Why students should have mental health days | Hailey Hardcastle

Transcriber: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Translator: Nanna Olesen Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

When I was a kid,

Da jeg var barn,

my mom and I made this deal.

lavede jeg en aftale med min mor.

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

Jeg kunne tage tre fridage hvert semester, for at pleje mit mentale helbred

as long as I continued to do well in school.

så længe jeg klarede mig godt i skolen.

This was because I started my mental health journey

Det var fordi, jeg startede min mentale rejse

when I was only six years old.

allerede da jeg var seks år.

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

For mine klasselærere var jeg en, der altid bekymrede sig,

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

men senere fandt vi ud af, at jeg har traumeinduceret angst

and clinical depression.

og klinisk depression.

This made growing up pretty hard.

Det gav mig en hård opvækst.

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

Jeg bekymrede mig om mange ting, som andre børn ikke gjorde,

and school got really overwhelming sometimes.

og generelt blev skolen ofte overvældende.

This resulted in a lot of breakdowns,

Det endte i mange sammenbrud,

panic attacks --

panikanfald -

sometimes I was super productive,

Nogle gange var jeg super produktiv

and other days I couldn't get anything done.

andre dage kunne jeg ikke få noget gjort.

This was all happening during a time

Alt det her skete i en tid

when mental health wasn't being talked about

hvor man ikke talte om mental sundhed

as much as it is now,

så meget som man gør nu,

especially youth mental health.

særligt unges mentale sundhed.

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

Nogle semestre brugte jeg alle fridagene fuldt ud.

Others, I didn't need any at all.

Andre behøvede jeg ikke en eneste.

But the fact that they were always an option

Men det faktum at de altid var en mulighed,

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

var det, der gjorde mig glad, sund og en dygtig elev.

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

Nu bruger jeg de værktøjer, jeg lærte som barn

to help other students with mental health challenges.

til at hjælpe andre elever med mentale sundhedsproblemer.

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

Jeg er her i dag for at give et indblik i teenagers mentale sundhed:

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

hvad sker der, hvordan kom vi hertil og hvad kan vi gøre?

But first you need to understand

Men først skal I forstå,

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

at selvom alle ikke har en diagnosticeret psykisk sygdom som jeg,

absolutely everyone --

så har alle -

all of you have mental health.

alle jer har en mental sundhed.

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

Vi har alle en hjerne, der har brug for at blive plejet

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

på samme måde, som vi tager os af vores fysiske sundhed.

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

Vores hoved og krop er forbundet gennem meget andet end vores nakke.

Mental illness even manifests itself in some physical ways,

Mental sundhed viser sig endda på fysiske måder

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

som kvalme, hovedpine, træthed og åndenød.

So since mental health affects all of us,

Siden mental sundhed påvirker os alle,

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

burde vi så ikke komme op med løsninger, der er tilgængelige for alle?

That brings me to my second part of my story.

Det fører mig til anden del af min historie.

When I was in high school

Da jeg gik i gymnasiet

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

var jeg blevet ret god til at håndtere min mentale sundhed.

I was a successful student,

Jeg var en dygtig elev,

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

og jeg var formand for Oregon Association's studenterråd.

But it was around this time that I began to realize

Men det var omkring det her tidspunkt, at jeg indså

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

mental sundhed er et meget større problem end blot for mig personligt.

Unfortunately, my hometown was touched by multiple suicides

Desværre var min hjemby udsat for flere selvmord

during my first year in high school.

i løbet af mit første år i gymnasiet.

I saw those tragedies shake our entire community,

Jeg så hvordan disse tragedier rystede hele lokalsamfundet,

and as the president of a statewide group,

og som formand

for et statsråd

I began hearing more and more stories

hørte jeg flere og flere historier

from students where this had also happened in their town.

fra elever der havde oplevet det samme i deres by.

So in 2018 at our annual summer camp,

Så til vores årlige sommerlejr i 2018

we held a forum with about 100 high school students

afholdte vi et forum for 100 gymnasieelever

to discuss teenage mental health.

for at diskutere mental sundhed.

What could we do?

Hvad kunne vi gøre?

We approached this conversation with an enormous amount of empathy

Vi gik til diskussionen med en enorm stor del empati

and honesty,

og ærlighed,

and the results were astounding.

og resultaterne var forbløffende.

What struck me the most

Hvad der ramte mig mest

was that every single one of my peers had a story

var at hver eneste elev havde en historie

about a mental health crisis in their school,

om en mental sundhedskrise i deres skole,

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

uanset om de var fra en lille by i det østlige Oregon

or the very heart of Portland.

eller fra hjertet af Portland.

This was happening everywhere.

Det her skete alle steder.

We even did some research,

Ud fra nogle undersøgelser

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

fandt vi ud af, at selvmord er den næsthyppigste årsag til dødsfald

for youth ages 10 to 24 in Oregon.

for unge mellem 10 og 24 år i Oregon.

The second leading cause.

Den næsthyppigste årsag.

We knew we had to do something.

Vi blev nødt til at gøre noget.

So over the next few months,

Så over de næste måneder

we made a committee called Students for a Healthy Oregon,

nedsatte vi en komité under navnet "Elever for et sundt Oregon",

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

med missionen om at ende stigmatiseringen af mental sundhed.

We also wanted to prioritize mental health in schools.

Vi ønskede også at prioritere mental sundhed i skolerne.

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

Med hjælp fra nogle lobbyister og nogle få mentale sundhedsfagfolk

we put forth House Bill 2191.

fremlagde vi et kongressforslag.

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

Forslaget tillod elever at tage mentale sygedage

the same way you would a physical health day.

på samme måde som at tage en almindelig sygedag.

Because oftentimes that day off

Fordi ofte betød den ene dag

is the difference between feeling a whole lot better

forskellen på at have det en hel del bedre

and a whole lot worse --

eller en hel del værre -

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

lidt ligesom de dage min mor gav mig, da jeg var yngre.

So over the next few months,

Så over de næste måneder,

we lobbied and researched and campaigned for our bill,

lavede vi undersøgelser, lobbyarbejde og førte kampagne for forslaget,

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

og i juni 2019 blev den endelig underskrevet som lov.

(Applause and cheers)

(Bifald og jubel)

This was a groundbreaking moment for Oregon students.

Det var et skelsættende øjeblik for Oregons elever.

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

Her er et eksempel på, hvordan det fungerer i dag.

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

Lad os sige at en elev har en virkelig hård måned.

They're overwhelmed, overworked,

Eleven føler sig overvældet, overbebyrdet,

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

falder bagud i skolen og ved at de har brug for hjælp.

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

Måske har de aldrig talt om mentale problemer med deres forældre før,

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

men nu har de en lov, der kan hjælpe med at starte den samtale.

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

Det er stadig forældrene, der skal ringe til skolen og bede om fri,

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

så det ikke er et fripas for børnene,

but most importantly,

men vigtist af alt,

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

nu hvor skolen registrerer fraværet som mentale fridage,

so they can keep track

kan de holde styr på

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

det antal elever der tager mentale fridage, og hvor mange.

If a student takes too many,

Hvis en elev tager for mange,

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

vil de blive henvist til et check hos skolepsykologen.

This is important because we can catch students who are struggling

Det er vigtigt, fordi vi kan få fat i elever der kæmper,

before it's too late.

før det er for sent.

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

En af de mest hyppige udsagn vi hørte ved forummet i 2018

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

var at det at stå frem og få hjælp ofte var det sværeste.

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

Vi håber, at denne lov kan hjælpe med det.

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

Udover at lære børn fra en tidlig alder at passe på sig selv

and practice self-care and stress management,

og håndtere egenomsorg og stress,

but it could also literally save lives.

så kan det bogstavelig talt redde liv.

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

Elever fra andre stater forsøger også at få gennemført disse love.

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

Jeg arbejder sammen med elever fra både Californien og Colorado

to do the same,

for at indføre det samme,

because we believe that students everywhere

fordi vi tror på, at elever alle steder

deserve a chance to feel better.

fortjener at have det bedre.

Aside from all the practical reasons and technicalities,

Ud over alle de praktiske grunde og teknikaliteter,

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

er kongresforslaget 2191 særlig speciel fordi den fundamentalt er baseret på

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

at fysisk og psykisk sundhed er lige og bør blive betragtet sådan.

In fact, they're connected.

Faktisk er de forbundet.

Take health care for example.

For eksempel sundhedspleje.

Think about CPR.

Tænk på førstehjælp.

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

Hvis du kom i en situation, hvor du skulle udføre førstehjælp

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

ville du vide lidt om, hvad du skulle gøre?

Think to yourself --

Tænk over det -

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

sandsynligvis ja, fordi der tilbydes førstehjælpstræning på arbejdspladser,

and even online.

skoler og endda online.

We even have songs that go with it.

Vi har endda sange, der går til det.

But how about mental health care?

Men hvad med mentalt sundhedspleje?

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

Jeg fik førstehjælpstræning i min 7. klasses sundhedsundervisning.

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

Hvad hvis jeg i 7. klasse blev undervist i mental sundhed

or how to respond to a mental health crisis?

eller hvordan man reagerer på psykiske problemer?

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

Jeg ville elske at se en verden hvor alle ved hvordan man hjælper

to help a friend, coworker, family member

en ven, en kollega,

et familiemedlem,

or even stranger going through a mental health crisis.

eller endda fremmede der kæmper med psykiske problemer

And these resources should be especially available in schools

Disse resurser skal særligt være tilgængelige i skoler

because that's where students are struggling the most.

fordi det er her elever kæmper mest.

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

Den anden del jeg inderligt håber, I tager med jer i dag

is that it is always OK to not be OK,

er at det altid er okay ikke at være okay,

and it is always OK to take a break.

og det er altid i orden at tage en pause.

It doesn't have to be a whole day;

Det behøver ikke at være en hel dag

sometimes that's not realistic.

nogle gange er det ikke realistisk.

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

Men det kan være et par øjeblikke her og der til lige at tjekke ind.

Think of life like a race ...

Tænk på livet som et kapløb...

like a long-distance race.

et langdistanceløb.

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

Hvis du sprinter i starten, kommer du til at brænde ud.

You may even hurt yourself from pushing too hard.

Måske du også får en skade af at presse for hårdt.

But if you pace yourself,

Men hvis du tager kontrol,

if you take it slow, sometimes intentionally,

og tager den med ro, nogle gange intentionelt,

and you push yourself other times,

og andre gange presser dig selv,

you are sure to be way more successful.

kan du være sikker på at klare dig endnu bedre.

So please,

So lov mig

look after each other,

tag jer af hinanden,

look after the kids and teens in your life

se efter børnene og teenagerne i jeres liv

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

særligt dem, hvor det ser ud som om, de har styr på det hele.

Mental health challenges are not going away,

Psykiske problemer forsvinder ikke,

but as a society,

men som et samfund,

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

kan vi lære at håndtere dem ved at se efter hinanden.

And look after yourself, too.

Og husk også at tag jer af jer selv.

As my mom would say,

Som min mor ville sige,

"Once in a while, take a break."

En gang imellem, så tag en pause.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)