The Student Wellness Hub can help you build and strengthen your wellness toolkit!
On-Demand Workshops
Check out our pre-recorded workshops to build wellness skills and strategies no matter when, or where you are.
Navigating Healthcare at McGill and Beyond
Learn about health and wellness supports at McGill (through our Student Wellness Hub), as well as the greater healthcare context in Montreal to help you better access services. This 40-minute workshop is brought to you by the Hub's Access Advisors Connie and Monique, along with Local Wellness Advisor Jos.
How to Help a Friend Series
If your friend or family member allows you to, you can support them by being there, listening, and letting them know you care and want to support them in finding help.
Our Helping a Friend workshop is a four-part online series that focuses on how to recognize signs of distress, practice how to effectively respond when someone is open to help, and how to protect ourselves in the process.
Part 1: Recognizing Distress
Part 3: Setting Boundaries
Part 2: Steps You Can Take to Help
Part 4: Self-Care
Peer to Peer Series
Discover evidence-based strategies for managing time and stress from students like you! This series has been developed and recorded by the Student Wellness Hub’s Peer Supports to help you develop practical mental health and resilience skills.
Time Management
Stress Management
Sleep Wellness
Managing Test Anxiety
Interested in learning how to cope more effectively with the stress and anxiety of tests? Watch this on-demand workshop to acquire the skills to better manage test anxiety and feel comfortable utilizing these skills when needed. This workshop will focus on recognizing signs of test anxiety, applying techniques to manage test anxiety, and identifying steps you can take before, during, and after tests to reduce anxiety.
BEAR: Build, Enhance, Achieve, Resilience
The BEAR series supports you with building, enhancing, and achieving resilience in over 8 themed videos.
- Get to Know the Hub
- Gratitude
- Time Management
- Stress Management
- Mindfulness
- Effective Communication
- TIPPs For Building A Healthier Lifestyle
- Wellness Rewind
Get to Know the Student Wellness Hub
Our short videos provide helpful tips to incorporate resilient practices into your life. These themes are also showcased on our @HealthierMcGill virtual community via Instagram and Facebook. Follow us to stay updated on the latest events, infographics, videos, Reels, and supports.
Themes:
- Gratitude
- Time Management
- Mindfulness in the Moment
- Effective Communication
- TIPPs For Building A Healthier Lifestyle
- Wellness Rewind
Gratitude
Sometimes it's difficult to focus on the positive because our brains are predisposed to experiencing negativity bias; research shows that our brains are more reactive to negative than positive information. Essentially, our brains are hardwired to protect us against negativity, which means that we have to try a little more to recognize positivity. Here are some resources to help you bring your attention to those good moments, despite having challenging days.
Recommended Resources
Apps
- Gratitude (on iOS and Android): A personal journal app to help you focus your attention on the positive things in your life. You can set it up to receive reminders to write about things that you're grateful for each day!
- Reflectly (on iOS and Android): A reflective journal app that uses positive psychology to provide you with tools to focus on the positive and overcome negative thoughts.
Time Management
As a student, there are so many tasks to be aware of: organizing schedules, budgeting effectively, sleeping! How can we ensure that we are managing our time most effectively? According to time management experts, every task has an absolute minimum and absolute maximum amount of time that can be devoted to it and time on task is flexible. Sometimes we assign too much time on a task that can be completed in less time. Here are some resources to help you best manage your time, as well as everything in between!
Recommended Resources
Apps & Websites
- Todoist (on iOS and Android): Your virtual to-do list to organize work and life
- Microsoft To Do (on iOS and Android): Create a list for anything - school work, self-guided care, grocery shopping - and keep track of deadlines by setting reminders
- Asana (on iOS and Android): A platform for group work to ensure that you and your team are focused on the goals, tasks, and projects
- Trello (on iOS and Android): Your go-to tool for managing tasks and projects
- The Pomodoro Technique: A time management technique to work with the time you have, rather than working against it
- Sleepyti.me: Calculate when you should go to sleep based on average sleep cycles
Stress Management
One of the most common suggestions for stress management is to take a deep breath and focus on your breathing. Sometimes it can be challenging to “just breathe” or “focus on our breath;” however, taking a little bit of time to become aware of your breath and engage in a couple of seconds of deep breathing can be very effective in all kinds of high-stress situations because it calms your body, no matter what your mind is doing.
Recommended Resources
Apps & Websites
- Practice calm breathing
- Calm breathing practice: audio
- Forest Stay Focused (on iOS and Android): an app that helps you stay present & focused on your work
Mindfulness
Mindfulness involves paying attention to the moment, on purpose, and with nonjudgmental acceptance of thoughts and feelings. There are numerous benefits associated with participating in mindfulness activities such as reductions in stress and anxiety, and increases in performance and well-being. Mindfulness does not always have to seem like another thing that you need to do; there are many ways to incorporate mindfulness into your day for brief amounts of time. You can begin with focusing on your senses by watching this video, and you can also check out some of the resources available to practice on your own!
Recommended Resources
Apps & Websites
- MyLife: Stop, Breathe & Think: Check in with your emotions to discover a variety of mindfulness and meditation best suited to how you’re feeling in that moment. Available on iOS & Android.
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CALM: The #1 App for sleep, meditation, and relaxation. Available on iOS & Android.
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Headspace: An app that teaches you how to meditate. Available on iOS & Android. Headspace has also teamed up with Netflix on a series called “Headspace Guide to Meditation” .
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Simple Habit: A 5-minute meditation app for busy people to help them stress less and achieve more. Available on iOS & Android.
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Insight Timer: An online community for meditations . Available on iOS & Android.
Effective Communication
When we’re working in groups, navigating relationships, or interacting with others in our work/school environment, effective communication is essential. Here are some tips and resources to keep in mind to ensure your message is being communicated appropriately in both your personal and professional life.
Recommended Resources
Apps & Websites
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Website: Be There; tips and tools to help a friend going through a tough time.
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Check out McGill’s Career and Planning Services to help with job prep.
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If you need help, feel stressed, or just want to chat but are not sure where to turn, you can connect with a Peer Supporter at McGill’s Peer Support Centre.
TIPPs For Building A Healthier Lifestyle
TIPP is a strategy used in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which includes skills for taking care of your thoughts, emotions, and relationships. View more information on TIPP and other DBT strategies. Here are other resources related to self-care that can be especially useful during stressful or busy periods.
Recommended Resources
Apps & Websites
- Supercook; iOS & Android; Helps you find recipes depending on what you have in your kitchen, making it easier for you to throw meals together without buying more
- Cookspiration; iOS & Android; This app offers easy recipe ideas depending on the time of day, whether you’ve just worked out, and more.
- Breathe Easy; iOS & Android; This app assists with paced breathing techniques by visually guiding in and out breaths with growing and shrinking shapes.
- Participaction; A website and app with tips, facts and resources to get you moving now
- Community Cookbook; An online cookbook, crowdsourced by students in collaboration with the Hub and Midnight Kitchen’s Recipe Swap, that includes soups, mains, sides, dishes and desserts.
- National Centre for Home Food Preservation; Offers tips on freezing food and a list of food that doesn’t freeze.
Wellness Rewind
The Student Wellness Hub is here to support you in continuing to build, enhance, and achieve resilience throughout your wellness journey. Whether we are focusing on practicing gratitude, managing time and stress, ensuring effective communication, or managing overwhelming emotions, these strategies can be incorporated in our lives to enhance wellness over time. #BuildingAHealthierMcGill may begin at McGill, but it does not stop here! Here is a collection of helpful wellness resources.
Recommended Resources
Apps & Websites
- KeepmeSAFE; Confidential support, any time of the day or night from anywhere in the world! Download the keep.meSAFE app.
- @HealthierMcGill; Join our virtual community on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date on the latest events, infographics, videos, Reels, and supports.
- Student Accessibility & Achievement Support; Need extra support with your exams? The Office for Students with Disabilities can help connect you with resources and accommodations!
