When I first walked into a classroom full of high school students as a facilitator of mental health workshops, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy task. Mental health is a topic young people rarely talk about openly – especially not in front of their peers. At the beginning, I could clearly feel the distance: shy looks, nervous laughter, silence, and the prejudices that workshops like these are “boring,” “unnecessary,” or “not for them.”
Honestly, in those first moments, my fear was just as strong as their uncertainty. I wondered how I could, in just three workshops, reach young people who have been taught to hide their emotions, keep quiet about their mental health, and consider vulnerability as something to be ashamed of.
After the very first workshop, a small but crucial shift happened. Someone asked a question. Someone said, for the first time, that they “aren’t always okay.” The silence in the classroom was no longer a wall—it became a space where trust started to grow.
Over the course of three workshops, working with high school students on recognizing emotions, stress, and the everyday pressures they face, I witnessed a change I didn’t expect to happen so quickly. Young people who initially sat with crossed arms, unmotivated and slightly cynical, began participating, talking, and listening to each other. The prejudices slowly faded and were replaced by curiosity and readiness to engage.
For me personally, this process was equally transformative. Each workshop strengthened my confidence as a facilitator. I realized that it’s not necessary to have all the answers—what matters is being present, honest, and willing to listen. It was the students themselves, with all their resistance and sincerity, who helped me grow stronger and more assured in this role.
In just a few weeks and through three workshops, we managed to break down a part of the stigma surrounding mental health. The initiative “Take Care of Yourself!”, implemented by the association BaUM through the project “Connecting the Dots 2.0 – Improving Child Participation in Decision‑Making to Enhance Child Rights and Democracy in BiH”, showed me that change can happen even in a short period of time—when we give young people space, and give ourselves permission to grow alongside them.
