Personal Health, Lifestyle and Mental Well-being

Looking after body and mind

Good health is more than not being ill. It is the everyday care of both the body and the mind, and the choices that build it up or wear it down over time. This module works through the whole picture: - A healthy lifestyle: diet, exercise, sleep and the attitudes behind them.\n- Lifestyle choices: the effects of smoking, alcohol and drugs, and of stress and poor sleep.\n- A healthy mind: managing anxiety, stress and low mood.\n- Getting support: where to turn, and why asking for help is a strength. Emotions and relationships, personal safety and money each have their own module. Here the focus is personal health and well-being, of body and of mind together.

Words for health and well-being

Five terms you need before you use them. Learn what each one means.

Match each choice to its effect

A healthier choice against a riskier one

Many everyday choices tug in one of two directions. Seeing the pattern helps you weigh them for yourself.

Which supports mental well-being?

A young person has felt very anxious and low for a while now. What is the healthiest thing for them to do?

• Talk to a trusted adult or their doctor and seek support
• Keep it hidden and hope it simply goes away
• Turn to alcohol to block out the feelings
• Assume that nothing can ever help them

Tap the two habits of a healthy lifestyle

Tap the TWO habits that belong to a healthy lifestyle.

• Eating a balanced diet most of the time
• Being physically active on a regular basis
• Smoking to try to cope with stress
• Going without sleep to fit more in

Looking after your mind

Mental well-being matters every bit as much as physical health, and it needs looking after in much the same way. Feelings of anxiety, stress and low mood are common, and there is nothing shameful in them. Simple things help: staying active, sleeping and eating well, and talking to someone you trust rather than carrying a worry alone. When feelings are heavy or last a long time, or when a habit becomes hard to control, support is available, from a trusted adult, a doctor, a school counsellor or a helpline. Asking for that help is not weakness. It is one of the strongest and wisest things a person can do.

Pick the true facts about health and well-being

Select the TWO statements that are true.

• Regular exercise benefits both the body and the mind
• Asking for help with a mental-health worry is a sign of strength
• Bottling stress up and ignoring it is the best way to deal with it
• Smoking has no effect on long-term health

Order how to build a healthier lifestyle

Put the steps of building a healthier lifestyle in a sensible order.

• Look honestly at your current habits
• Set one small, realistic change to make
• Build the new habit into your daily routine
• Ask for support if a habit is hard to change
• Review how you feel and adjust

Small changes, a real difference

Follow how one student, feeling run down and under pressure, made a few changes and felt the difference. Noticing the problem: she realised she was tired all the time, eating badly, and lying awake worrying about her exams. A small start: she began walking to school, swapped some snacks for fruit, and set herself a fixed bedtime, rather than trying to change everything at once. Reaching out: when the worry about exams stayed heavy, she talked to a teacher she trusted, who helped her make a plan, and it lifted a real weight from her. The result: within a couple of weeks she had more energy, slept better, and felt more able to cope with the things that had felt overwhelming. None of it was dramatic. Small, steady habits and a word with someone she trusted made a genuine difference to how she felt.

Complete the health and well-being facts

The everyday choices that keep the body and mind well make up a healthy _____. The feeling of being under too much pressure to cope is _____. A strong need to keep doing something harmful, hard to stop without help, is an _____. The ability to cope with difficulties and recover is _____.

Build a well-being point

Choose the words that complete this statement about looking after yourself.

The health and well-being run

Five questions on personal health and well-being. Three lives.

Make the healthier choice

Read each situation and choose the kindest, most helpful response, then think about why.

• A friend quietly tells you they have felt low and anxious most days for a while. What is the kindest, most helpful response?
• Someone is under a lot of pressure with exams and has stopped sleeping properly. What would help most?
• A person realises a habit has become hard to control and is starting to harm them. What is the best step?

Explain how to look after health and well-being

A student in the year below wants to look after their health better. Explain how using what this module has covered.

• Explain two habits of a healthy lifestyle
• Explain one consequence of a risky lifestyle choice
• Explain what stress is and one way to manage it
• Explain why looking after mental well-being matters
• Finish by explaining where someone can find support