Are you having trouble feeling motivated enough to finish out the school year? If so, you may need to examine your overall well-being. Here’s how to do a mid-semester wellness check-in:
Wellness for Students
Wellness is not taught to students, so many times we feel like we are only surviving from semester to semester. Society’s constant need to work is causing ‘getting by’ day after day to become a dangerous norm. According to the BBC, overworking is actually killing people. It has become the largest occupational killer. Overworking causes a fight or flight response in the human nervous system. We must stop these bad habits as students, to prevent ourselves from becoming victims to this socially acceptable way to die. Therefore, thriving must be our goal because surviving is no longer enough. As students, we must look at ourselves as whole beings and not just as work machines. A focus on wellness is the way to do this. Understanding wellness also gets us away from the toxic side of self-love culture. It is a holistic approach that allows us to look inwardly and outwardly at ourselves. To get started on a wellness check-in there are four questions that I like to ask myself:- How am I doing physically?
- How am I doing socially?
- How am I doing emotionally?
Physically
Physical wellness is ensuring that the best decisions are being made when it comes to taking care of our bodies. Most people choose one or two parts of their physical well-being to focus on and overlook the rest. Neglecting one of them will most likely harm the effects of another. Physical Wellness includes (but is not limited to):- Nutrition
- Physical activity
- Sleep
- Skincare
- Haircare
- Water intake
- Blue light screen time
Socially
UC Davis has a helpful guide to social wellness. Social wellness is cultivating meaningful relationships with proper boundaries and trust. As well as, showing respect to everyone in your life. Social wellness includes (but is not limited to):- Proper Boundaries
- Cultivating healthy relationships
- Participating regularly in social interactions
- Trying new activities
- Meeting new people
- Knowing and using your support system
Emotionally
How well we are able to handle feelings and emotions while adapting to changes and stresses in life is the core of emotional wellness according to the National Institutes of Health. College is a time of transitions and unknowns, so stress, anxiety, and depression are issues for college students. This is especially true after the pandemic. PBS News reported that 1 in 4 college students have considered suicide. Taking care of our emotional health is what we must do to continue living. Emotional Wellness includes (but is not limited to):- Stress levels
- Happiness
- Coping with change
- Acceptance of emotions
- How you treat others
- The perspective you have of yourself
- Managing difficult emotions
- Having a purpose in life
- Positive/negative self-talk
- Gratitude
- Having a safe space to process
- Getting professional help for mental illnesses