Wellness resources & activities
Wellness Resources: Prioritize Your Health & 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:
- Counselling Services
- Contact to book an appointment
- Groups & workshops
- After hours emergency
- International Student Counselling
- Wellness events (Bell Let's Talk Day, Beyond the Blues Education and Screening Days, Chill Out days, Health Fair, therapy dogs, wellness challenges and more)
- Indigenous Student Services
- Learning Centre
- Social connectedness through clubs and leadership groups
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 BC 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 deliberately in order to prioritize and take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.
Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety, as a well as a good relationship with oneself and others.
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:
- Self-care is a combination of many of the above topics. Here are some other initiatives in self-care that Douglas supports:
- Safe Walk program
- Fitness Centre
- Counselling Services
- Indigenous Student Services
- Social events for students hosted by Student Life and the Douglas Student Union
- Mindfulness & Self-Care Virtual Workshops
- Long Night Against Procrastination events hosted by the Library & Learning Centre
- Yoga classes for exercise, meditation, breathing, and mindfulness
Physical Activity Resources:
- Douglas College Recreation
- Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults – Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology
- Physical Activity - HealthLinkBC
- How to Exercise with Limited Mobility - HelpGuide.org
Sleep Hygiene Resources
Local Resources
- DSU Emergency Food Bank
- Deals App! in partnership with the Douglas Student Union
- The Greater Vancouver Food Bank
Online Nutrition Resources:
Easy & Healthy Recipes for College Students:
Eating Disorders & Body Image Resources:
- National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC)
- Body Image and Eating Disorders - Government of BC
- Eating Disorders - HeretoHelp
- Body Image - National Eating Disorders Association
- Eating Disorders - Canadian Mental Health Association
- Kelty Eating Disorders - BC Children's Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre
"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
- Annual Health Fair 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.
- Bute Street Clinic - A local, independent, drop-in, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) clinic affirmingly serving the LGBTQ2SAI+ community. Note: Bute Street Clinic is currently closed until further notice.
- 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.
"Substances can have some short-term positive effects like lifting your mood, relaxing you, or even giving you more energy. But, they can also have negative effects such as increasing anxiety or depression, overdose, or damage to your health.
It is not unusual for young people to experiment with alcohol or other substances. Many people may only try substances once or use them rarely. Most young people who drink or use substances do not go on to develop substance use problems. But, it can become a problem for some."
Source: Foundry BC
How Douglas promotes the reduction or elimination of substance use:
- Counselling Services
- Awareness events and campaigns
Online Substance Use Resources:
- Effects of Alcohol
- Tips for Safer Alcohol Use
- Tips for Reducing the Harm from Substance Use
- Cannabis Health Information – Government of BC
- Safer Cannabis Use
- Opioid Overdose Awareness
- Quitting Smoking & Tobacco Use
- Quick Facts on Vaping Risks - CDC
- Respecting Tobacco - First Nations Health Authority
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:
- Financial Aid office
- Free tax return filing assistance through the Douglas Commerce And Business Association
- Employment & Social Development Canada (ESDC - Interactive tools to help save, plan and pay for post-secondary education after high school
- Free printable weekly budget tracking template
- StudentAid BC budget worksheet - Calculate how much you will need to attend school.
- MyMoneyCoach - Offers ways to save money and how to make smart financial choices
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:
- Douglas Student Union's Pride Collective.
- Qmunity: BC's Queer, Trans, and Two-Spirit Resource Center - BC's Queer Resource Centre, responds to the needs of BC’s queer communities and helps them thrive.
- Trans Alliance Society - Offers transgender support, education, outreach and advocacy.
- PFLAG Canada - information and support for parents, families, friends, co-workers and others
- Health Initiative for Men - non-profit supporting the health and well-being of gay men and other gender diverse people in BC
- Raincity Housing - LGBTQ2S+ Housing for Youth
- Salaam Canada - Queer Muslim Community
- Sher Vancouver - non-profit society for LGBTQ+ South Asians and their friends, families and allies in Metro-Vancouver, BC
- Vancouver Pride Society
- New West Pride
- Burnaby Pride
- Tri-Cities Pride Society