Life-Ready SocietyEst. 2026
Camps · Wellbeing and Resilience Retreat · Day 1 of 3 · 3 hours

Day 1: Know yourself

Emotions, values, strengths and the signals your body sends you.

Today's goal

By the end of today you can name what you feel more precisely, map your mood and energy, spot your own stress signals and say what you value and do well.

Agenda

Finishes at 12:00.
  1. Warm-upWelcome, ground rules and help numbers15 min
  2. LearnEmotions are information15 min
  3. ActivityMood and energy map25 min
  4. LearnStress signals: body, mind and behaviour15 min
  5. BreakBreak15 min
  6. ActivityMy stress signature traffic light25 min
  7. ActivityValues sort30 min
  8. ActivityStrengths spotting20 min
  9. ReflectKnow-yourself snapshot12 min
  10. QuizDay 1 quiz8 min

The session

Warm-up · 15 min

Welcome, ground rules and help numbers

A calm start: what this retreat is, what it is not, and how to look after yourself while you take part.

  1. Read the ground rules aloud: sharing is optional, journals are private, we listen without judging, and what others share stays in the room unless someone is at risk.
  2. Be clear: this is wellbeing education, not therapy. If something feels heavy, you can step out and talk to an adult.
  3. Save the help numbers in your phone now: 999 police, 998 ambulance, 800-SAKINA (800 725462) 24/7, Itma'en 800506 daily 9am to midnight, plus a trusted adult and your school counsellor.
  4. Write in your journal: one word for how you feel right now, and one thing you hope to get from these three days.

Solo

Read the rules to yourself, save the numbers, and tell a trusted adult you are starting. Then write your one word and your hope.

Group

Sit in a circle. The facilitator reads the rules and the numbers. Go round with one word each for how you feel; anyone may say "pass".

Related lessons: Mental health basics: everyone has it, How to talk to someone and get help

Learn · 15 min

Emotions are information

Emotions are signals, not instructions. Naming them precisely is the first step to handling them well.

  1. Everyone has mental health, just as everyone has physical health, and it changes over time.
  2. Emotions help us notice what matters. Unpleasant feelings like worry or anger are not bad; they are information.
  3. The Mood Meter from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence plots feelings on two dimensions: pleasantness (left to right) and energy (bottom to top).
  4. Its four quadrants: red (unpleasant, high energy, such as anger or fear), blue (unpleasant, low energy, such as disappointment or loneliness), green (pleasant, low energy, such as calm or serenity) and yellow (pleasant, high energy, such as joy or excitement).
  5. Its message is that all emotions are okay; what matters is how you respond to them.
  6. "Bad" is vague. "Disappointed", "left out" or "overwhelmed" each point to a different response.

Related lessons: What emotions are and why we have them, Naming your emotions, Emotional intelligence: what it is and what the science says, Mental health basics: everyone has it

Activity · 25 min

Mood and energy map

Build your own vocabulary of feelings and map how your mood and energy move through a typical day.

  1. Draw a large cross on A4 paper. Label the horizontal line "pleasantness" and the vertical line "energy". Colour the four quadrants red, blue, green and yellow.
  2. Write at least five feeling words in each quadrant (10 minutes). Push past the obvious: try "restless", "content", "drained", "proud", "tense".
  3. On a second sheet, draw a timeline of a typical school day from waking to sleep.
  4. Mark where you usually sit on the Mood Meter at five points: waking, mid-morning, after school, evening, bedtime.
  5. Circle one pattern you notice, such as "my energy crashes after school" or "I feel red before tests".

Solo

Do both sheets yourself. Keep them in your journal.

Group

Work alone for the map, then in pairs swap only your feeling word lists (not your timelines) and borrow three new words from your partner. Pass is always fine.

Related lessons: Naming your emotions

Learn · 15 min

Stress signals: body, mind and behaviour

Stress is a normal response to pressure. Spotting your own early signs lets you act before it builds up.

  1. The NHS lists physical signs such as headaches, tight muscles, an upset stomach and a racing heart.
  2. Mental signs include trouble concentrating, difficulty making decisions, feeling overwhelmed, constant worrying and forgetfulness.
  3. Behavioural signs include irritability, sleeping or eating much more or less than usual and avoiding people or places.
  4. Most people feel stressed at some point. The aim is not zero stress but noticing it early and responding well.
  5. If stress or low mood lasts for weeks, or gets in the way of daily life, talk to a trusted adult, your school counsellor or a doctor.

Related lessons: What stress is: your body and brain under pressure, Exam and academic stress, Anxiety: what is normal and when to get help, Low mood and depression: noticing the signs

Break · 15 min

Break

Step away from the paper. Drink water, stretch, look out of a window or step outside if it is cool enough.

  1. Move for at least five minutes.
  2. No scrolling: notice how your body feels instead.
Activity · 25 min

My stress signature traffic light

Turn the NHS signs into a personal early warning system you can actually use.

  1. Draw three boxes: green (doing well), amber (starting to struggle), red (struggling).
  2. In green, write what you are like when you are well: how you sleep, eat, talk, study.
  3. In amber, write your own first signs of stress from the three NHS categories (body, mind, behaviour). Be specific: "I stop replying to messages" is more useful than "I feel stressed".
  4. In red, write signs that would tell you it is time to get help from someone else.
  5. Next to red, write the names of two people you would tell and the help numbers.

Solo

Complete it privately in your journal. You will use it in your Wellbeing Plan on Day 3.

Group

Everyone works privately. The facilitator then collects general amber signs on a flipchart from volunteers ("anyone can add one sign, not a story") so people see how common they are.

Related lessons: What stress is: your body and brain under pressure, Healthy coping versus unhealthy coping, Anxiety: what is normal and when to get help

Activity · 30 min

Values sort

Values are what matter most to you. Knowing them helps you choose, cope and recover.

  1. Following the Mind Tools method, recall a time you felt really happy, a time you felt proud and a time you felt fulfilled. Note what you were doing and who was there (8 minutes).
  2. From those moments, pick up to ten values, such as family, faith, fairness, learning, kindness, adventure, health, honesty. Write each on a sticky note.
  3. Rank them by comparing two at a time: if you could keep only one, which would it be? Repeat until you have a top five.
  4. Check your top three: are you proud of them, and would you stand by them even if they were unpopular?
  5. Write one sentence: "When I am stressed, I lose touch with my value of ... and I can reconnect by ..."

Solo

Lay the sticky notes on a table and physically move them as you rank.

Group

Rank individually. In threes, each person may share one value and why it matters, or pass.

Related lessons: What values are and finding your own, Meaningful goals and a personal mission statement

Activity · 20 min

Strengths spotting

Resilience grows from what you already do well, not only from fixing weaknesses.

  1. Psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman described 24 character strengths grouped under six virtues: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence.
  2. Read this list: creativity, curiosity, judgement, love of learning, perspective, bravery, perseverance, honesty, zest, love, kindness, social intelligence, teamwork, fairness, leadership, forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation, appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, humour, spirituality.
  3. Circle the five that feel most like you, and for each write one real example from the last month.
  4. Write how one strength could help you on a hard day, for example "humour helps me put a bad test in perspective".

Solo

If you find it hard, ask a trusted adult or friend which strengths they see in you, then compare.

Group

In pairs, each person names one strength they have noticed in their partner today. Keep it specific and kind.

Related lessons: Building real confidence and self-esteem, Building resilience

Reflect · 12 min

Know-yourself snapshot

Pull today together on one private page.

  1. Write your top three values, top three strengths and your three clearest amber signs.
  2. Answer the journal prompts below.
  3. Re-read the help numbers and check they are saved in your phone.

Solo

Write quietly for the full time.

Group

Silent writing. The facilitator reminds everyone of the help numbers and that they can talk to an adult privately at any point.

Related lessons: Reflection and journaling

Go to your journal

Quiz · 8 min

Day 1 quiz

Five quick questions to lock in today's ideas.

  1. Answer alone, then check the explanations.

Go to the day quiz

Your journal

Private, saved on this device only. Your answers stay in this browser. They are never sent to us, even when you are signed in.

Wellbeing and Resilience Retreat · Day 1: Know yourself · My journal

Day 1 quiz

Score 80% or more to complete Day 1.

1. On the Yale Mood Meter, which two dimensions are used to place a feeling?

2. A student feels calm and content after a walk. Which Mood Meter quadrant fits best?

3. Which of these does the NHS list as a behavioural sign of stress?

4. In the Mind Tools values method, how do you rank your values?

5. Who described the 24 character strengths grouped under six virtues?

Overnight challenge

Check your mood three times tomorrow before Day 2 (morning, after school, evening) and write the Mood Meter colour and one precise feeling word each time.

Sources

  1. Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, RULER: Families Mood Meter overview
  2. NHS: Stress
  3. Mind Tools: What are your values?
  4. Wikipedia: Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (Peterson and Seligman)
  5. Department of Health Abu Dhabi: DoH activates 24/7 mental health support hotline 800-SAKINA (725462)
  6. Dubai Health: Dubai Health, CDA and DHA introduce the Itma'en service to support mental wellbeing
  7. u.ae: Handling emergencies
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