In our staff meeting yesterday, our boss shared with us that our Student Health Services department has noticed a significant increase in the number of students seen compared to the same time last year. I also heard that the number of suicide attempts is on the rise. And my colleague Megan stated that she created and shared a list of 20 self-care tips at the request of students in one of her classes.
Two years ago, I did a presentation to doctoral students pursuing an online EdD in Kinesiology on work-life balance and energy management. I also shared strategies for self-care, as they try to balance full-time work and full-time graduate studies – and many raising kids and/or taking care of elderly parents at the same time. With mental health issues exponentially on the rise, instead of focusing our energy on retention and graduation rates, why not focus on helping develop healthy students. If we are TRULY about holistic student development, help students develop better self-care habits. Don’t know where to start? How about here:
- 45 Simple Self-Care Practices for a Healthy Mind, Body, and Soul – https://tinybuddha.com/blog/45-simple-self-care-practices-for-a-healthy-mind-body-and-soul/
And it’s awesome, because she breaks it down into practices for the Mind, for the Body, and for the Soul. Not only do we need to help our students develop better self-care habits, most of us need to start with ourselves!
Try this: Choose ONE self-care practice on her list and do it for the next seven days. Better yet – do it with a family member or friend!
Just start with that!
Update: Here’s a link to a few Apps recommended by our Student Health Services office: https://shs.uncg.edu/self-help-apps
The Dream Dean 