Emotional wellness
TRU Wellness Centre
People are not just physical entities; an optimal state of emotional well-being is essential to achieving overall wellness.
Emotional health in this context includes one's ability to appropriately express their emotions, their ability to learn, and their ability to have meaningful social interactions and connections. Maintaining theses aspects of emotional health can at times be difficult for university students because of the many adjustments they make when attending university and the high levels of stress many face during the semester.
Depression
At times everyone feels blue. We all have days when we do not want to get out of bed or cannot shake the feeling of sadness. Depression, however, goes beyond this. This site will provide information about depression and how you can get help.
What is Depression?
Depression is an illness which is common but often misunderstood. It can occur without people realizing that they have it. Many people ignore the signs of depression, and some cope with it by abusing alcohol and/or drugs. Many perceive depression as an illness that carries with it such fear and shame that it prevents them from asking for help. It is not a personal weakness; it is an illness that can be for the most part successfully treated. For further information on defining depression see the site below.
Information contributed by the TRU Counselling Department.
What Causes Depression?
Depression can occur without people knowing that they have it. Many people ignore the signs of depression. When a depressed mood persists for several weeks, deepens and eventually starts interfering with work and social life it becomes an illness, or clinical depression.
Some signs of Depression are:
- Disturbed thinking
- Feelings of sadness or irritability
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activates once enjoyed
- Changes in weight or appetite
- Changes in sleeping patterns
- Feelings of guilt, hopelessness or worthlessness
- Inability to concentrate, remember things or make decisions
- Fatigue or loss of energy - withdrawal
- Restlessness or decreased activity noticed by others
- Complaints or physical aches and pains for which no medical causes can be found
- Thoughts of suicide or death
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Depression, if not treated, can last many months or years.
Information contributed by the TRU Counselling Department.
Helping a Depressed Person
What do you do when someone you care about is depressed? This can be a very hard question to answer, especially when you are in a situation where you want to help but feel inadequate to do so. This page will provide you with suggestions of how to help when someone you know is depressed.
Tips for Helping a Depressed Person
- Be supportive
- listen to the whole story before drawing any conclusions
- Encourage the person to seek medical care and counselling.
- Be a good listener- you don't have to have all the answer
- Don't criticize as it could lead to further feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness
- Don't take over for them
- Keep your cool and an even temper
- Be patient
- Remember, their depression is NOT your fault
Helpful phone numbers
- Counselling: 250-828-5023 OM 1651 - Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
- Wellness Centre: 250-828-5010 TRU Residence & Conference Centre
- Peer Support: 250-371-5996 OM1421
- Mental Health in Kamloops: 250-377-0088 After hours phone number
- 24 hour phone number in Vancouver toll free: 1-866-661-3311
Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal and healthy human emotion that manifests itself during threatening experiences. Normal episodes of anxiety may occur before your oral class presentation, when going for a big job interview or during especially frightening situations. If this normal feeling of anxiety persists over an extended amount of time, and it is having a negative impact on your life, you may have an anxiety disorder. The following information will increase your knowledge about anxiety and the resources available to help people cope with anxiety.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety disorders are a group of conditions that are characterized by a sense of foreboding or impending doom.
Anxiety is a normal and adaptive emotion; without it, humans could not survive.
However, when it becomes excessive or is activated by inappropriate triggers (e.g. a crowded store, a harmless dog or leaving the house) a problem may exist.
How do I know I am experiencing anxiety?
- Rapid or pounding heart
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Shortness of breath, smothering sensations
- Dry mouth or feeling of choking
- Chest pain or chest discomfort
- Nausea or stomach distress
- Cold chills or hot flashes
- Dizziness, unsteady feelings, light-headedness or faintness
- Feelings of unreality or feelings detached from oneself
- Numbing or tingling sensations
- Visual changes (e.g. light seems to be to bright, spots, etc.)
- Blushing or red blotchy skin, muscle tension, twitching or weakness
What can I do for myself?
Practice deep breathing: Relax your abdomen and take a long deep breath through your nose, hold for 3 counts and exhale slowly. Repeat this step 3 or 4 times consecutively.
Practice positive self talk: Write the affirmations down on an index card and keep them in your purse or pocket to have them available for reference.
Diversion: Divert your attention to something else. An example of a diversional technique is to count backwards by threes from one hundred.
Listen to music: Music can be very relaxing. Listen to music of interest or sound tracks of environmental sounds, such as ocean waves or dolphins chirping.
Learn more at Anxiety BCStress
Stress is the response of the mind, body and behaviour to stressors. Stress is an individual reaction and depending on your particular response, the stressors may be negative (distress) or positive (eustress). When forces (stressors) within your environment act on you, your mind and body react on the basis of your previous experience, how you perceive the situation and how you perceive your ability to cope with the situation.
We all need stress in our lives, but it is when stress becomes unmanageable that people start to experience problems with their health and wellness.
Physical
- Accident prone
- Appetite changes
- Colds
- Digestive upsets
- Headaches
- Insomnia
- Pounding heart
- Restlessness
- Tension
- Weight change
Emotional
- Anxiety
- Bad Temper
- Depression
- Crying spells
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Worrying
Other types
- Forgetfulness
- Lethargy
- Confusion
- Negative attitude
- Poor concentration
- Apathy
- Doubt
- Emptiness
- Lowered sex drive
- Resentment
From Life Strategies Ltd. 2002
Need help with stress?
Exam stress?
Relieving stress
There are many ways to help relieve stress. Many options for stress relief include proper sleep habits, relaxation techniques, adequate time-management skills, to even getting in some exercise at home in the form of yoga.
Sleep links
Relaxation links
Time-management links
Yoga links
Stress Management
Although we can't always control what happens in our day-to-day lives, we can learn how we react to and cope with stressful events. The better we become at adapting and coping with situations, the better we are able to manage the stress in our lives.
Coping Tips
The following are some tips you can use to help you cope with and manage your stress more effectively:
- Seek guidance from peers and colleagues (i.e. study group)
- Take care of your health (i.e. get enough rest, exercise and nutritious foods)
- Seek support from faculty
- Maintain positive relationships with family and friends
- Learn how to improve your time management skills. (The Counselling Department offers Time Management workshops, call 828-5023 for more info.)
- Review activities you participate in to see what is bringing you up and what is bringing you down
- Set boundaries and learn to be assertive. This may mean learning how to communicate your feelings in a more clear and productive way.
- Set limits - learn to say no without feeling guilty
- Take frequent time-outs to rejuvenate yourself (i.e. power naps, exercise breaks, breathing, meditation, music, snacks, social time)
- Choose to make room for leisure activity
Grief
Grief occurs in response to the loss of someone or something. There can be many different kinds of loss such as the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of a relationship or the loss of one's health. Anyone can experience loss. The loss can be expected or it can be sudden. No matter how the loss occurs, grief is the normal and natural response, but each individual experiences loss differently and in a variety of ways. There are healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with grief and there are ways that hinder the grieving process. It is imperative to acknowledge the grief which will ultimately promote the healing process. Time and support are two important components that facilitate healing. It is important to note that cultural differences also occur in the grief process.
Types of Loss
- Physical - the death of a loved one
- Symbolic - the loss of a job
- Sudden - an accident situation
- Expected - someone dies from a long-term illness
Working through Grief (Ways of Coping)
Accepting the reality of the loss
With time, we learn to accept the reality of the loss and its implication in our life. We can help ourselves by talking about our feelings, thereby reinforcing the reality of the loss.
Working through the emotional turmoil
Grief brings with it an emotional pain that is unavoidable. It is important to work through the pain of grief and not to avoid, circumvent, or repress these difficult feelings. Once this work has been done, healing can occur.
Adjusting to a new environment
In adjusting to the loss, we must find a new way of being in the world. With either a physical or a symbolic loss in our life, it becomes necessary to adopt new life patterns in response to our loss.
Letting Go
After having time to grieve, we are eventually able to move on with our lives and are able to invest our emotional energy into new life experiences.
It is important to understand that each person's grief experience is different from another's and each person has their own time frame for grieving. Feelings of sadness from the loss can also be recurrent throughout one's lifetime.
Factors that Help the Grieving Process
- Allow time to experience one's thoughts and feelings (feel the feelings)
- Acknowledge and accept all feelings both positive and negative
- Use a journal to document feelings
- Confide in a trusted person - tell the story
- Express feelings openly - crying is a release
- Identify unfinished business and try to come to a resolution
- Attend a bereavement support group to be with others who have experienced similar loss
- Seek professional help if the grieving process is too overwhelming
Factors that Hinder the Grieving Process
- Ignoring one's feelings or emotions
- Use of alcohol or drugs to self medicate
- Use of work (over-function at work to avoid feelings)
- Not taking time for oneself to grieve
How to Help a Person that is Grieving
- Show Acceptance
- Offer non-judgmental listening
- Allow person to express their emotions
- Permit review of the relationship with the lost one
- Be quietly present
Grief resources
TRU Counselling Department: 250-828-5023
TRU Chaplaincy Office: 250-371-5940
Interior Mental Health: 250-851-7450
Interior Indian Friendship Society: 250-376-1296
Campus Resources
There are many resources on campus that support students who are experiencing stress, depression and/or anxiety.
TRU Counselling Department (OM 1631)
The counselling department has trained counsellors who are available to students for career, educational, personal and crisis counselling. Visits with counsellors are free and confidential.
Appointments should be made in advance, although emergency situations are attended to promptly.
Appointments can be made by talking to the receptionist at OM 1631 or by calling (250) 828-5023
Hours
8:30 a.m. — 4:00 p.m.
Monday-Friday
TRU Wellness Centre (OM 1482)
The Wellness Centre offers on-to-one health and wellness planning sessions, health teaching and campus-wide health promotion events. Look under Upcoming Wellness Events for more information about the upcoming "Stress Buster's Week's" in the fall.
Contact the Wellness Coordinator, Chelsea Corsi at 250-828-5010 or ccorsi@tru.ca
TRU Health Services (OM 1463)
The physician is available to talk with you and provide appropriate referral or treatment options.
Appointments can be made in person at OM 1463 or by calling (250) 828-5126
Hours*
Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. — 4:00 p.m.
Friday from 8:30 a.m. — 3:00 p.m.
Community resources
Mental Health Unit
Phone: 250-377-6500
After Hours Phone: 250-377-0088
Location: 235 Lansdowne St. Kamloops BC
Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm (Closed from 12-1)
Monday - Friday
Walking Through Fear Mental Health Services
Phone: 250-314-2122
Location: 311 Columbia St. Kamloops BC
Hours: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Monday - Friday
Anxiety Disorders Association of BC Cornerstone Community Center
Phone: 250-372-2278
Location: 101-540 Seymour St. Kamloops BC
Hours: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Monday - Friday
