Truman State Wellness Zone

            One of the greatest factors affecting wellness among college students is stress. Though it is natural for everyone to experience stress, improper handling of stress can lead to serious health risks. Stress can lead to physical complications such as headache, intestinal problems, fatigue, high-blood pressure, and sleep problems. Excessive stress can complicate rather minor underlying health conditions. Emotionally stress can lead to bouts of anger, depression, anxiety, and lack of focus. Many people tend to negatively deal with their stress.  Students tend to turn to alcohol and/or drug use, over/under eating, and social exclusion (Mayo Clinic Staff).

            Stress is no stranger on the Truman State campus. The 2013 MCBS survey reported by Truman Partners in Prevention indicated that the majority of Truman students feel stressed with over 20% of them indicating that their stress was overwhelming or unbearable.

WELL-BEING
Q204		In the past two weeks, how stressed have you felt?
1	I have experienced no stress	0.9
2	Minimal	6.9
3	A little stressed	19.9
4	Stressed, but managing	49.6
5	Overwhelmed	18.8
6	My stress is unbearable	3.1
99	I prefer not to respond	0.9

The main concern of most students is their academics.  When asked if their stress has interfered with their academic life over 80% indicated that it at least somewhat. Stress can even affect one’s personal/social life. Almost 90% of students indicated their stress impacted their personal life (Truman MCHBS 2013 Report).

Q205		To what extent has stress impacted or interfered with your academic life?
1	Not at all	13.5
2	Somewhat	34.5
3	Moderately	28.3
4	Considerably	16.6
5	A great deal	6.0
99	I prefer not to respond	1.1

Q206		To what extent has stress impacted or interfered with your personal life?
1	Not at all	10.6
2	Somewhat	32.1
3	Moderately	31.9
4	Considerably	16.4
5	A great deal	8.2
99	I prefer not to respond	0.9

            To combat stress at Truman the President’s Wellness Committee created the Wellness Zone. The goal of the Wellness Zone is to first help students eliminate and/or manage their stress. The Wellness Zone is located in Pickler Memorial Library to serve as a neutral stress free environment. The Wellness Zone offers various services that can help students maintain stress. These include massage chairs, puzzles, and coloring pages. Student workers can lead others through various relaxation and meditation scripts or students can follow lessons on podcast using the Zone’s iPad.

            The long-term goal of the Wellness Zone is to create a campus community devoted to wellness. The Wellness Zone will be at the center serving as the central hub for wellness information. The Zone will have library of information relating to many topics pertaining to wellness. Wellness education programs and events will be hosted or sponsored by the Zone. By doing this the Truman State campus will become a more healthy community for all students, faculty, and staff. 

Resources:

Mayo Clinic staff. (n.d.). Stress Management. Retrieved from Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-symptoms/SR00008_D

(n.d.). Truman MCHBS 2013 Report. Retrieved from http://trumanpip.truman.edu/files/2011/10/Truman-MCHBS-2013-Reporting.pdf: