The academic year is finally here with summer coming to an end. Students are piling into Morgantown, traffic is getting worse, and football fans are eager as the season approaches. With the new academic year brings the chaos of welcome week, your first week of classes, first round of exams, and let's be honest trying not to get lost in HSC (at least that's how I felt on my first day).
The last thing on your mind might be finding community and supports, as well as leaning into hobbies and identities that are important to you. However, we tend to find that students lose sight of their identities outside of being a student. Let's be mindful that you are more than a nursing student, more than an M1, D3, or P2, a student in the Public Health field, and the list goes on. Your identities outside of being a student are important to nurture and an integral part of wellness.
Your mental health isn't just a check box or a destination, but rather, it is a process. It involves all different areas of wellness (occupational, spiritual, environmental, social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and financial). Being mindful of the process, the supports around you, and taking time to lean into other identities and areas of wellness are key in fostering resiliency.
To close, we hope you find your community, supports, hobbies, and are mindful that it takes time and some prep work. The adjustment to WVU can be difficult and that's normal! We are here to help!
For those that may not know, BeWell is an extension of WVU's main counseling center (Carruth). Long story short, as a health sciences student, you have access to embedded counselors in HSC, which makes it convenient. We provide free, short term counseling and consultation, along with other different services. You can set up a confidential appointment with us to talk about anything really. It's easy to schedule! Simply click on the Request An Appointment tab at the top of this webpage.
On a side note, we tend to table up in the Pylon area each week, feel free to stop by and grab some goodies!
We hope you will reach out, if and when you need.