Running Out of Batteries
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 13 to 19 May
by Claire Law
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To explore how we can attend to our own ‘mood battery’ to support our mental health and well-being.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Running Out of Batteries) and the means to display them.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘Police Tesla ran out of battery during chase’ and the means to play it during the assembly. It is 0.42 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/S6exsDpwQWU (you will only need the audio)
- Note: you may wish to use the information and resources about mood batteries on the Young Minds website, available at: https://tinyurl.com/mrx9sh4k
Assembly
- Show Slide 1.
Welcome the students to the assembly. - Show Slide 2.
How many of us here know someone who owns an electric vehicle? Perhaps we’ve seen electric charging points at garages and in car parks. Perhaps we’ve travelled in an electric car or bus.
Electric vehicles offer environmental benefits, which is one reason for their growing popularity. As of the end of February 2024, there are over one million fully electric cars on UK roads and a further 620,000 plug-in hybrids. - Show Slide 3.
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are powered by their battery, so it needs to be regularly recharged. This has led to a TikTok trend for content focussed on EVs – particularly Teslas – that run out of battery power at inconvenient times. - Show Slide 4.
In 2019, Tesla made world news when a Californian police car stopped dead during a high-speed chase – all because the battery had run out.
Let’s listen to a news report about this unfortunate incident.
Play the audio from the YouTube video ‘Police Tesla ran out of battery during chase’ (0.42 minutes long). - What if we extend the idea of battery levels to our own energy levels? Likening our well-being to a battery can be a helpful metaphor.
Perhaps we’ve heard people say things like, ‘I’m really drained’, ‘I feel like I’ve run out of steam’, ‘I’m burnt out’ and ‘I just don’t have it in me to face that today’. These are all ways of communicating that we’ve run out of energy. Things have depleted our energy levels, and we haven’t been able to refuel. It’s like our inner batteries have run out, which can leave us feeling down, fed up and stressed. - Show Slide 5.
Let’s think about our metaphorical inner battery. This image shows one person’s mood battery: the things that help them to recharge are in green, and the things that drain them are in red.
For this person, singing, calming music and playing video games help to recharge their inner battery, so they feel ready to face the world. However, they’ve recognized that poor diet, lack of sleep and stress are things that drain them and leave them feeling depleted.
In the image, there’s a sense of balance: the red and green are equal. However, if this person stopped doing the things that support their well-being, their mood battery would soon be depleted by the stresses that they face. This could cause them to experience a drop in their mood and feel overwhelmed - a bit like the broken-down Tesla we saw earlier.
Show Slide 6. - Show Slide 7.
Mental Health Awareness Week takes place between 13 and 19 May 2024. It has been running for over 20 years in the UK and aims to tackle stigma and help people to understand and prioritize their own and others’ mental health. Reflecting on the things that cause us to feel drained and identifying what helps to charge our mood battery is a great way to do this.
Time for reflection
Show Slide 8.
It’s helpful to reflect upon the things that cause us to feel drained, and to identify what helps to charge our own mood battery.
Here is a blank version of the mood battery that we saw before. There will be things that drain each of us. Let’s take a moment to reflect on what depletes our mood.
Click the slide to reveal the red text.
What drains our mood and energy?
Pause to allow time for thought.
Some examples might include having too many things to do in a short time, feeling alone and feeling under pressure to look a certain way. There are also things that are more individual: some people find noisy places draining, whereas others find that type of environment enhances their mood.
Let’s take a moment to think about what we would include on our own mood battery diagram.
If we’re considering what drains us, we must also reflect upon what helps to recharge us and give us a boost. What things help us to stop reaching burnout?
Click the slide to reveal the green text.
What boosts and recharges our mood and energy?
Pause to allow time for thought.
Show Slide 9.
If you’re struggling to work out what helps you, you might find it useful to look at the Five Ways to Well-Being model. It offers five steps that you can take to improve your mental health and well-being:
- connect
- be active
- take notice
- keep learning
- give
Show Slide 10.
Taking notice is at the core of many of the world’s religious traditions. Prayer, meditation and time for personal reflection are important to believers of various faiths; they provide a way to connect with core beliefs as well as to find a sense of balance and stillness. Prayer can be an important part of plugging into a sense of meaning and purpose, which can help to recharge us.
So, as we near the end of today’s assembly, let’s take a moment to gather our thoughts and feelings in prayer.
Prayer
In a moment of silent reflection, let’s check in with our own mood batteries. How drained do you feel right now? What might be depleting you? What might enhance your well-being?
Pause to allow time for thought.
We pray for awareness of our own mood batteries today and during the coming week.
May we find ways to check in with ourselves and create opportunities to recharge as needed.
Please help us to create pauses during our busy day so that we can plug in and recharge.
Amen.
