World Mental Health Day: How Learning Can Heal and Inspire
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being — not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
— World Health Organization, 1948
Health has never been just about fixing what is broken.
Health is about living well — physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally. All these dimensions are deeply interconnected. When one of these dimensions falters, the others follow.
October 10th is World Mental Health Day. This is an initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health that was first celebrated in 1992. It is a day to champion mental health advocacy and advance public education worldwide.
For me, and for all of us at Indelible Learning, mental and emotional health are not afterthoughts. They are the spark that ignited our work.
A Mission Born From a Gap
Indelible Learning began with a determination to make a difference in the lives of gifted students. Gifted students are a population too often misunderstood, overlooked, and sadly, left unsupported. Many of these young people carry extraordinary potential, but their intellectual and emotional needs go unrecognized. Sometimes, they are even mistreated. The result? Stunted growth and quiet erosion of confidence.
We started small. Many years ago, a teacher asked for help in teaching Solar System. So we did. We saw that request as an invitation to create something that didn’t exist. Something that could ignite curiosity and critical thinking.
We built an innovative way to teach Solar System and The Measure of Scales. Students loved it. Teachers loved it too. Then came Light. Then, Volcanoes and Magnets: How We Need Both to Survive. Then, Election Lab, Medical Mysteries, Space Mission Failures, Cold War Bomber Gap and so many more.
Over months and years of this work, one thing became clear: in every one of our classrooms, courses or workshops, learning came alive. Students felt free to be themselves — to think differently, to question, to create. For many, it was the first time they were truly seen.
We shared this work nationally. Among others, we attended events at the Davidson Institute, the National Association for Gifted Children, California Association for the Gifted and LAUSD GATE Student Conference. We volunteered our time at the schools and the district. We educated and advocated for education and gifted. And along the way – we learned. I often joke:
“After years of hands-on-work with gifted students and adults, I earned my unofficial PhD in gifted.”
Over time of teaching and educating, it became clear to us:
What began as a mission to support gifted learners can empower all learners.
Education and Mental Health: Inseparable
So yes, Health, including quest for understanding and supporting mental and emotional health, has not only sparked our work but has always been at the heart of our work. As a result, we pause and breathe with gratitude and deeper understanding.
This World Mental Health Day, is a great reminder of our commitment to mental health as an essential foundation for one’s overall health and well-being. We celebrate our shared commitment to building lifelong healthy habits, compassion, and real-world life skills through meaningful learning experiences — whether in classrooms, immersive simulations, speaking engagements or digital games.
Our goal is simple and unwavering:
To design learning that does not just teach, but that nurtures, inspires, supports, and enlightens.
Whether it’s the Bubble Beats Hand Hygiene Trainer, which helps students build daily healthier hand hygiene habits, or End of Imperial, our medical mystery game that teaches sleep health and sparks curiosity, critical thinking, and interest in science and health careers, our mission remains the same:
Create learning that strengthens mental, emotional, and physical well-being, and as a result, helps students feel capable, connected, and cared for.
Behind our digital games, simulation, or curriculum we design lies a profound observation:
Learning cannot thrive without mental well-being.
And mental well-being cannot thrive without emotional well-being.
I believe emotional well-being sits at the center of it all. When students can be themselves and engage deeply in learning, curiosity grows. When curiosity grows, anxiety diminishes. When anxiety diminishes, creativity flourishes. And when creativity flourishes, confidence grows.
Our work began with gifted learners, but the principles of compassion, challenge, and connection to authentic real-life problems that need solving uplift every learner. Mental health is strengthened when education honors the whole person: body, mind, and potential.
Why Games & Immersive Learning Matter
We have seen that educational games and simulations of real-life authentic problems are powerful tools for well-being. They create safe spaces for emotional exploration. They foster social connection. They help students manage stress and build resilience. When students play, they don’t just learn — they immerse. And, they connect.
Good mental health depends on wholeness of physical, social, mental, and emotional balance. And I believe adding intellectual balance allows us to adapt, to care, and to grow. For gifted students in particular, intellectual engagement is not a luxury. On the contrary, it is essential to their emotional and psychological well-being.
A Shared Responsibility
On this World Mental Health Day, I’m reminded of how far we’ve come, but also, how far we still have to go. There is no mental health without physical, emotional, intellectual, and social health. They are threads of the same fabric.
As a physician, educator, and advocate, I have learned that health and learning are inseparable.
At Indelible Learning, we weave this belief into programs we build. Our work is grounded in compassion and the science of self-efficacy. We help learners see that they are capable, that they matter, and that their well-being is worth protecting.
Today, we honor the resilience of learners and educators who show up with courage, creativity, and care.
Because when we learn with empathy, when we teach with compassion, and when we lead with humanity, we do not just improve learning.
We strengthen the foundation of health itself. 💙
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Dr. Jasminka Vukanovic-Criley MD, FACP, FHM is a multiple award-winning physician, internist, hospitalist, healthcare & education innovator & Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA. She is a career mentor & advisor to numerous undergraduate, graduate & postgraduate students & faculty. As a researcher, Dr. Criley received awards from the National Institutes of Health & the U.S. Department of Education Her work focuses on creating research-driven #edtech games & digital media to improve health, civics, science education & promote healthy habits. Dr Criley is also a sought-after speaker & a founding Board member of Physician’s Weekly. She can be reached on X at @criley_md and at www.linkedin.com/in/jasminka-criley-md