Welcome to College (or Welcome Back): 5 Things to do for Your Health this Academic Year. Brought to You by Thrive

Welcome to FAU (or welcome back)! We hope you had a fantastic summer. As the semester starts, school comes rushing back into our lives. For me personally, my mental and physical health tends to take a backseat throughout the semester. Thankfully, FAU is home to many excellent mental health resources, activities, events, and classes. Below you will find both a list and a challenge: see how many of these health resources you can utilize this year.

1. Visit your campus’ fitness center or participate in Campus Recreation

Physical fitness activities help reduce stress, improve mood, improve physical health, and even improve memory and learning. 1, 2 FAU has campus recreation activities on each campus. If your first reaction to this tip is an external groan, I am with you. This year, however, I am going to try to utilize FAU’s excellent resources to help relieve stress and get more physically fit. If you find yourself completely lost and unmotivated to exercise, start with something you like ( walking on the treadmill while watching a show on Netflix, or going to a group fitness class). Find more information about campus recreation activities on your campus at http://www.fau.edu/campusrec/ . 

2. Find your campus’ Counseling and Psychological Service Office (CAPS)

The counseling services offered by FAU include individual therapy, group therapy, workshops, online learning opportunities, and remote services. The counseling center is an excellent resource for any student as their resources are geared towards helping you succeed and improve your mental health. Even if you don’t find yourself struggling with a mental illness, you can still check out this resource. For example, if you find yourself procrastinating or overwhelmed by many assignments, you can reach out to the professionals at CAPS for tips on stress and time management. The practitioners are also great people to speak to when life just isn’t going the way you planned and you need someone to talk to. Find more information about your campus’ CAPS office at https://www.fau.edu/counseling/ .

3. Visit our Owls Care Team

Owls Care is an excellent resource for all things health. They not only offer mental health support but also physical health support. Some of the resources they offer include stress management and relaxation workshops, nutrition workshops, alcohol and drug consultations, relationship consultations, and sexual health promotion activities. If you see an Owls Care team member hosting a pop-up event or informational session on your way to class, be sure to stop by and check them out. These pop-up events sometimes offer special Hoot Loot that you can redeem for special FAU swag. You can find more information at http://www.fau.edu/owlscare/ .

4. Join a club or student organization

Clubs and student organizations can be a great source for finding friends, relieving stress, and getting away from the books for a little while. You can join a club or start finding club events at https://fau.campuslabs.com/engage/ . Here you can learn more about the clubs and organizations on your home campus and what events are happening. If you can’t find any club or organization that interests you, you can start your own club !

5. Visit our Thrive website or workshops for more health information, resources, and awesome blogs

FAU Thrive is your one-stop shop for all things mental health at FAU. You can find blogs on health topics, information about different on- and off-campus mental health resources, and trainings and workshops that broaden your understanding of mental health. You already stumbled upon this blog. If you would like to learn more about FAU Thrive check out our website at www.fau.edu/thrive and follow @fau_thrive on Instagram and Twitter. Come back next week to learn more about mental health and resources available to you at /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ .

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1 Matsui, T., Ishikawa, T., Ito, H., Okamoto, M., Inoue, K., Lee, M. C., ... & Soya, H. (2012). Brain glycogen supercompensation following exhaustive exercise. The Journal of Physiology , 590 (3), 607-616.

2  Ullrich-French, S., Cox, A. E., & Bumpus, M. F. (2013). Physical activity motivation and behavior across the transition to university. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 2 (2), 90-101.