The 5-Elements: Planting Seeds

Written by: Tara Kher

“The Curious Garden”, by Peter Brown, tells the story of Liam, a little boy born in a city enveloped in smog and decay. With no leaves, trees or flowers in sight, most people in the city choose to spend their time indoors. One day, the curious Liam discovers a sad patch of plants on top of an abandoned bridge. He decides to nurse them back to life. Very soon, the small patch transforms into a much larger one. Unfortunately, Liam’s garden is destroyed during winter, when it becomes buried beneath a big snowstorm. 

Not surprisingly, Liam is devastated.

Instead of dwelling on his problem, Liam thinks ahead. He spends the rest of the winter months indoors, reading about gardening. This time, his focus shifts from reactive to proactive. When spring finally rolls along, he is ready with new ideas, tools and solutions. Liam’s efforts do not go unnoticed - he is joined by a group of supportive neighbors who happily receive his mentorship in an effort to assist him with his task. With the entire community at work, the garden grows back, bigger, greener and more spectacular than before. The garden eventually expands to cover the entire city, transforming it from drab and dreary to rich and abundant. Everyone starts spending their time outdoors, enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Rather than focusing on barriers, Liam shifted his approach. He decided to empower himself with knowledge, skills and strategies to cultivate the right conditions to create a lush, thriving oasis.  In doing so, he was able to achieve success while also sending ripple effects throughout his entire city. 

What if we could do the same in our school communities?

As schools around the world welcome children back for the new academic year, mental health problems are at an all time high. Current statistics paint a rather alarming picture of mental health risks among children and adults:

• 1 in 5 children aged 13-18 have or will have a serious mental illness. It is estimated that half of all students will have high levels of chronic stress by their early teen years.

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group.

• Depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.

• Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-19 year-olds.

• The consequences of failing to address adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults

Just as Liam’s city was deteriorating, so is the emotional fabric of our schools. But if we can learn anything from Liam’s story, it is the power of intention. What if we could shift the conversation?

The US Department of Education recommends that we support schools and youth organizations to "prioritize wellness for Each and Every Child, Student, Educator, and Provider.” With mental health problems on the rise, practitioners are becoming increasingly overwhelmed with counseling referrals, daily crises, mandates, urgent meetings and program planning while feeling disillusioned by time, staffing and budget. The more we focus on the problems, the more frequent and pronounced these problems become. However, when we shift to focusing on how to prevent these problems, we are able to see a significant drop in referrals and serious incidents. This is the basis of our model at Mind the Class.

At Mind the Class, we focus our attention on well-being. Just as Liam sought to create healthier conditions for his garden, we believe that a strong foundation of wellbeing can help us maintain a sense of control, confidence and competency. In our quest to develop emotionally healthier settings, we have identified five areas of wellbeing that support good mental and physical health. We have labeled these “The 5 Elements.” The 5-Elements model was designed to define wellbeing practices that have demonstrated evidence in supporting good mental health and reducing risks associated with chronic stress and trauma. We further broke down the key factors in support of those elements and observed internal practices that support good mental health and external practices that support good mental health. We partner with schools and youth organizations to apply a systemic change approach that protects children from risks by architecting the environment with these integrative proven preventive solutions. 

The Five Elements

• SECURITY
  When our environment is calm and reliable, we feel protected from threat and harm, equitably treated and a sense of belonging and connection. In the absence of threats we are able to feel unconstrained by fear and have agency over our thoughts such that we can self-reflect, gain self- awareness and practice self-compassion. In creating the garden, Liam was able to create a safe and peaceful environment that managed to draw his neighbors out from their homes and into the greenery. 

• REGULATION
  In gardening, Liam discovered his sacred calling. When engaging in his favorite past-time, he was able to reach an optimal state of self-regulation. When the autonomic nervous system is relaxed, it activates a response that decreases heart rate, induces muscle and airway relaxation and stimulates digestion. 

• VALUE
  A positive sense of self-worth leads us to place value on things that give us meaning, joy and purpose. When we receive positive feedback, we feel valuable, worthy and capable. This leads to greater self-acceptance and awareness of our character strengths. This, in turn, can be further supported by quality cohesive relationships. Liam’s efforts were recognised and valued by his entire community, who sought to further his cause by helping out.

• DECISION
  After the snowstorm, Liam made the important decision to take a pause and think deeply about how to create a solution. He was able to do so thanks to a positive attitude and healthy mindset. A healthy mindset sows the seeds for good decision-making. The former is developed through a clear system of values and ethics, which helps us feel secure in our identity. This, in turn, helps us understand outside influences, self-direct our behavior, set healthy boundaries, build and maintain good habits and trust ourselves to make good choices. 

• RELATABILITY
  As humans, we are inherently social beings who seek to form connections with others. Different people present different qualities and our ability to navigate through different dynamics helps us become more relatable. The ability to relate to others can help us evaluate our own perspectives while also helping us become more open-minded and empathetic. This, in turn, can help us engage in self-compassion and become more present and self-aware in our thought processes. Even though Liam derived great pleasure from gardening alone, he was able to accomplish great things with the help of his community. 

Planting your own Seeds

Although “The Curious Garden” seeks to leave its readers inspired, it’s important to remember that Liam’s garden was not cultivated in a day. It took time, perseverance and a great deal of teamwork to become the flourishing oasis we see on the last page. However, as we saw with Liam, the most powerful part of the journey is often taking the first step. Consider reflecting on the following questions in writing: 

1. How is your environment set up to react to combat problems you face? 

2. Does this reactive approach prevent future problems or recurring problems? 

3. How would it feel to take an approach that prevents future problems and stops recurring problems? 

4. Who might support you in taking a proactive approach? 

Getting to Work!

At Mind the Class, we partner with school systems to shift from reactive to proactive by designing a mentally healthy ecosystem unique to the needs within their communities to reduce the risks and reverse the rates of mental and behavioral disorders. Our goal for every team we work with is to leave them feeling capable, empowered and connected and our ultimate vision is thriving mentally healthy communities. 

3 WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH US TODAY: 

1. Download our free resources! 

2. Schedule a free 1 hr webinar on proactive mental health for your professional or community group!

3. Contact us for partnership and collaboration opportunities with your school, community, governmental or social services group.