Written by: Jennifer Seabrook-Scott, Leader of the Thriving Minds program, Health and Well-being agent, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension
Can gardening teach self-regulation or an escape room teach the dangers of vaping?
Thriving Minds was designed to do just that.
Led by Health and Well-being Extension Agent Jennifer Seabrook-Scott, this weeklong summer youth program was held at the Paradee Center in Dover in late July.
Using the Mind Matters curriculum developed by the Dibble Institute, participants were introduced to essential life skills to help them thrive. Lessons were connected to various career paths and personal interests, with insights shared by a diverse group of guest speakers.
The week started with basic self-regulation skills like box breathing, the 5-4-3-2-1 method, and a peripheral vision activity that stimulates the vagus nerve. Blake Moore from the Delaware Master Gardeners program shared how hobbies such as gardening and forestry could help with self-regulation.
The impact the environment can have on mental wellness was in focus as Twila Parish-Short from the 4-H STEAM Team guided participants in using Legos to design a sustainable property and discussing ways they could make sustainability a part of their everyday lives.
Kelly Sipple talked with youth about making sound financial decisions, highlighting how thoughts, emotions, and beliefs affect purchasing decisions. Many participants said that the discussion helped them recognize the connection between impulse control and online shopping habits, committing to be more self-aware of their emotional and mental state before hitting “Buy Now.”
Mid-week came the body scan. This technique encouraged participants to investigate the difference between thoughts and emotions, to identify the positive impacts of empathy on relationships and to adopt a mentality of loving kindness. Participants mapped their systems of support, exploring how a healthy and strong support system can help them thrive. And after days of practice, the students took the lead, guiding their classmates in self-regulating exercises.
Taja Ricketts, a graduate of Delaware State University, led participants in a scenario-based activity on identifying red—unhealthy or conditional—and green—healthy, supportive, and meaningful—flags in relationships. During the daily check in, participants reported feeling that they were engaged in relationships that were not healthy.
4-H extension agent Kim Silva led an escape room activity aimed at educating students about the harmful effects of nicotine and vaping products, the risks of addiction, and how to resist peer pressure.
As the week progressed, participants focused on how sleep, exercise and nutrition can support wellbeing. Participants were introduced to Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as tapping, and its potential to reduce stress, anxiety, and other negative emotions.
UD Cooperative Extension Summer Intern Darrianna Hovington and New Castle County Extension Director Karen Johnston led activities from the award-winning interactive stress management program Get Experience in Mindfulness (GEM), a program that emphasizes self-care and emotional resiliency through stress reduction, relaxation and yoga.
With the assistance of Community Health Specialist Gina Crist, Hovington also engaged participants in lessons on mindful eating. While enjoying hand-made yogurt parfaits, participants were encouraged to be present, engage all senses, listen to their body, eat without judgment, and savor the experience.
Then it was time to get moving. A session of Walk and Roll provided an opportunity for participants to discover nature and socialize in fresh air and sunlight. Representatives from the YMCA discussed the positive effects that a healthy diet and exercise can have on mental wellness. The trainers led participants through fitness routines that help release the hormone dopamine.
The week concluded with drawing, painting, and making music as tools to contain trauma. Teneshia Duncan from ArtMind, LLC, guided participants in painting their own sunflower, which Duncan chose as a representation of hope. Painted name stones shared with classmates provided the meaning of each participant’s name and the emotions they associate with their names.
Music technology educator Samuel Patterson worked with participants to create their own music. Patterson spoke of his lived experience with depression and anxiety and how music helped him through those difficult times.
Each participant took home a certificate as a reminder of this week dedicated to health and wellbeing.