Why students should have mental health days | Hailey Hardcastle

Transcriber: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Translator: Javier Vázquez Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

When I was a kid,

Cando era nena

my mom and I made this deal.

miña nai e mais eu fixemos un trato.

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

Deixábame tres días libres cada semestre para desconectar e descansar

as long as I continued to do well in school.

se seguía a irme ben na escola.

This was because I started my mental health journey

Todo porque comecei a ter problemas de saúde mental

when I was only six years old.

cando tiña só seis anos.

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

Sempre fun o que os meus profesores de primaria calificarían como "aprehensiva"

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

pero máis tarde, descubrimos que se trataba de ansiedade postraumática

and clinical depression.

e depresión.

Por iso crecer foi moi duro.

This made growing up pretty hard.

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

Preocupábanme moitas cousas que a outros rapaces non

and school got really overwhelming sometimes.

e na escola ás veces atafegábame.

This resulted in a lot of breakdowns,

Todo iso desencadeou moitos ataques

panic attacks --

de ansiedade, de pánico...

sometimes I was super productive,

ás veces era superprodutiva e

and other days I couldn't get anything done.

outros días non daba pé con bóla.

This was all happening during a time

Isto ocorría cando aínda non

when mental health wasn't being talked about

se falaba tanto da saúde mental como agora,

as much as it is now,

especially youth mental health.

especialmente da saúde mental na xuventude.

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

Algúns semestres aproveitaba ao máximo eses días de descanso,

Others, I didn't need any at all.

e noutros casos, non os necesitaba.

But the fact that they were always an option

Pero poder contar con eles

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

facíame unha estudante feliz, sa e exitosa.

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

Agora uso técnicas que aprendín de nena

para axudar a outros estudantes con problemas de saúde mental.

to help other students with mental health challenges.

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

Quérovos ofrecer algunhas ideas acerca da saúde mental adolescente:

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

que nos ocorre, como acabamos así e que podemos facer?

But first you need to understand

Pero primeiro precisades comprender

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

que aínda que non todo o mundo ten unha patoloxía coma a miña,

absolutely everyone --

absolutamente todos,

all of you have mental health.

todos vós, tedes a vosas cousas.

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

Todos temos un cerebro que precisa ser coidado

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

como coidamos do benestar físico.

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

A cabeza e o corpo están conectados por moito máis que o pescozo.

Mental illness even manifests itself in some physical ways,

As afeccións mentais maniféstanse inclusive en formas físicas,

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

como náuseas, dores de cabeza, cansazo e dificultade para respirar.

So since mental health affects all of us,

E como a saúde mental é unha cousa de todos,

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

non deberiamos pensar en solucións accesíbeis para todos?

That brings me to my second part of my story.

Iso lévame á segunda parte da miña historia.

When I was in high school

Cando estaba no instituto

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

conseguira controlar moi ben a miña saúde mental.

Era unha alumna brillante,

I was a successful student,

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

e presidía a Asociación de Consellos de Estudantes de Oregón.

But it was around this time that I began to realize

Pero foi daquela cando comecei a decatarme

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

que a saúde mental era un problema que ía moito máis alá do meu persoal.

Unfortunately, my hometown was touched by multiple suicides

Por desgraza, na miña vila houbo moitos suicidios

during my first year in high school.

durante o meu primeiro ano de instituto.

I saw those tragedies shake our entire community,

Vía esas traxedias que estremecían a nosa comunidade,

and as the president of a statewide group,

e como presidenta dun grupo estatal,

I began hearing more and more stories

escoitaba cada vez máis historias

from students where this had also happened in their town.

de que acontecía o mesmo nas vilas doutros estudantes.

So in 2018 at our annual summer camp,

No campamento de verán de 2018,

we held a forum with about 100 high school students

xuntámonos uns 100 estudantes de secundaria

to discuss teenage mental health.

para falar da saúde mental da mocidade.

What could we do?

Que podiamos facer?

We approached this conversation with an enormous amount of empathy

Abordamos a conversa con moita empatía

and honesty,

e honestidade,

and the results were astounding.

e o resultado foi abraiante.

What struck me the most

O que máis me sorprendeu

was that every single one of my peers had a story

foi que cada estudante tiña unha historia

about a mental health crisis in their school,

sobre unha crise de saúde mental no seu centro,

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

sen importar que fora duna vila ao oeste de Oregon

or the very heart of Portland.

ou do centro de Portland.

This was happening everywhere.

Acontecía en todas partes.

We even did some research,

Mesmo investigamos e

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

descubrimos que o suicidio era a segunda causa de morte

for youth ages 10 to 24 in Oregon.

na mocidade de Oregón de entre 10 e 24 anos.

The second leading cause.

A segunda causa de morte.

We knew we had to do something.

Tiñamos que facer algo.

So over the next few months,

Durante os seguintes meses,

we made a committee called Students for a Healthy Oregon,

creamos unha comisión chamada Estudantes por un Oregón San,

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

e propuxémonos acabar co estigma contra as enfermidades mentais.

We also wanted to prioritize mental health in schools.

Tamén queriamos priorizar a situación en colexios.

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

Coa axuda de grupos de presión e profesionais en saúde mental,

we put forth House Bill 2191.

presentamos o Proxecto de lei 2191.

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

Permítelles a estudantes coller días libres por saúde mental

igual que se fose por saúde física.

the same way you would a physical health day.

Because oftentimes that day off

A miúdo ese día libre

is the difference between feeling a whole lot better

é a diferenza entre sentirse moitísimo mellor

and a whole lot worse --

e moitísimo peor...

como eses días que miña nai me deixaba cando era nena.

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

So over the next few months,

Durante os seguintes meses,

we lobbied and researched and campaigned for our bill,

presionabamos, investigabamos e faciamos campaña para o proxecto,

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

e en xuño de 2019 aprobouse a lei.

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplausos e aclamacións)

This was a groundbreaking moment for Oregon students.

Foi un momento transcendental para os estudantes de Oregón.

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

Cóntovos como se desenvolve isto agora.

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

Digamos que un estudante está a ter un mes moi duro.

They're overwhelmed, overworked,

Angustiado, con moito traballo

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

queda atrasado no instituto e sabe que precisa axuda.

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

Quizais nunca falou de saúde mental con seus pais,

pero agora el ten a lei do seu lado para axudarlle a iniciar esa conversa.

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

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

Aínda así, os pais deben chamar ao centro e xustificar a ausencia,

así que non é un cheque en branco para os rapaces,

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

but most importantly,

pero o máis importante

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

é que esa ausencia rexistrouse como día de descanso mental

so they can keep track

e así lévase a conta

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

de cantos estudantes usan eses días.

If a student takes too many,

Se un estudante toma moitos

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

hano dirixir ao terapeuta da escola para un recoñecemento.

This is important because we can catch students who are struggling

Isto é importante para identificar aos estudantes con problemas

before it's too late.

antes de que sexa tarde.

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

Unha das principais cousas que escoitamos no foro de 2018

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

foi que dar un paso adiante e conseguir axuda é o paso máis difícil.

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

Oxalá esta lei axude niso.

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

Isto non só lles ensinará aos rapaces a coidar de si mesmos

and practice self-care and stress management,

e exercitar o autocoidado e a xestión do estrés,

but it could also literally save lives.

senón que pode salvar vidas.

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

Agora estudantes doutros estados tentan aprobar estas leis.

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

Actualmente traballo con estudantes de California e Colorado

to do the same,

para facer o mesmo,

because we believe that students everywhere

porque cremos que todos eles

merecen poder sentirse mellor.

deserve a chance to feel better.

Aside from all the practical reasons and technicalities,

Á parte das razóns prácticas e os tecnicismos,

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

o Proxecto de lei 2191 é especial polo que representa:

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

a saúde física e a mental son iguais e así as deberiamos tratar.

In fact, they're connected.

De feito, están relacionadas.

Take health care for example.

Pensade na atención sanitaria.

Pensade nunha RCP.

Think about CPR.

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

Se te atopas nunha situación na que debes facer unha RCP,

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

como mínimo deberías saber un pouco do que facer?

Think to yourself --

Pensádeo...

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

seguro que si porque a formación en RCP ofrécese en colexios, espazos de traballo,

and even online.

e ata online.

We even have songs that go with it.

Ata hai cancións que falan do tema.

But how about mental health care?

Pero que sucede coa saúde mental?

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

A min formáronme en RCP na clase de Saúde ao chegar ao instituto.

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

E se me instruísen sobre como xestionar a miña saúde mental

or how to respond to a mental health crisis?

ou como reaccionar diante dunha crise desa índole?

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

Gustaríame ver un mundo onde todos tivesen a capacidade

to help a friend, coworker, family member

para axudar un amigo, un compañeiro, un parente

or even stranger going through a mental health crisis.

ou mesmo un estraño que sofre unha crise mental.

And these resources should be especially available in schools

E eses medios deberían estar dispoñibles nos centros escolares

because that's where students are struggling the most.

porque é onde os estudantes se ven en máis dificultades.

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

O outro concepto que sinceramente espero que asimiledes hoxe

is that it is always OK to not be OK,

é que está ben non estar ben,

and it is always OK to take a break.

e sempre está ben facer un descanso.

It doesn't have to be a whole day;

Non ten que ser un día enteiro;

sometimes that's not realistic.

ás veces iso non é práctico.

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

Pero podes descansar en certas ocasións, parar e analizarte.

Think of life like a race ...

Pensade na vida coma nunha carreira...

like a long-distance race.

unha carreira de longa distancia.

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

Se aceleras moito ao principio acabarás esgotado.

You may even hurt yourself from pushing too hard.

Podes mancarte se te esforzas de máis.

Pero se controlas o ritmo,

But if you pace yourself,

if you take it slow, sometimes intentionally,

se o levas con calma, ás veces á mantenta,

and you push yourself other times,

e te esforzas nalgúns momentos,

you are sure to be way more successful.

seguramente terás moito máis éxito.

So please,

Así que, por favor,

look after each other,

coidádevos,

look after the kids and teens in your life

coidade dos vosos cativos e mozos

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

en especial dos que parecen ter todo baixo control.

Mental health challenges are not going away,

As afeccións mentais non desaparecerán,

but as a society,

pero como sociedade,

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

podemos aprender como xestionalas coidándonos entre todos.

And look after yourself, too.

E coidándonos nós mesmos.

As my mom would say,

Como diría miña nai,

"Once in a while, take a break."

"De cando en vez, fai un descanso."

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)