Healthy Huskie Takeover Mental Health Awareness Day at Naperville North High School: What the Grow Wellness Group Team of Presenters Learned From a Day With Naperville North High School Students — and What Your Family Can Take Home
Days like the Healthy Huskie Takeover at Naperville North High School are exactly why our team does this work. When we walked into that building, we didn't know exactly what to expect. Would students be checked out? Would they roll their eyes? What we found instead was a room full of young people who were genuinely curious, surprisingly open, and; once given the right language and tools, were eager to understand their own minds. It was one of those days that reminds you how much teenagers are carrying, and how much they want support when it's offered in a way that meets them where they are.
Five Grow Wellness Group clinicians (Bailey Behrman, Tamara Gasior, Mary Ellen Taylor, Eddie Perry and Veronica Hemphill) spent the day leading sessions across the school, each one focused on a different piece of the mental health puzzle. The following provides an overview for those teens who attended (as reminders) and for parents (for insight) on each session covered. The intention of providing this information goes beyond providing a simple recap. Conversely, we believe the lessons taught belong at home too. These aren't just school-day strategies. They're life skills your family can grow together!
Bailey Behrman: When Your Brain Won't Stop Replaying Everything
If your teen has ever said "I can't stop thinking about it" (about a conversation, a test, a social moment that felt off); they're not alone, and they're not broken. Bailey's session spoke directly to this experience.
She explained that the brain's tendency to spiral and replay is a built-in feature, not a flaw. However, it is certainly one we can learn to work with. Students practiced a three-step approach called Catch / Check / Choose, which involves noticing a thought before it takes over, pausing to evaluate whether it's actually accurate or helpful and then choosing a more intentional response rather than just reacting. Many students informed Bailey that her presentation wast he first time they felt like they had a real tool for slowing their thoughts down.
Bailey also introduced cognitive distancing, which is a small but powerful shift in language. Instead of "I'm a failure," a student learns to say,"I'm having the thought that I'm a failure." That little bit of space between you and the thought changes everything. It allows us to truly look at what our mind is doing rather than just believing it.
For moments of panic, she emphasized getting physical first: cold water,movement, grounding techniques. When the nervous system is activated, logic alone rarely helps. The body needs to shift first. The mind will then follow suit.
Lastly, for teenage students who tend to shut down when things feel overwhelming, Bailey introduced the 5% Rule. In essence, this involves one not trying to "fix everything," not "trying harder." Instead, one should aspire to just take one tiny step forward. Five percent. Parents, this one is worth bringing up at home. When your teen is stuck, asking "What is one small thing you could do?" is often far more helpful than pushing for the whole solution at once.
Tamara Gasior: What Mistakes Are Actually For
Tamara has a gift for making hard things feel lighter, and her session on mistakes was a perfect example of this gift of hers.
She walked students through what actually happens in the brain when we mess up, and why that discomfort is a sign that growth is happening; rather than it being an indicator that something is wrong. This is a result of how the brain builds stronger pathways through challenge. Consequently, avoiding hard things doesn't protect us; it limits us.
What struck me most about Tamara's message is how much it applies to the parent-teen relationship. So many of our teens are quietly terrified of disappointing the adults in their lives. That fear can make them hide struggles, minimize failures or pretend everything is fine when it really is not. Tamara reminded students (and I'd remind parents) that the goal is not perfection. It is honesty, effort and the willingness to try again when one experiences “failure” of varying degrees.
She also offered something simple and so true: no feeling lasts forever.When your teen is in the thick of something hard, as parents we want to remove this burden and evacuate the erroneous belief that teenager may have about themselves, which may compromise their mental health. As a result, we may offer the sentiment to our child that “this too will pass,” however, this can feel impossible to believe for the inexperienced teen mind. Nevertheless, it is worth saying out loud. Coping skills don't make feelings disappear. To the contrary, they help us move through them without being swept away.
Mary Ellen Taylor: Learning to Slow Down in a World That Won't
Mary Ellen guided students through something that felt almost counter cultural in a high school setting: stillness.
Her session on mindfulness and grounding practices gave students breathing exercises, sensory awareness tools, and permission to simply pause without needing to be productive. The room noticeably shifted during her exercises; something our team has seen happen again and again when people actually give themselves a moment to land.
She was careful to set realistic expectations, which everyone in the room appreciated given the tendency to feel as though an individual may feel they are doing the exercise “incorrectly.” However, it is important to note that mindfulness is not about emptying your mind or feeling calm all the time. It entails noticing what's happening inside you without immediately judging it or running from it. This is a skill that takes practice, but it pays off in focus,emotional regulation, and the ability to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.
For parents, Mary Ellen's session offers a practical invitation: build small pauses into your family's routine. A quiet minute before dinner. A few deep breaths before a hard conversation. A mindful walk without phones. These moments do not have to be formal or long. They just have to be real.
Veronica Hemphill: The Weight of High Expectations
If you have a driven, high-achieving teen, please share this section with them!
Veronica's session touched something deep. She spoke directly to students who hold themselves to impossible standards. Specifically, she addressed the students who work incredibly hard, care deeply, and still somehow feel like their work and output is never quite enough. These students are not undergoing mental health struggles because something is wrong with them. To the contrary, they are often struggling because the voice inside their head is far harsher than anything a teacher or parent would ever say to them.
Veronica introduced re-framing self-talk: learning to notice when your inner voice is being absolute or extreme, and choosing a more accurate, kinder version instead. She also taught students how to hold duality. In essence, the ability for an individual to believe two true things at once. You can do well and have room to grow. You can care about your goals and make mistakes. You can feel scared and still be capable. These examples deeply resonated with the students in attendance!
For parents, I'd encourage you to listen for all-or-nothing statements in your teen's language. "I ruined everything." "I'm the worst." "I'll never get it right." When you hear those, you don't need to argue or reassure. Instead, we recommend gently offering a more balanced alternative. For example, one possible response from a parent could be the following: “That sounds really hard. Is it possible there's a middle ground?" This may seem like small thing; however, it anything but.Approaching your teen in this way does not minimize feelings, allows your child to feel heard and builds enormous trust over time.
Eddie Perry: Focus Is a Skill, Not a Personality Trait
Eddie's session might have generated the most energy in the room, and not just because it involved a competitive activity.
He opened by helping students identify what actually pulls their attention away: phones, social dynamics, fatigue, overwhelm. Eddie then led them through the Concentration Grid, which is a hands-on exercise where distractions were added each round to intentionally create mental distress on behalf of the teens present. Students were able to feel in real time how hard it becomes to focus when conditions work against you (many of which could be out of ones control), and then debriefed on what helped them stay locked in despite the noise.
The key message Eddie delivered is one every parent can learn from: focus isn't a fixed trait. It is absolutely not something you either have or do not. Rather,it a skill built from the right environment, the right habits, and a personal "Refocus Toolkit," which may include verbal cues, visual cues, and physical cues you can return to when your attention drifts.
At home, this looks like creating a consistent, distraction-reduced study space, setting clear phone boundaries during homework time, and helping your teen identify their own reset strategies. Not everyone focuses the same way,and that's okay. The goal is helping them know themselves well enough to set themselves up for success!
What This Day Meant to Our Team of Presenters and Grow Wellness Group
The team spent a lot of time thinking about what made the Healthy Huskie Takeover Mental Wellness work. Inevitably, we kept coming back to a single variable: the students felt like they were being taken seriously.
We weren't talking at them. We weren't handing out worksheets and moving on. We were in conversation about real things, hard things, things they don't always get to talk about in a school day. And, to our surprise, the responded in kind.
Adolescence is genuinely difficult. The pressures today's teens face are real, and they deserve more than platitudes. They deserve tools, language, and adults in their lives who are willing to sit in the hard stuff alongside them.
At Grow Wellness Group, that's what we're here for — for your students, and for your families. If anything in this article sparked a question or resonated with something you're seeing at home, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd love to keep the conversation going.
