Remember that when we feel things that are unpleasant, we often try to avoid them or ‘cover them up.’ Avoidance is common, although it can be an unhealthy way to deal with life’s unpleasant circumstances.

The transition we mentioned involves building on the recognition that we all try to cover up or get rid of unpleasant feelings. So the teacher invites an exploration by saying: So let’s see what happens when we do this.

The specific details of this activity are covered in the manual, but the gist is that students, working in groups, come up with a common chronic stressor for people their age, then identify the unpleasant feelings that the stressor evokes, and finally name as many ways of covering up or avoiding the stressor as possible. Each way of avoiding, like scrolling social media or sleeping, is written separately on an index card and added it to the pile of cover ups covering the card with the name of the basic unpleasant emotions (such as sadness, fear, anger etc) that they previously identified

The goal is for students to see the sheer volume of avoidance techniques people use and then discuss the short term and long-term benefits and costs associated with ‘covering up/ The activity offers a visual ( the stack of cards that pile up in the center of the small groups) that can make the message more salient. They also can begin to consider that some unhealthy behaviors are actually ‘cover ups’ for unwanted feelings.