Student Wellness

Our mission is to promote a balanced lifestyle, both personally and professionally, through intentional engagement in the Six Dimensions of Wellness.

Intentional Living

Similar to your healthcare-focused curriculum, the journey toward excellence in wellness requires an intentional emphasis on the big picture of your choices and life management. 

Prevent burnout, feelings of low energy, and the impact of trauma events by balancing and embracing each of the Six Dimensions of Wellness: physical, emotional, occupational, spiritual, social, and intellectual wellness.

Maintaining proper care for yourself is a great step toward ensuring the best possible outcomes for those whom you will care for in the future. Dedicated to your overall success, HSC Counseling Services will provide opportunities to experience and enjoy each of the Six Dimensions of Wellness through campus wide programming. Keep an eye out for the HSC Intentional Living icons within campus promotional items and the HSC Daily News.

Learn more about the Dimensions of Wellness

Do you believe that stress is bad for you; that it gets in the way of accomplishing your goals? If so, you’re not alone. Surprisingly, however, this belief could be amplifying negative outcomes and keeping stress from helping you reach your true potential. Let’s start the conversation on how to use stress to enhance, rather than hinder, your performance in school, at work, and in life.

Do you find yourself being self-critical or negatively comparing yourself to others? This workshop series will help you improve your self-talk and learn to respond to your daily struggles with kindness and compassion, rather than criticism. We will explore what self-compassion is, learn various self-compassion exercises, and attempt to integrate these techniques into our daily practice.

Being at the bottom of the professional hierarchy often comes with a strong sense of feeling one doesn’t deserve to be here and a pressure to be a “yes – man!” That is, a person who is agreeable to everything and rarely says “no” to a request. But what about when saying yes is costing you your emotional, mental, or relational health? Let’s talk about how our developing competencies and long-term goals can help us identify our boundaries and set reasonable expectations in the workplace.

Mental Munchies Banner

Years of psychological research condensed into bite-size activities. Join us as we explore the six dimensions of wellness in varying easily digestible formats!

 

How we talk about suicide matters. Talk Saves Lives is a brief introduction on what you can do to help recognize and prevent suicide in your family, friends, peers, and patients. This is tailored to the students at this campus and will include additional online resources to practice and improve your skill in having uncomfortable conversations that help save lives.

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Join us for a wellness discussion! Each session has multiple components: A short video on the topic, accompanying resources, and a 30 minute discussion over Zoom.

Click here to view a YouTube playlist of previous topics!

Our wellness team invites the HSC Writing Center and professional development representatives to give you a boost in interview prep!  Students can expect:

  1. Optimal Interview Skills software demonstration
  2. A brief discussion of general virtual interview tips 
  3. Relaxation Tips
  4. Open Q&A regarding Resume and Interview skills, tips, and tricks. 

Have you ever wondered how meditation can benefit your academic performance?  Attend our Lunch and Levitate series to learn about the research behind meditation, how it works, and how it can help you during your time here at the HSC and onward in your personal and professional life!

Oh, and don't forget to register for a free lunch!

Join us as we hone our professional communication skills to: put our patients at ease with bedside manner, navigate the personal and professional balance of connecting with colleagues, overcome public speaking performance anxiety, and manage appropriate boundaries with challenging mentors by speaking up.We can’t wait to see you and learn together how to Talk the Talk.

You're training hard to be a professional in a specialized field.  Yet, how often do you actually feel like you deserve to be here? Do you secretly worry that others will find out you’re not as bright and capable as they think you are? Chances are that at some point in your time here, you’ve felt you're underperforming, and one slip up might reveal to the world just how inadequate you are. This is a common trick the mind plays on us; no doubt your colleagues have all felt it as well and, here's the kicker--it isn't true! Come learn about the thinking patterns that trip up our perception of competence and how to challenge them. 

How might medical professionals help patients, caregivers, and other professionals define clinical and personal success, even when a patient may have a terminal diagnosis? Perhaps by helping patients achieve their goals of dying with dignity and maintaining their quality of life through their transition. This presentation will review coping strategies to combat the negative influence of vicarious trauma on medical professionals. 

How often do you perfect the delicate balance between personal and professional responsibilities? Would you be surprised to hear research suggests that such "balance" does not exist? If that is the case, pursuing balance is an exhausting and self defeating task. Let's talk about how to reframe our goals for work/life management and tips to evaluate how you're doing on the topic. 

Upcoming Events

🗓️ Thursday, November 21 @ 12:00 PM

OU Meditates
These 20-minute sessions via Zoom start with 3-5 minutes of desk yoga and stretching then transition into guided meditation and breathwork led by Pooja Shrivastava, Ph.D. A great way to reduce stress and anxiety and improve focus and productivity. All OU faculty, staff, students, and retirees are invited to attend.   Register on...

🗓️ Wednesday, December 04 @ 11:30 AM

Therapy Dog Wednesday!
Every wednesday a therapy dog will be available on the first floor of the student union for pets and love! So if you need a puppy pick me up please feel free to stop by.   HALO dog will be located on East Patio or in room 160 of the union - depending on weather.  See more   Student...

Wellness Articles

Article | September 6, 2024

Emotional Avoidance and Mental Well-being
In the realm of human emotions, there exists a natural tendency to avoid unpleasant feelings. Whether it's fear, sadness, anger, or even vulnerability, many of us have developed strategies to sidestep these emotions in hopes of maintaining comfort and stability in our lives. However, what seems like a coping mechanism in the short term can have profound implications for our mental health...

Article | September 6, 2024

Embracing Individuality: Nurturing Personal Growth Within our Relationships
In the realm of romantic relationships, the task of maintaining individuality while being part of a partnership is both necessary and challenging. It can be difficult to balance intertwining lives and nurturing personal growth. It is important to share our lives with the people we love while also prioritizing our own care and well-being.  Understanding Individuality in a...

Article | May 1, 2024

Riding the Wave: The Practice of Urge Surfing
Riding the Wave: The Practice of Urge Surfing   We all have thoughts and behaviors that we would like to reduce in frequency or intensity. These might include use of substances, intrusive thoughts, impulsive behavior, or intense emotional reactions. These impulses and desires can be approached with a unique mindfulness technique called urge surfing.   Instead of avoiding...

Article | May 1, 2024

Embracing Conflict: How It Can Strengthen Your Relationship
Conflict within a relationship often gets a bad rap. It's commonly associated with discord, tension, and stress, but what if I told you conflict can be normal and beneficial for a relationship? When managed constructively, conflict can lead to deeper understanding, stronger bonds, and personal growth for all individuals involved. Let's delve into why embracing conflict might just be...

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