Why students should have mental health days | Hailey Hardcastle

Transcriber: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Translator: Jèssica Cañagueral Reviewer: María Pérez del Cura

When I was a kid,

Quan era petita,

my mom and I made this deal.

la meva mare i jo vam fer un tracte.

I was allowed to take three mental health rest days every semester

Podia agafar-me tres dies de descans per a la salut mental cada semestre

as long as I continued to do well in school.

mentre seguís traient bones notes a l'escola.

This was because I started my mental health journey

El motiu és que vaig començar el meu camí amb la salut mental

when I was only six years old.

quan tenia només sis anys.

I was always what my grade-school teachers would call "a worrier,"

Els meus professors sempre deien que era una nena que es preocupava molt,

but later on we found out that I have trauma-induced anxiety

però més endavant vam descobrir que patia ansietat causada per un trauma.

and clinical depression.

i depressió clínica.

Vaig passar-ho malament mentre em feia gran.

This made growing up pretty hard.

I was worried about a lot of things that other kids weren't,

Em preocupaven moltes coses que no preocupaven altres nens

and school got really overwhelming sometimes.

i l'escola podia resultar sovint força aclaparadora.

This resulted in a lot of breakdowns,

Això em portava a nombroses crisis,

panic attacks --

atacs de pànic...

sometimes I was super productive,

A vegades era súper productiva,

and other days I couldn't get anything done.

i altres vegades no aconseguia fer res de res.

This was all happening during a time

Tot això passava en una època

when mental health wasn't being talked about

en què no es parlava tant sobre salut mental

as much as it is now,

com es parla ara,

especially youth mental health.

sobretot de la dels joves.

Some semesters I used all of those rest days to the fullest.

Alguns semestres aprofitava aquells dies de descans al màxim.

Others, I didn't need any at all.

Altres, no els necessitava.

But the fact that they were always an option

Però el fet que fossin sempre una opció

is what kept me a happy, healthy and successful student.

és el que em mantenia feliç, sana i bona estudiant.

Now I'm using those skills that I learned as a kid

Ara utilitzo aquelles habilitats que vaig aprendre de nena

to help other students with mental health challenges.

per ajudar altres estudiants amb problemes de salut mental.

I'm here today to offer you some insight into the world of teenage mental health:

Avui soc aquí per compartir el que sé sobre la salut mental dels adolescents:

what's going on, how did we get here and what can we do?

què està passant, com hem arribat aquí i què podem fer?

But first you need to understand

Però abans de res heu d'entendre

that while not everyone has a diagnosed mental illness like I do,

que tot i que no tothom té detectada una malaltia mental com jo,

absolutely everyone --

tothom,

all of you have mental health.

absolutament tothom té una salut mental.

All of us have a brain that needs to be cared for

Tots tenim un cervell que necessita que el cuidem

in similar ways that we care for our physical well-being.

de manera similar a com cuidem el nostre benestar físic.

Our head and our body are connected by much more than just our neck after all.

Al final, el cap i el cos estan connectats per molt més que el coll.

Mental illness even manifests itself in some physical ways,

Les malalties mentals es poden manifestar, fins i tot, de manera física,

such as nausea, headaches, fatigue and shortness of breath.

com ara amb nàusees, mal de cap, fatiga i dificultat per respirar.

So since mental health affects all of us,

Com que la salut mental ens afecta a tots,

shouldn't we be coming up with solutions that are accessible to all of us?

no hauríem de buscar solucions a l'abast de tothom?

That brings me to my second part of my story.

Això em porta a la segona part de la meva història.

When I was in high school

Quan estava a l'institut

I had gotten pretty good at managing my own mental health.

ja sabia gestionar bastant bé la meva salut mental.

Era bona estudiant

I was a successful student,

and I was president of the Oregon Association of Student Councils.

i era la presidenta de l'Assocació de Consells Estudiantils d'Oregon.

But it was around this time that I began to realize

Però va ser en aquella època quan vaig adonar-me

mental health was much a bigger problem than just for me personally.

que la salut mental era un problema gran que no m'afectava només a mi.

Unfortunately, my hometown was touched by multiple suicides

Malauradament, al meu poble va haver-hi diversos suicidis

during my first year in high school.

al llarg del meu primer any d'institut.

I saw those tragedies shake our entire community,

Vaig veure com aquelles tragèdies sotragaven tota la comunitat,

and as the president of a statewide group,

i, com a presidenta d'una agrupació estatal,

I began hearing more and more stories

escoltava moltes històries

from students where this had also happened in their town.

d'estudiants que també havien viscut el mateix al seu poble.

So in 2018 at our annual summer camp,

Així que al 2018, al nostre campament anual,

we held a forum with about 100 high school students

vam organitzar un fòrum amb uns 100 estudiants d'institut

to discuss teenage mental health.

per discutir sobre salut mental juvenil.

What could we do?

Què podíem fer?

We approached this conversation with an enormous amount of empathy

Vam abordar aquesta conversa amb molta empatia

and honesty,

i honradesa,

and the results were astounding.

i els resultats van ser força preocupants.

What struck me the most

El que més em va afectar

was that every single one of my peers had a story

va ser que cadascun dels meus companys tenia una història

about a mental health crisis in their school,

sobre una crisi de salut mental a l'escola,

no matter if they were from a tiny town in eastern Oregon

sense importar si venien d'un poble petit de l'est d'Oregon

or the very heart of Portland.

o del centre de Portland.

This was happening everywhere.

Estava passant a tot arreu.

Fins i tot vam investigar una mica

We even did some research,

and we found out that suicide is the second leading cause of death

i vam descobrir que els suïcidis eren la segona causa de mort

for youth ages 10 to 24 in Oregon.

entre els joves de 10 a 24 anys d'Oregon.

The second leading cause.

La segona causa de mort.

We knew we had to do something.

Sabíem que havíem de fer alguna cosa.

So over the next few months,

Així que al llarg dels mesos següents

we made a committee called Students for a Healthy Oregon,

vam crear un comité anomenat Estudiants per a un Oregon Sa

amb la intenció d'acabar amb l'estigma en contra de la salut mental.

and we set out to end the stigma against mental health.

We also wanted to prioritize mental health in schools.

També volíem convertir-ho en una prioritat per a les escoles.

With the help of some lobbyists and a few mental health professionals,

Amb l'ajuda de persones influents i alguns professionals de la salut mental

we put forth House Bill 2191.

vam presentar la proposta de llei 2191.

This bill allows students to take mental health days off from school

Permet als estudiants agafar dies per a la salut mental

de la mateixa manera que ho farien per a la salut física.

the same way you would a physical health day.

Because oftentimes that day off

Perquè a vegades aquell dia de descans

is the difference between feeling a whole lot better

pot marcar la diferència entre sentir-se molt millor

and a whole lot worse --

o molt pitjor;

com els dies que la meva mare em concedia quan era petita.

kind of like those days my mom gave me when I was younger.

So over the next few months,

Així que al llarg dels mesos següents

we lobbied and researched and campaigned for our bill,

vam pressionar, investigar i defensar el nostre projecte de llei

and in June of 2019 it was finally signed into law.

i al juny de 2019 es va aprovar i convertir en llei.

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplaudiments i aclamacions)

This was a groundbreaking moment for Oregon students.

Va ser un moment revolucionari per als estudiants d'Oregon.

Here's an example of how this is playing out now.

I us posaré un exemple sobre com funciona això ara.

Let's say a student is having a really hard month.

Posem que un estudiant està passant un mes molt dur.

They're overwhelmed, overworked,

Se sent aclaparat i saturat,

they're falling behind in school, and they know they need help.

les seves notes estan baixant i sap que necessita ajuda.

Maybe they've never talked about mental health with their parents before,

Potser mai ha parlat amb els seus pares sobre salut mental,

però ara hi ha una llei que el recolza a l'hora d'iniciar aquesta conversa.

but now they have a law on their side to help initiate that conversation.

Els pares encara són els que han d'informar de l'abscència a l'escola,

The parent still needs to be the one to call the school and excuse the absence,

o sigui que no és una via lliure per als nens,

so it's not like it's a free pass for the kids,

però el més important

but most importantly,

now that school has that absence recorded as a mental health day,

és que ara l'escola ho anota com a una falta per salut mental

so they can keep track

així que poden fer un seguiment

of just how many students take how many mental health days.

sobre quants estudiants falten per salut mental i quants dies.

If a student takes too many,

Si un estudiant n'agafa massa,

they'll be referred to the school counselor for a check-in.

es passarà el cas al terapeuta de l'escola perquè ho revisi.

Això és important per detectar estudiants que ho passen malament

This is important because we can catch students who are struggling

abans que sigui massa tard.

before it's too late.

One of the main things we heard at that forum in 2018

Una de les principals coses que vam sentir al fòrum del 2018

is that oftentimes stepping forward and getting help is the hardest step.

és que sovint demanar ajuda és el pas més complicat.

We're hoping that this law can help with that.

Esperem que aquesta llei ajudi amb això.

This not only will start teaching kids young how to take care of themselves

No només ensenyarà als nens a aprendre a cuidar-se,

and practice self-care and stress management,

a tenir cura d'ells mateixos i a gestionar l'estrès,

but it could also literally save lives.

sinó que també pot salvar vides.

Now students from multiple other states are also trying to pass these laws.

Ara estudiants d'altres estats també intenten aprovar lleis com aquesta.

I'm currently working with students in both California and Colorado

Actualment treballo amb estudiants de Califòrnia i de Colorado

to do the same,

per fer el mateix

because we believe that students everywhere

perquè creiem que siguin d'on siguin

mereixen sentir-se millor.

deserve a chance to feel better.

Aside from all the practical reasons and technicalities,

Deixant de banda les raons pràctiques i els tecnicismes,

House Bill 2191 is really special because of the core concept behind it:

el Projecte de Llei 2191 és molt especial pel concepte que hi ha al darrere:

that physical and mental health are equal and should be treated as such.

que la salut mental i física han de ser tractades per igual.

De fet, estan connectades.

In fact, they're connected.

Take health care for example.

Agafem com a exemple l'atenció mèdica,

en concret la reanimació cardiopulmonar.

Think about CPR.

If you were put in a situation where you had to administer CPR,

Si haguessis de fer un massatge cardiopulmonar

would you know at least a little bit of what to do?

tindries idea de com fer-ho?

Think to yourself --

Us deixo pensar.

most likely yes because CPR trainings are offered in most schools, workplaces

El més segur és que sí perquè a les escoles o a la feina s'ensenya,

and even online.

o fins i tot en línia.

We even have songs that go with it.

Fins i tot hi ha cançons que van al ritme.

But how about mental health care?

Però què passsa amb la salut mental?

I know I was trained in CPR in my seventh-grade health class.

Em van ensenyar a fer un massatge cardiopulmonar a 1r d'ESO.

What if I was trained in seventh grade how to manage my mental health

I si se m'hagués ensenyat llavors a gestionar la salut mental?

or how to respond to a mental health crisis?

O com afrontar una crisi de salut mental?

I'd love to see a world where each of us has a toolkit of skills

M'encantaria viure en un món on tothom tingués les eines

to help a friend, coworker, family member

per ajudar un amic, company o familiar,

or even stranger going through a mental health crisis.

o un estrany que patís una crisi de salut mental.

I aquests recursos haurien d'estar disponibles sobretot a les escoles

And these resources should be especially available in schools

because that's where students are struggling the most.

perquè és on els estudiants ho passen més malament.

The other concept that I sincerely hope you take with you today

I l'altre concepte que m'agradaria que us emporteu d'aquí avui

is that it is always OK to not be OK,

és que sempre està bé no estar bé

and it is always OK to take a break.

i sempre està bé fer una pausa.

It doesn't have to be a whole day;

No cal que sigui un dia sencer;

sometimes that's not realistic.

a vegades això no és realista.

Però poden ser uns quants moments per centrar-te en com estàs.

But it can be a few moments here and there to check in with yourself.

Think of life like a race ...

Imagineu la vida com si fos una cursa.

like a long-distance race.

Una cursa de llarga distància.

If you sprint in the very beginning you're going to get burnt out.

Si fas un esprint al principi acabaràs esgotat.

You may even hurt yourself from pushing too hard.

Fins i tot et pots fer mal si apretes massa.

Però si moderes el ritme,

But if you pace yourself,

if you take it slow, sometimes intentionally,

si t'ho prens amb calma, a vegades intencionadament,

and you push yourself other times,

i apretes en altres moments,

you are sure to be way more successful.

segur que obtindràs millors resultats.

So please,

Així que, si us plau,

tinguem cura els uns dels altres,

look after each other,

look after the kids and teens in your life

tinguem cura dels nens i adolescents que coneixem

especially the ones that look like they have it all together.

especialment d'aquells que sembla que se'n surtin molt bé.

Mental health challenges are not going away,

Els problemes de salut mental no se'n van,

but as a society,

però com a societat

podem aprendre a gestionar-los tenint cura els uns dels altres.

we can learn how to manage them by looking after one another.

I de vosaltres mateixos també.

And look after yourself, too.

Com diria la meva mare,

As my mom would say,

"Once in a while, take a break."

"De tant en tant, descansa."

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)