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Diary entries: what helped?

Three adolescents read from their diaries about which skills and tools helped them.
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SPEAKER 1: 20th of April, dear diary, guess what? We talked about gay marriage again in school, and this time I thought I had to say something. So I told them I have two mothers who have been together for 17 years, and that I’m very proud of them. First, Anne Elise made a stupid joke, but I didn’t react to it at all. And after that, it was just nice to talk about it. Everyone was very interested, and they only thought it was good that I shared it with them. I seriously never thought that I would talk about my parents, and then my classmates would react like this.
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SPEAKER 2: 28th, February, man, I’ve had a stressful day. I was cycling home when those boys were chasing me again. They almost pushed me off my bike again, and I was literally so scared they would hit me or something. But suddenly a car stopped, and Mr. Jones my maths teacher stepped out. He said he wanted to ask me something about my essay, but then when the others had left he said he knew they always pick on me and he was going to help me. He gave me a ride home, and together, we told my parents about the bullying. And we’ve decided I’m going to change to a different school at the other end of town.
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I’ll never have to cycle home with those guys ever again. I’m so, so happy.
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SPEAKER 3: 12th of December, mum and dad are fighting again today. I really can’t handle it anymore. Grandpa asked if I wanted to go fishing with him, and when I told him my parents were fighting again, he asked if my mum and I wanted stay at his home until dad gets the keys to his new house. He said he’ll take me to school by car. I’m really excited. He also said that he needed my help with his car, so we’re going to check out the engine together.

You have just learned about the skills and tools that can increase your resilience. In this video, three young people read from their diaries again. This time it about which skills and tools helped them deal with their negative experience.

Which character traits, skills and tools have helped you in negative events? Please, feel free to share this with other learners and learn from each other.

This article is from the free online

Young People and Mental Health

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

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