Walking into Wellness

Abstract

Recent attention has been focused on the mental health of college students in the U.S. Studies have shown that the decline of mental health across the United States for college students has been constant over the past 8 years resulting in a 135% increase in depression and 110% increase anxiety (Maio et al., 2022). The broad spectrum of mental health addresses and incorporates mindfulness, brain health, decompression, well-being, and community. Roughly 36 percent of US college students have major or moderate depression which contributes to their overall health and wellness (Pedrelli et al., 2015). In the 2022-23 school year alone, almost 15 lives have been lost between four North Carolina schools (ASU, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, and NC State). These numbers do not reflect an adequate level of wellness at the universities in North Carolina. Over 71% of college students indicated that they experienced increased stress and anxiety due to COVID-19. Their stress stemmed from worries about their own health and the health of their loved ones, irregular sleeping habits, decreased socialization, difficulty concentrating, and concerns about their academic performance (Son et al., 2020). Student wellness is an important factor in a student’s life, which contributes to their success. We associate well-being with mindfulness, fulfillment, having control in our lives, maintaining good physical health, and involving ourselves with engaging relationships. To practice wellness, we must become aware of present events, approach these situations calmly, and accept our feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. We recently conducted a survey that briefly investigated the overall wellness of honors college students at ECU. Respondents indicated that they are mostly sleeping well at night and feel a sense of community. However, close to 40% of students in the Honors College have thought about dropping out of school, and over a quarter of students reported that school negatively affects their lives. To address these concerns, we have created a series of wellness workshops and events that address various elements of health and wellness, focused specifically on enhancing students' knowledge of mental health coping strategies. Participants are self-assessed prior to participation and at the close of these sessions to determine the impact and efficacy of this programming. We hope to create communities of wellness across campus, and this work is toward that end.