Tips From the Wellness Department
by Zora Fiset Morin
The Wellness department is ready to help.
The Student Wellness Office was established in 2019 and is located in the Life Fitness Center here on campus. The office is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The program is designed to work with students to explore and grow toward healthy life habits. It helps students with their health, well-being, relationships, and/or academic performance. It offers short-term mental health counseling and an on-campus food pantry.
We asked Sue Allaire, success navigator, for six tips on how to cope with stress.
Her answer:
- “Identify what causes you stress. Pay attention to activities or people who put a strain on your mental energy, take up a lot of time, activate uncomfortable feelings or cause tension in your body.”
- “Manage your time. Writing things down in either a planner or calendar can help you declutter your brain, as well as visualize where you can spend your time and energy.”
- “Do a digital detox. The need to immediately reply to each text, snap, or tweet can be overwhelming. Every now and then close the laptop, and set your phone to “do not disturb” for some true alone time.”
- “Get plenty of sleep. You need sleep to think clearly, react quickly and create memories. Students who regularly get a good night’s sleep perform significantly better than sleep-deprived students. Aim to get 7+ hours of sleep/night.”
- “Practice self-compassion. Failure is a sign of your humanity. Instead of beating yourself up, learn how to be self-compassionate by treating yourself with the same gentleness and care you would give to a friend.”
- “Be present. A regular mindfulness practice can help increase your ability to live in the moment rather than worrying about the future or dwelling on the past.”
(Wellness staff from left to right: Sue Allaire, Cheryl Kramer, Nancy Mclver, Justine Parsons, Deb Riggs). (Courtesy of 4C’s)
Categories: Featured, Student Life