A Coping Mechanism for Stress In Truman Students - The Wellness Center

The Wellness Zone is a relatively new addition to Truman State University. Established in fall 2012, the wellness zone aims to help diligent students relax and release stress all in an ironic yet effective location: the library. This was made possible from a grant from the Higher Learning Commission meeting one of the four goals the Higher Learning Commission has: to lead emotionally and mentally healthy lives. The actual room is run by a student worker and is located in the Pickler Memorial Library on the first floor.  

“The Wellness Zone is geared to help students get away from their hectic course load and take a break. With massage chairs, puzzles, and coloring books and a lot more there is always something available to help decrease your stress!” There are also massages you can get, as well as iPads, cards, yoga mats that are available to students during library hours. This was a little tidbit taken from the Wellness Zone website (wellnesszone.truman.edu). The website also describes how the wellness zone is under construction, with more and more visitors coming on a daily basis. There are 10 basic health tips on the website instructing Truman college students to lead healthy and successful lives. The website still needs significant improvement and collaborated efforts to make the wellness zone a truly effective weapon against stress, and due to its increasing popularity it seems it might have that impact on Truman students in the near future.

This is a great idea for students due to Truman’s academic rigor and overall stress it causes. As you can see in Table 1, there is quite a large effect on personal well-being from school work.

	Truman	Men	Women	Social Greek	Athlete	Fraternity	Sorority
	n=527	n=252	n=274	n=111	n=48	n=64	n=47
	WELL-BEING
Q204	In the past two weeks, how stressed have you felt?
1	I have experienced no stress	0.9	1.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.5
2	Minimal	6.9	8.0	5.9	7.4	12.2	7.7	6.8
3	A little stressed	19.9	20.3	19.7	18.1	22.0	23.1	21.2
4	Stressed, but managing	49.6	50.5	48.5	54.3	31.7	51.9	45.8
5	Overwhelmed	18.8	15.1	22.2	16.0	31.7	15.4	19.5
6	My stress is unbearable	3.1	3.3	2.9	4.3	0.0	1.9	4.2
99	I prefer not to respond	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.0	2.4	0.0	0.0
Q205	To what extent has stress impacted or interfered with your academic life?
1	Not at all	13.5	15.1	12.1	11.7	12.2	15.4	12.7
2	Somewhat	34.5	35.4	33.5	25.5	41.5	28.8	37.3
3	Moderately	28.3	26.4	30.1	35.1	7.3	28.8	25.4
4	Considerably	16.6	17.5	15.9	19.1	22.0	21.2	18.6
5	A great deal	6.0	4.7	7.1	8.5	12.2	5.8	5.9
99	I prefer not to respond	1.1	0.9	1.3	0.0	4.9	0.0	0.0
Q206	To what extent has stress impacted or interfered with your personal life?
1	Not at all	10.6	14.2	7.5	10.6	19.5	17.3	10.2
2	Somewhat	32.1	30.7	33.5	26.6	29.3	28.8	32.2
3	Moderately	31.9	32.1	31.8	35.1	26.8	26.9	35.6
4	Considerably	16.4	14.2	18.0	19.1	12.2	17.3	13.6
5	A great deal	8.2	8.0	8.4	8.5	9.8	9.6	8.5
99	I prefer not to respond	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.0	2.4	0.0	0.0

                                                                                       

Although it is good that a majority of Truman students don’t feel overwhelmed, there is nearly one fifth of the school that does. This must be taken seriously because that is well over one thousand people who feel overwhelmed by Truman’s coursework.

Many physical aspects of college life are generally focused on more prominently than mental well-being. Although drinking and drugs are a dire problem on most college campuses, the more subjective states of mental health are comparatively neglected. Checking out Table 2 should put a spin on college health priorities:

Table 2

	Truman	Men	Women	Social Greek	Athlete
	n=527	n=252	n=274	n=111	n=48

Which of the following have you experienced in the past year? (Check all that apply)	n=527	n=252	n=274	n=111	n=48	n=64
Major depression	19.1	22.2	16.4	21.3	12.2	26.9
Sexual assault	1.6	0.0	2.9	2.1	0.0	0.0
Eating disorder(s)	7.1	6.1	8.0	6.4	12.2	5.8
Chronic sleep issues	18.0	18.4	17.2	24.5	12.2	28.8
Self-injury (not suicidal behavior)	6.9	6.1	7.6	6.4	0.0	5.8
Anxiety	41.0	34.9	46.2	53.2	29.3	48.1
Abusive relationship	2.4	2.8	2.1	4.3	0.0	1.9
Alcohol abuse/dependency	2.9	4.7	1.3	6.4	0.0	11.5
Panic attacks	13.3	10.4	15.5	25.5	9.8	23.1
Bipolar disorder	1.6	0.5	2.5	3.2	2.4	0.0
Other (please specify)	1.8	2.4	1.3	2.1	0.0	3.8
I have not experienced any of these	47.5	49.5	45.8	31.9	61.0	32.7

Here is the link to the Wellness Zone website: http://wellnesszone.truman.edu/ It is only beginning, so check back for updates later!