Portage High School Students Study the Connection between Mental and Physical Health

The Portage High School Health Department has been busy this second semester. The Health and Wellness sophomore classes studying how your mental/emotional health, your physical health and your social health must all be balanced to have total fitness. Your health has many influences on it such as heredity, your environment, culture, etc. Monitoring your “risk behaviors” can considerably lower any problems with your health. The importance of health education is stressed so students become health literate consumers.

Building “health skills” is discussed. Students are taught how important it is to set goals, be able to listen and communicate properly, learn to use refusal skills to say “NO” to risky behaviors, resolve conflicts peacefully, learn to manage the stress they often feel and learn to make good decisions. Skits (role plays) are done to further stress the importance of saying no to risky behavior.

Being able to establish good mental and emotional health and build a strong character are stressed through raising self esteem and using positive “self-talk”. Promoting a healthy self identity can be a definite link to healthful mental/emotional health. Students learn to express emotions and feelings in positive ways and work through conflicts. Posters are made and commercials are developed and performed to emphasize these points.

Students in the Health and Wellness classes are starting CPR. They will learn CPR for the infant, child and adult victims. Students will also learn techniques to dislodge a foreign body for a choking infant, child and adult.