Education and Leadership › Women’s Academy › Health, Rights and Wellbeing › Mental Wellness and Self-Care › Course Materials
Mental health is as important as physical health. This course teaches simple, evidence-based ways to manage stress, sleep better, regulate emotions, build a healthy daily routine and support friends, and shows when to seek help from a specialist.
Course page on the learning system
Course details
| Level | Beginner |
| Estimated duration | 6 hours of study and practice |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Language of instruction | Farsi-e-Dari (with key English terms) |
| Fee | Free |
| Assessment | A quiz after each section and a final exam; pass mark 70%; certificate after approval by the Academy |
After this course you will be able to
- Recognise the signs of stress in yourself
- Use a few simple relaxation, breathing and mindfulness exercises
- Build a healthy routine with sleep, movement and social contact
- Listen respectfully to a friend who is under pressure and support them
- Know when and where to ask for professional help
Course outline
- Mental and physical health
- Misconceptions
- Normal emotions
- Signs
- Sources of stress
- Relaxation and breathing exercises
- Sleep
- Movement and daylight
- Routine and small goals
- Listening to a friend
- Saying “no”
- Healthy boundaries online
- When professional help is needed
- How to get started
- Looking after yourself as a helper
Week-by-week learning path
With about 30 to 45 minutes of study and practice a day, you will complete this course in 6 weeks:
| Week | Topic | Weekly output |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | What is mental health | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 2 | Stress | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 3 | Healthy habits | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 4 | Connection and support | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 5 | Getting help | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 6 | Final project and final exam | Completed project and a score of 70% or higher |
Final project
A “two-week self-care plan”: a daily log of sleep, movement and one good experience, a daily breathing exercise, identifying three sources of stress with one strategy for each, and a list of supportive people and resources. (This plan is private; share only a general reflection with the teacher.)
Project assessment criteria:
- Consistency in practice
- Realistic understanding of sources of stress
- Healthy and practical strategies
- Knowing the ways to get help
Key terms in this course
Mental health
Stress
Resilience
Calm breathing
Mindfulness
Self-care
Healthy boundary
Social support
Assessment and certificate
- After each section: a short quiz (70% recommended before moving on)
- Practical exercises in each lesson: for learning; send your questions using the Questions button.
- End of course: final exam (pass mark 70%) and submission of the final project
- Digital certificate after review and approval by the Academy: Request a certificate
Teaching method
Each lesson includes learning objectives, explanations with real examples and images, key terms in Farsi-e-Dari and English, common mistakes, a practical exercise, a self-test and a summary. In every lesson you can ask the teacher questions using the Questions button. The courses are impartial, free and open to all young people.
Get ready now
- For one week, write down one good thing about your day every evening
- Walk or move for 10 minutes every day
- Write a list of trusted people you can talk to
Free and reliable resources
These resources were selected by the Academy team; most of them are in English. See also the Translate option in Chrome. Large files (books, exercise files, videos) will be placed in the Academy’s official Google Drive folder when the course goes live and linked from this page.
- World Health Organization (WHO), reliable and up-to-date health information
- MedlinePlus, the trusted health encyclopaedia of the US National Library of Medicine
- OpenLearn – The Open University, hundreds of free short courses with a certificate of participation
Important note: This course does not replace counselling or psychological treatment. If you feel you are in danger or under very severe pressure, talk to a trusted person or a health worker right now.
Help and questions
Questions about this course: [email protected] · All courses: Online Learning Centre · Active course: Computer and Internet Basics
Women’s Academy, Afghanistan Youth Parliament · Free and open to all young people