Wellness resources and activities

Prioritize your health and wellness

Wellness and academic success are interconnected concepts, meaning that the ways that you care for yourself and the choices you make when it comes to your health can have a direct impact on your academic journey and student success. 

Having tools, information, and resources to support your wellness throughout your student life at Douglas College is very important in helping you to succeed in your studies.

"Mental health and mental illness are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.

"Mental health” is a concept similar to “physical health”: it refers to a state of well-being. Mental health includes our emotions, feelings of connection to others, our thoughts and feelings, and being able to manage life’s highs and lows.

The presence or absence of a mental illness is not a predictor of mental health; someone without a mental illness could have poor mental health, just as a person with a mental illness could have excellent mental health."

Source: Canadian Mental Health Association

How Douglas supports mental wellness:

Direct Support Services

Additional Mental Health Resources

  • Here2Talk connects students with mental health support when they need it. Access free, confidential counselling and community referral services, 24/7 via app, phone and web.
  • Anxiety: Anxiety Canada has Anxiety resources, self-help exercises and printable handouts on common anxiety concerns. 
  • Depression: Here to Help has information on depression. It covers What it is? Could I have it? Where to go from here? and everything in between.
  • Suicide Prevention: The Crisis Centre has information on how to help yourself or someone you are concerned about who may be considering suicide. Their FAQ page is a great place to start.
  • The Indian Residential School Survivors Society has a 24 Hour Crisis Line for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their Residential School experience.
  • Healing in Colour offers a directory of BIPOC therapists who are committed to values supporting BIPOC in all intersections. And the Vancouver Black Therapy & Advocacy Foundation raises and distributes funds to connect Black community members with accredited local Black counsellors and therapists.

Self-care is any activity that we do to prioritize and take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.

Self care can be practiced regularly in small doses. It can include eating when you are hungry, going for a walk after class, or attending a peer tutor session for support when you are feeling confused in class. 

Self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety, as a well as a good relationship with oneself and others. Not attending to self care risks your wellness and invites burnout. 

Self-care is not only about considering our needs; it is about knowing what we need to do in order to take care of ourselves so that we are able to take care of others as well.

How Douglas supports self-care:

Physical activity resources

 

Sleep hygiene resources

Local resources:

Online nutrition resources:

Easy and healthy recipes for college students:

Eating disorders and body image resources:

"Sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity."

Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence[...]"

Source: Sexual and Reproductive Health - The World Health Organization

What is Sexual Health? Learn more from Options for Sexual Health

How Douglas supports sexual health:

  • Free condoms available at the Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) and at Student Wellness Awareness Network & Consent events
  • Wellness Health Fair every semester at both campuses with sexual health information

Sexual health resources:

  • Options for Sexual Health - Find clinics and resources or contact the anonymous phone line to talk about sexual health.
  • Sex & U - Learn more about sex and sexual health.
  • Web Smart Sex Resource - Learn about STIs, testing options, find clinics, or chat with a nurse online.
  • Health Initiative for Men (HIM) - HIM has five health centres throughout the Lower Mainland and is a non-profit society that supports the health and well-being of gay men and other gender diverse folks.
  • Purpose Society: Youth Source - The Youth Clinic, for youth aged 21 and under, is located at 38 Begbie Street, New Westminster, and has nurses on-site to provide services including: birth control education & provision, pregnancy testing + decision making, STI information, examinations + treatment; and HIV education + testing. No appointments necessary.
  • 12th Avenue Clinic - The BCCDC diagnoses, treats and provides information about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at its clinic in Vancouver. The clinic provides testing and treatment for STIs, including HIV, counselling services, and Gardasil (HPV) and Hepatitis A and B vaccines for people who meet eligibility criteria. The clinic is free and confidential, and MSP is not required.
  • Embrace Clinic (Surrey Women’s Centre) - Provides specialized medical care for survivors of recent violence and those living at high risk for violence.  

Substance use refers to the use of drugs or alcohol, and also includes substances such as cannabis, vapes, tobacco or cigarettes, or cocaine. It is typical for young people to experiment with alcohol or other substances. The effects of substance use have varying benefits and harm depending on multiple factors during consumption, such as the quantity and frequency of consumption, present mood & surroundings, and past exposure to substances. It’s important to be informed and aware of why and how you use substances so you can manage risk and prioritize the care and safety of yourself and others.  

Source: Foundry BC

How Douglas promotes the reduction or elimination of substance use:

General Substance Use Supports:

Alcohol

Cannabis Use

Opioid Use and Overdose Awareness 

Smoking & Tobacco Use 

Financial wellness refers to “effectively managing your economic life. [Which involves] keeping spending within one’s means, being financially prepared for emergencies, having access to the information and tools necessary to make good financial decisions, and having a plan for the future.”

How Douglas supports student financial wellness:

There is a variety of wellness resources available to support the well-being of individuals who identify as LGBTQ2S+ in the Metro Vancouver area including:

  • New West Pride - hosts community events for 2SLGBTQIA+ people in the New West community and beyond. 

  • Burnaby Pride - Facilitates community gatherings where 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, youth, and families can foster meaningful connections and increase belongingness of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Burnaby 

  • Tri-Cities Pride Society (TCPS) - A local non-profit supporting 2S/LGBTQIA+ folks in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody (Tri-Cities) 

 

Questions?

Email the Wellness Coordinator.
Email the Coordinator