School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Month: 6 of 12 (self-paced: all sections are posted, and you learn at your own pace) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister
This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice and not medical advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911. If you are struggling, call or text 988 any time — free, confidential, day or night.
Adapted from the Youth Core, Week 4.
Before you start
- This space is private. Nobody sees what you read or how you answer. Your progress is saved only in your own browser on this device.
- We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. If you earn a certificate, you download it first and write your own name on it after.
- Pass the month test at 80% or higher to earn this month's certificate. You can retake the test as many times as you need — each retake presents the questions in a different order, with the answer choices in a different order too. Answers are not shown — the point is to go back, find what you missed in the lesson, and learn it for real.
- If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk out loud, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time, day or night.
The lesson
1. Feelings are signals, not verdicts
Everyone has stretches where things feel heavy — stress at home, trouble at school, friend drama, grief, or a sadness or worry that just sits there. This month is about understanding those feelings, knowing the warning signs that mean get help now, and building the plan you will actually use. Feeling sad, angry, anxious, or numb sometimes is human, not broken.
Feelings get dangerous when they stay and grow: weeks of feeling down, losing interest in everything, sleep or appetite changing a lot, feeling hopeless, or thinking everyone would be better off without you. Those are signals to get support — the same way a high fever is a signal to see a doctor. A signal is not a life sentence. It is information that tells you what kind of help to reach for, and reaching early almost always makes the path back shorter and easier.
2. Asking for help is a skill
Asking for help is a skill, not a weakness. The strongest people you know have all been helped by somebody. Like any skill, it gets easier with practice and with exact words ready ahead of time. You can start small: "I've been feeling really low for a couple of weeks and I don't want to feel like this. Can I talk to you?" You can say it to a parent, a counselor, a school nurse, a coach, a faith leader, or another trusted adult from your Month 1 map. You can also write it in a note or a text if speaking is hard.
What to expect when you ask matters, too. A good helper will listen without rushing, ask what has been going on, and help you think about next steps — which might be rest and check-ins for a hard week, or a counselor, doctor, or help line for something heavier or longer-lasting. If the first person does not know how to help, that is not the end. Ask the next person. Needing help more than once, or needing a different kind of help than you first tried, is normal.
3. Know the help lines — put them in your phone today
Save these numbers now, while you are calm, so they are there on a hard night. You can call or text 988, 24/7, for emotional distress or thoughts of suicide. It is free and confidential. You can text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line if you would rather type than talk. You can call Childhelp at 1-800-422-4453 if home is the problem. And you call 911 if you or someone else might act on harmful thoughts soon, or anyone is in immediate danger.
You can also call 988 about a friend and ask what to do. You do not have to carry someone else's crisis alone, and the people who answer these lines coach friends and family through exactly that, every day. Confidential means kept private, with one limit that protects life: if someone is about to be seriously hurt, helpers act to protect that person.
4. The friend rule — take it seriously, every time
If a friend says they want to die, hurt themselves, or "not be here anymore" — even as a joke, even if they say "don't tell" — take it seriously. Believe it could be real. You cannot tell from the outside, and the cost of being wrong is too high. Stay connected: keep talking, and stay with them in person or on the phone if you can. Tell a trusted adult immediately — a parent, counselor, or teacher — and call or text 988 for guidance. This is another promise that does not outrank a life. A living friend who is mad at you can forgive you later.
Do not promise secrecy about this. Ever. You can say, right in the moment: "I care about you too much to keep that secret." Asking directly also helps, and it does not plant the idea. Asking "Are you thinking about hurting yourself?" opens the door for a friend to tell the truth. It does not create thoughts that were not there.
5. Calm-down tools that actually help
For the everyday too-much days, you need tools that work on your body, not just advice to "calm down." Breathe out slowly, with longer exhales than inhales, for a few rounds — it physically slows a racing body down. Splash cold water on your face or hold something cold; it jolts the stress response down. Move: walk, run, shoot baskets, dance in your room — stress is energy, so give it somewhere to go. Name it to tame it: say, out loud or in a notes app, "I'm furious because…" Naming a feeling shrinks it a little. Shrink the problem by asking, "What is the next one thing I can do?" Not the whole solution — the next step. Take care of the basics: sleep, food, and water. A tired, hungry brain makes everything feel ten times worse, and that basic care truly helps your body and your mind. Limit the scroll: when you feel awful, feeds full of conflict and comparison pour fuel on it, so take the break.
Try these tools on medium-hard days, not only on the worst days. Practicing when the stakes are lower teaches your body what works for you, so the tools are familiar when you really need them. Notice which two or three help you most and write those down in your safety plan.
6. Build your personal safety plan
A personal safety plan is your own written plan for hard stretches, made by you, in your own words. It has six parts. First, my warning signs — how you know a bad stretch is starting, such as "I stop answering texts" or "my stomach hurts every morning." Second, my calm-down tools — the two or three from the list above that work for you. Third, my people — your three trusted adults from Month 1, plus one friend. Fourth, my places — somewhere you can go and feel safer. Fifth, my lines — 988, the Crisis Text Line, and Childhelp, saved as contacts. Sixth, my reason list — people, pets, goals, and even small things, like a team, a show, or a future plan, that are worth staying for. Read it on the worst days.
What NOT to do when you feel overwhelmed: do not isolate for days and tell yourself nobody cares — isolation makes the feelings louder and help farther away. Do not use alcohol, vaping, or other substances to numb feelings; they borrow calm from tomorrow and make anxiety and low mood worse as they wear off. Do not make big, permanent decisions in the worst hour of a bad night. And do not wait until a crisis to find your numbers and your people. The whole point of this plan is that past-you, on a calmer day, already did the hard organizing for present-you.
Words to know — Month 6
- Crisis — a moment when feelings or danger are too much to handle alone and help is needed right away.
- Confidential — kept private, with one limit: if someone is about to be seriously hurt, helpers act to protect life.
- Coping tools — healthy actions that help you get through hard feelings, such as breathing, movement, talking, and rest.
- Safety plan (personal) — your own written plan: warning signs, tools, people, places, and help lines.
- Support network — all the people and services you can turn to; stronger than any single person.
- Warning signs — changes in mood, sleep, appetite, interest, or behavior that signal you need more support soon.
- Overwhelmed — feeling like the demands or emotions in front of you are more than you can manage alone in that moment.
Myths vs facts — Month 6
- Myth: Asking for help means you are weak or cannot handle life. Fact: Asking for help is a skill that strong people use. Everyone needs support at some point, and asking early is how small problems stay small.
- Myth: Asking a friend if they are thinking about hurting themselves will plant the idea. Fact: Asking directly does not create the idea. It opens the door for honesty and help, and it shows your friend they do not have to hide.
- Myth: If someone mentions suicide as a joke, it is never serious. Fact: You cannot tell serious from joking from the outside. Treat every mention as real, stay connected, and bring in an adult and 988.
- Myth: Coping tools are only for a crisis. Fact: Breathing, movement, sleep, food, water, and naming your feelings help on ordinary stressful days, too — and practicing them then makes them work better in a crisis.
What would you do? — Month 6
The situation: Your best friend Desmond has changed over the last month — quit the team, stopped coming to lunch, leaves your messages on read. Tonight he finally replies: "honestly everyone would be better off if I just wasn't around. forget I said anything."
Walk it through:
- Take it seriously. That sentence is a warning sign, full stop. "Forget I said anything" does not cancel it.
- Respond with care, right now. "I'm not forgetting it. I care about you. Are you thinking about hurting yourself?" Asking directly does not put the idea in someone's head — that is a myth. It opens the door for them to tell the truth.
- Stay on the line or keep texting. Do not leave him alone with it tonight if you can help it.
- Bring in adults — tonight, not tomorrow. Tell your parent or his, or another trusted adult, exactly what he wrote. Call or text 988 and ask them what to do; they coach friends and family through this all the time.
- Follow up tomorrow, and the day after. Sit with him at lunch. Keep inviting. Recovery is not one conversation; it is someone who keeps showing up. That is you — with adults carrying the heavy part alongside you.
Try this — Month 6
Write your personal safety plan today, in a notes app or on paper you keep private. Fill in all six parts: warning signs, calm-down tools, people, places, help lines saved as contacts, and your reason list. Then do two small setup tasks that make the plan real: save 988 and the Crisis Text Line as contacts in your phone, and practice one calm-down tool — slow exhales or a cold splash of water — once on a normal day so you know how it feels. Finally, choose your asking-for-help sentence and write that down, too. On a hard day, you should not have to invent words, search for numbers, or wonder who to call. Past-you handles that now.
Resources to keep — Month 6
- 911 — call if you or someone else might act on harmful thoughts soon, or anyone is in immediate danger.
- 988 (call/text) — call or text 988, 24/7, for emotional distress or thoughts of suicide, for yourself or about a friend.
- Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741 to connect by text if talking out loud is hard.
- Childhelp — 1-800-422-4453 — help if home is the source of the stress or harm.
- SAMHSA — 1-800-662-4357 — information and referrals for mental health and substance use support.
- Your school counselor, your school nurse, or a trusted adult — in-person support who can stay involved over time.
What you earned / what's next — Month 6
✅ Month 6 complete (test score 80% or higher): You know the warning signs that mean get help now, you have calm-down tools for everyday hard days, you know how to respond when a friend is in crisis, and you have your own written safety plan. Month 6 completes the first half of your Youth year — six months of safety skills that build on each other, from your trusted-adult map to this plan.
What's next: Month 7 — Trouble at School, Running Away, and Safer Choices. Next month takes these same tools into school trouble and the urge to run, and looks at safer choices you can make in the moment and after.
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Lessons are educational information, written in plain language. If you or someone you know is in danger, call 911. Help lines: 988 (call/text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.