Week 4:

Affirmations &
The Mental
Health Toolbox
 Greeting:
What is one thing about
yourself that you hope never
changes?
Reading:
Affirmations are positive words and
phrases you can say to yourself to steer
your mindset in a positive direction.

Writing your own affirmations about

yourself is a way you can “flip the script”
or “rewrite your narrative.”

The world around us may not always

reflect our true selvse back to us.
Affirmations can help remind you about
what strengths you have and what gifts
you bring into the world.
Activity:
Make a list of affirmations. You can write your own or
borrow some from the internet, here, here, or do your
own google search. Pick ones that WORK FOR YOU.

Include at least 10 affirmations in your list.

Affirmations are positive words or phrases that you can

say to yourself to steer your mind in a positive
Share out: What affirmations did
you find that you think your Crew
leader or Crewmates might find
useful?

Share in the chat or on the mic.

 Okay. But what if “positive
thinking” isn’t enough to help
me deal with life?
“ Make sure
you have
more tools in
your toolbox
in order to
make
affirmations a
more useful
tool.
 Sometimes your mindset is just fine and your circumstances
are crappy. It’s ok if you don’t have positive feelings about
your crappy circumstances. That doesn’t mean you have a bad
mindset.

If you are excessively beating yourself up in your head or

excessively blaming everyone else for your problems (where
excessive = any amount that is not productive) then mindset
adjustments are necessary.

But if genuinely crappy stuff is happening in your life, it’s ok

to not feel great about it.
Introducing:
The Mental
Health
Toolbox
What is in Your Mental Health Toolbox?
A mental health toolbox is where you keep all of
the coping strategies that can help you out when
you’re having a bad mental health day.
What are some coping strategies that work for
you? Share out in the chat or on the mic.
Coping Strategies in My Mental
Health Toolbox:
● Personal reflection ● Exercise
● Gratitude ● Professional Help
● Asking for feedback ● Medication
● Explore my hobbies ● Networking
● Talk therapy ● Join a group
● Journaling ● Self care
 What would these
strategies look like for
them to be helpful for
you?
Asking for Feedback
Explore Your Hobbies
 Journaling or
Personal Reflection
 Talk Therapy or
Professional Help
Networking
Self Care
Affirmations
Debrief:
What is one coping
strategy that you will
add to your Mental
Health Toolbox after
today?
Mental Health Emergency Cards
A Mental Health Emergency
Card is another great tool for
your toolbox.
We can plan and practice, but
what really matters is how
well our coping strategies
work in times of crisis.
Your Mental Health
Emergency Card is like a
cheat sheet of coping
strategies and people you can
use during a crisis. We don’t
always remember what we
need in a crisis -- which is
why we make this card when
we are NOT in a crisis.
Make a Mental Health Emergency Card
(Don’t have a card? Use a piece of paper.)
On your card, make a short list of
people who can help you out in a
crisis. Put their phone number.
It is good to have several people, so
that if you reach out to everyone on
the list, one of them will be likely to
get back to you!
Include some of the coping
strategies that you think will work
best when you are in a moment of
crisis. These should be things you
are used to doing, not new skills you
are still trying to master.
These coping skills are the tried and
true skills that you can count on.
Example Mental Health Emergency Card:
People to call: Coping skills I know will work:

● Mom ###-###-#### ● Take a walk

● Alicia ###-###-#### ● Take deep breaths
● Lisa ###-###-#### ● Progressive Relaxation
● Maggie ###-###-#### Meditation
● Rebecca ###-###-#### ● Drink a hot cup of herbal tea,
● Zo ###-###-#### mint, chamomile, or rooibos
● Watch Adventure Time or Steven
Universe