an attempt to resolve such mindsets, the counselors at CIS have tried to be closer connected to students through being more involved in school events, interacting with students on a day-to-day basis, encouraging students to visit them whenever they have an issue, or just being someone the students

can talk to. Ms. Chang hopes that students realize that It is 100% all right to seek help in regards to mental health, just as it is normal to seek help when you break a leg. Although the process of mending a broken leg takes time, eventually it will heal - it’s all about the willingness to begin the process.

“Everyone carries around an invisible backpack of stress constantly,” Ms. Chang points out when I mentioned that there are a lot of stressors for students these days. She believes that the perfectionist mindset of wanting the best score and being frequently under a competitive environment can make students think that their identities are tethered to numbers. Ms.Chang observes that students have a tendency to neglect the fact that grades are not the only way of showing that they have worth, leading them to believe that they are a disappointment if they do not achieve “good” grades, and that they don’t deserve the education they are receiving.

Ms. Chang reveals that the stress of assignments is o en the surface reason for why students approach support, but once one digs deeper, there is o en an underlying issues tying in with identity or selfesteem, which stress from school work only further exacerbates. Ms. Chang commented that an issue relating to identities is labelling. For example, some individuals are known for either being the smart one, the athletic one, the shy one, the funny ones, the list goes on. While labels can make us feel a sense of belonging and give us a sense of identity, they can also be burdening when individuals feel con ned to such labels. O en this causes students to disguise their emotions in an attempt to create a facade and t in with the titles, despite su ering from internal struggles.

students have a tendency to neglect the fact that grades are not the only way of showing that they have worth