Learning Resources Learner Wellness Skills

Learner Wellness Skills Icon Caring for our physical, mental, and spiritual health can improve our academic performance, relationships, and total learning experience.

Video Summary (1-Minuite)

Caring for Your Mental Health

Student sitting in window seal with her hand over her head.

Everyone faces emotional or mental challenges at some point, whether it’s feeling inadequate, stressed, depressed, perfectionistic, anxious, or lonely. These struggles are a normal part of the human experience, and seeking help or using tools to maintain your mental and emotional well-being is a sign of strength, not weakness. Sometimes reading professional guidelines may be enough, while at other times speaking with a counselor can provide additional support. To begin, it can help to identify common stressors and learn about strategies to address them. Use the tool below to pinpoint what’s causing you stress and discover practical approaches to managing and reducing its impact on your life.

Caring for Your Physical Health

Along with taking care of our mental health, it is equally important to take care of our physical well-being. Physical activity can improve our cognitive health—helping us think, learn, problem-solve, and enjoy an emotional balance. It can improve memory. We don't have to have an extreme workout plan to receive the benefits of physical activity. Any amount of physical activity can help. No matter our age or fitness level, physical activity can help improve sleep, brain health, and quality of life.
Neglecting our physical needs for extended periods may result in increased headaches, low energy, slow thinking, and poor performance in school. You can use this tool as a simple workout routine to help you get started.

10 Minute Workout

Self-Care Plan

Self-care is the practice of taking time to care for your physical, emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing, which can be challenging amid the demands of student life. Regular self-care reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, while improving concentration, energy, and overall health. Drawing on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) eight dimensions of wellness—emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual—students can create a personalized self-care plan. Suggestions include journaling, exercising, managing finances, engaging in creative activities, maintaining social connections, and practicing mindfulness or meditation. Life is dynamic, so intentional self-care helps sustain balance and foster wellbeing. Use the tool below to build your own self-care plan and take the first step toward a healthier, more balanced life.

Learn More about Learner Wellness

Page Attributions

Brigham Young University. (n.d.). Counseling and Psychological Services. https://caps.byu.edu/
BYU Counseling and Psychological Services. (n.d.). Managing stress worksheet. Brigham Young University. Retrieved from https://caps.byu.edu/https:/brightspotcdn.byu.edu/87/93/c707d330451ebc91c45c2075eef0/managing-stress-worksheet.pdf
OpenStax. (n.d.). College success. In Taking care of your physical health (Ch. 11.1). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/college-success/pages/11-1-taking-care-of-your-physical-health#ch11rfin-7
Glowiak, M. (2024, January 23). What is self-care and why is it important for you? Southern New Hampshire University. https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/health/what-is-self-care
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2016). Creating a healthier life: A step-by-step guide to wellness (SMA-16-4958). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/sma16-4958.pdf

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