Office of Student Well-Being and Resiliency
College can be both an exciting and challenging time in your well-being journey. Understanding the dimensions of well-being can help you better learn how to create balance and satisfaction in life.
At times, you may need some additional support to improve your well-being. Augustana College offers many resources to help!
Augustana uses the National Wellness Institute (NWI)'s holistic approach to well-being, developed by NWI founder Bill Hettler.
Hettler’s Six Dimensions of Wellness
Emotional health
Managing your feelings and knowing when to ask for help. Identifying, expressing and managing your entire range of emotions, experiences and vulnerabilities.
Physical health
Getting enough sleep, diet and exercise, and staying safe and healthy. Pursuing regular movement, a nutritious diet and adequate sleep, and practicing consistent preventative behaviors.
Intellectual health
Valuing lifelong learning and seeking to learn for the sake of learning. Self-initiated education that is focused on personal development, expanding your knowledge, skills and creative abilities.
Spiritual health
Seeking harmony and balance by exploring meaning and connection. Understanding core values, how you make meaning of what happens to you and what provides you with comfort and relief.
Occupational health
At Augustana, this element of wellness is primarily achieved through coursework, vocational exploration and experiential learning. Students are encouraged to think about purpose, fulfillment and the impact they hope to make on the world.
Social health
Building and maintaining strong relationships. Establishing a sense of connection and belonging to others.
Resilience
Resilience is defined as the ability to bounce back from adversity. It is a necessary skill for coping with the ups and downs of life, and is one of the key ingredients of success. A number of things impact a person’s resilience, including previous experiences, sense of self, coping strategies they have developed over time, and mindset. Everyone comes to college with different levels of resilience and Augustana will offer a variety of opportunities to strengthen and grow this important trait.
Several factors contribute to student resilience at Augustana:
Growth mindset
A mindset is the sum of the various beliefs people hold about themselves. These self-perceptions determine their behavior, outlook and mental attitude. Developing a growth mindset is essential in building your personal and social capabilities, including self-awareness and self-management. At Augustana, we believe students can achieve anything they put their mind to.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness helps you build resilience so you’re able to bounce back from any setback. When you understand your strengths and also areas for improvement, you’re able to adjust accordingly, acquire extra knowledge when necessary and make positive decisions that reflect who you really are.
Healthy relationships
Investing in relationships where we can embrace vulnerability and lean on one another will ultimately strengthen our resilience. By maintaining supportive relationships with others, we can get through the difficult times feeling cared for and much less alone.
Finding purpose
People who have a clear purpose and direction for their lives find it much easier to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and keep moving forward. Having purpose makes it easier to bounce back in challenging times by providing perspective, stability, confidence and determination. It’s much harder to be defeated when you are passionate and purposeful about your journey.
Resources
Augustana offers numerous resources to support you on your well-being journey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to ask questions and/or get the help you may need. This resource guide is a great place to start. For more information please contact Assistant Dean, Director of Student Well-being and Resiliency, Farrah Roberts.