Well-being

Emotional wellness involves the ability to share and understand feelings of fear, anger, sadness or stress, hope, love, joy and happiness.

Components of Emotional Wellness:

• Subjective sense of well-being: ability to recognize and appropriately express a wide range of emotions (such as anger, fear, happiness, disgust, sadness, and surprise)
• Awareness: recognizing your feelings, as well as the feelings of others
• Acceptance: Understanding the normality of human emotion and realistically assessing personal abilities and limitations
• Management: The ability to manage or cope with personal feelings and knowing how to seek interpersonal support when necessary

Resources on campus:

• Counseling & Testing Center  (2106 Centennial Hall; 608.785.8073) 
  The Counseling & Testing Center offers group & short-term individual counseling and consultation services for UWL students. Services can help students recognize, express, and cope with feelings and develop an action plan to address problems. Urgent care services are available Monday – Friday, 12:00pm - 4:30pm to support students experiencing a mental health crisis.
• Student Health Center  (1st floor Health Science Center; 608.785.8558) 
  Providers at the Student Health Center can help you manage feelings through medical treatment and by improving physical wellness (exercise, sleep, eating habits) that could impact your emotional health.
• Office of Student Life  (149 Graff Main Hall; 608.785.8062) 
  The Student Life Office provides advising and referral services, communication with faculty regarding student absences, conflict resolution, and legal services. Staff at the Student Life Office can help advocate for you if you are experiencing emotional health problems. The Student Life Office also oversees withdrawals from the university.
• ACCESS Center (124 Wimberly Hall, 608.785.6900)                                                                                                                                                                                           The ACCESS Center promotes equal access and educational opportunity for students with disabilities and provides services to students attending UW-La Crosse who have a documented disability.   
• Pride Center  (PC, 2216 Student Union; pridecenter@uwlax.edu) 
  The Pride Center fosters a safe environment for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff, educates the campus and community on issues, and advocates for student success and inclusivity. Staff at the Pride Center can support emotional wellness for LGBTQ+ individuals.
• Violence Prevention (149 Graff Main Hall; 608.785.8062) 
  UW-La Crosse recognizes that violence in any form interferes with the work and learning taking place in our community. Someone who experiences sexual assault, violence or abuse in a relationship, or stalking often finds that they have difficulty focusing on work or on their studies. The Student Life Violence Prevention Specialist is here to assist individuals with advocacy, information, and support, so that they can make informed choices about the options available to them in these situations.  Services are free, confidential, and available to all UWL students, faculty, and staff members.
• Office of Multicultural Student Services  (OMSS, 1101 Centennial Hall; 608.785.8225) 
  OMSS provides services for UWL multicultural students, including leadership, advocacy, advising, programming, and support. Staff at OMSS can support your emotional health by promoting human understanding, shared values, and respect for individual differences and similarities.  
• Center for Transformative Justice (1120 Centennial Hall, 608.785.5094)                                                                                                                                                               The Center for Transformative Justice is entrusted to center historically marginalized communities, liberate the learner, and disrupt inequitable systems to advance intersectional social justice and equity in our collective spheres of influence. 
• Office of International Education (1209 Centennial Hall; 608.785.8016) 
  The Office of International Education oversees international programs at UWL, including recruiting, advising, and supporting international students and coordinating study abroad programs. Staff at the Office of International Education can support emotional health for international students and students studying abroad.
• Leadership and Involvement Center  (221 Cartwright Center; 608.785.6600) 
  The Leadership and Involvement Center provides opportunities to enrich your life through participation in student organizations and volunteer projects. Getting involved can result in personal growth and boost your emotional wellness. To get involved with activities that you enjoy, email the Leadership and Involvement Center (LIC) at, involvement@uwlax.edu; join the LIC on MyOrgs; follow the LIC on Twitter, @uwl_involvement; and "Like" UWL Leadership and Involvement Center on Facebook!
• Recreational Eagle Center  (608.785.5225) 
  Exercise is a key component to reducing stress and maintaining emotional health. The Rec offers facilities for exercise, fitness classes, intramural sports, and personal training.
• Kognito: At-Risk Mental Health Training for Students (149 Graff Main Hall, 608.785.8062)                                                                                                                                At-Risk is an online simulation that lets you practice conversations with a virtual student using AI technology, so you'll know what to say in real life. UWL is making this program available to faculty, staff, and students to help create a safer and more supportive campus. To access this free resource, please click on the link above. 

Optimal physical wellness requires exercising to improve strength, flexibility, and endurance; eating well, avoiding alcohol abuse and other harmful habits, taking care of one's sexual health, getting enough sleep, medical self-care and utilizing professional medical attention when needed, and taking steps to prevent injury. Feeling good contributes to enhanced self-esteem and self-control.

Financial Wellness involves the process of learning how to successfully manage financial expenses.

Money plays a critical role in our lives and impacts our health and wellbeing as well as academic performance. Financial stress is repeatedly found to be a common source of stress, anxiety and fear for college students.

Tips for managing your financial wellness:

1. Keep track of expenses so you know where your money goes
2. Make a budget and stick to it 
3. Reach out to campus resources like the Financial Aid Office and It Make$ Cents! for help understanding your financial aid package, plan for student loans, and tips on personal budgeting

Spiritual Wellness looks different for different people, but at its foundation, spiritual wellness is rooted in discovering a sense of meaningfulness in your life. It provides the capacity to love, have compassion for others, practice forgiveness, and feel joy and fulfillment.  

Many factors play a part in defining your spirituality- religious faith, personal beliefs, values, ethics, principles, and morals. Some people gain spirituality by growing their relationships with others, with a faith-based community, or with nature. Just like our physical health, a healthy spirit is nurtured by practice; prayer, meditation, yoga, or mindfulness, to name a few. However you practice, spirituality allows us to find inner peace and build resilience. 

Signs of spiritual wellness include: 

• Having a sense of purpose in life 
• The ability to spend reflective time alone 
• Taking time to reflect on the meaning of events in life 
• Having a clear sense of right and wrong and acting in accordance 
• Caring and acting for the welfare of others and the environment 
• Being able to practice forgiveness and compassion in life  

If you feel like your Spiritual Wellness could use some care and attention, there are resources on campus and in the La Crosse area for you to check out. You can also make an appointment with the Coordinator of Student Wellness to talk more about ways to nurture your spiritual health. Email us at wellness@uwlax.edu to schedule an appointment. 

Resources on campus: 

• Academic courses that explore well-being 
  • Introduction to Mindfulness (MIND 110) 
  • Leisure, Quality of Life, and Well Being (REC 150) 
• REC Sports yoga classes 
  • Click here to view the schedule and class information 
• Yoga Club 
• Peer Health Advocates mental health and mindfulness programming 
  • Request a wellness program for your Residence Hall community or student organization here 
• Counseling and Testing Center 
  • Relaxation Room 
  • Group Counseling Services 

Faith-based resources on campus: 

• Common Ground Campus Ministry 
• CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) 
• Eagle Catholic 
• Faith on Main 
• Christian Collegians  
• Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) 
• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 

Resources in the community: 

• Explore faith-based resources
• Community-based yoga 
  • YMCA 
  • The Yoga Place 
  • Root Down Yoga Studio 
• Spiritual care at Mayo Clinic Health System 
• Community exploration 
  • La Crosse Public Library 
  • Nature programs at Myrick Park (WisCorps Nature Education) 

Social and cultural wellness is the ability to establish, relate, and connect with positively with other people, like family, friends, and co-workers. It includes having a supportive social network, contributing to society, and valuing cultural diversity. 

The social dimension encourages contributing to one's environment and community. It emphasizes the interdependence between others and nature. As you travel a wellness path, you will become more aware of your importance in society as well as the impact you have on multiple environments. You will take an active part in improving our world by encouraging healthier living and initiating better communication with those around you. You will actively seek ways to preserve the beauty and balance of nature along the pathway as you discover the power to make willful choices to enhance personal relationships, important friendships, and build a better living space and community. Social wellness follows these tenets:

• It is better to contribute to the common welfare of our community than to think only of ourselves.
• It is better to live in harmony with others and our environment than to live in conflict with them.

Resources on campus:

• Student Organizations & Clubs
• Campus Climate Office

Environmental wellness is the ability to make a positive impact and be responsible for our air, water, and land. And includes learning and contributing to the health of the planet and a sustainable lifestyle.

Resources on campus:

• Joint Committee on Environmental Sustainability

Resources in the community:

• Green La Crosse

Career and academic wellness involves the desire to contribute in our careers to make a positive impact on the organizations we work in while still maintaining balance in our lives.

Academic wellness

Academic wellness includes the desire to learn new concepts, improve skills and seek challenges in pursuit of lifelong learning and the ability to effectively learn and use information for personal, family and career development and getting the most out of classes and education by asking questions, being open to new ideas, learning new skills, and studying effectively.

The intellectual dimension recognizes one's creative, stimulating mental activities. A well person expands their knowledge and skills while discovering the potential for sharing their gifts with others. Using intellectual and cultural activities in the classroom and beyond the classroom combined with the human resources and learning resources available within the university community and the larger community, a well person cherishes intellectual growth and stimulation. Traveling a wellness path, you will explore issues related to problem solving, creativity, and learning. You will spend more time pursuing personal interests, reading books, magazines, and newspapers, while keeping abreast of current issues and ideas. As you develop your intellectual curiosity, you will actively strive to expand and challenge your mind with creative endeavors.

Intellectual wellness follows these tenets:

• It is better to stretch and challenge our minds with intellectual and creative pursuits than to become self-satisfied and unproductive.
• It is better to identify potential problems and choose appropriate courses of action based on available information than to wait, worry, and contend with major concerns later.

Resources on campus:

• Student Success Resources
  • This resource has comprehensive resources to promote your success and wellbeing. 
• Academic Advising Center 
• Murphy Learning Center

Career Wellness

The occupational dimension recognizes personal satisfaction and enrichment in one's life through work. At the center of occupational wellness is the premise that occupational development is related to one's attitude about one's work. Traveling a path toward your occupational wellness, you will contribute your unique gifts, skills, and talents to work that is both personally meaningful and rewarding. You will convey your values through your involvement in activities that are gratifying for you. The choice of profession, job satisfaction, career ambitions, and personal performance are all important components of your path's terrain.

Occupational wellness follows these tenets:

• It is better to choose a career which is consistent with our personal values, interests, and beliefs than to select one that is unrewarding to us.
• It is better to develop functional, transferable skills through structured involvement opportunities than to remain inactive and uninvolved.

Resources on campus

• Career Services
• Cooperative Education & Internship Program