Self Help
At CAPS we strive to empower you to be successful in all aspects of your life here at WCU. With this, we've built out tools to help support the many aspects of wellness in your life. Explore the videos and resources below to learn more.
Coping Skills
Cope is an educational workshop series aimed to help students like you with their emotional and relationship concerns. This self guided series will help you build skills for managing your distress. Get Started
Self Help
Introduction: Wellness 101
This video introduces seven elements of wellness that we promote at WCU. Learn about each element and how they relate to each other to encourage overall health.
Introduction: Wellness 101
Emotional
Maintaining balance in difficult moments is a key aspect of emotional wellness. This video focuses on ways and resources to use during those difficult times.
Emotional
Environmental
Feeling safe and secure in the environment you inhabit is an important part of wellness. This video emphasizes how you can create that comfort in the spaces you inhabit.
Environmental
Occupational
Occupational wellness is about being mindful and intentional about the work we do. This video discusses ways that you can tend to this area of wellness as a student at WCU.
Occupational
Physical
Physical wellness is a key component to emotional wellness. This video focuses on important behaviors for taking care of your physical wellbeing.
Physical
Intellectual
Learn about the many resources WCU offers to promote the development of your intellectual wellness.
Intellectual
Spiritual
Having a sense of community and belongingness is key to your spiritual wellness. This video highlights different ways that you can connect to this important part of your wellbeing.
Spiritual
Social
Relationships are important for our wellbeing. While they nurture us, they can cause us stress. This video provides information on helping you find a good balance in your social wellness.
Social
Pomodoro Wellness Breaks
Stay Well While Studying! The Pomodoro technique encourages students to study for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute wellness break, and then repeat four times. See the Pomodoro Handout
Pomodoro Wellness Breaks
Coping with Homesickness
It is not unusual to experience some distress as you leave a comfortable and safe place and move into a new and unknown space. This video will give you some suggestions for helping you to make the adjustment successfully.
Coping with Homesickness
The Happiness Trap
We tend to get stuck believing popular ideas about happiness that really just make us miserable. There are several main "traps" that we fall into when thinking about happiness. The video below will help you address those traps. You can also EXPLORE THE HANDOUT
The Happiness Trap
Navigating Difficult Conversations
How many of you simply avoid having a conversation because you thought it was going to be awkward or uncomfortable. And how many times did the situation get any better when it was avoided? Probably not many. The video below will help you learn how to start those awkward conversations. Take a look over the CONVERSATION STARTERS WORKSHEET to get started.
Navigating Difficult Conversations
4 Fabulous Skills
id you know that anxiety and depression are the top two reasons students at Western seek counseling at CAPS? In fact, 80% of CAPS clients had anxiety as a concern last year while around 70% of them listed depression as a concern. This video will teach you 4 Fabulous skills for helping to manage anxiety and depression. We encourage you to try them out with our FABULOUS SKILLS WORKSHEET
4 Fabulous Skills
Mindfulness
We have about 50,000 thoughts each day and about 80% of those thoughts are negative. We know if it is hard to stay focused on the present with so much negativity going on. We want to teach you some skills to help you have more control over your thoughts. EXPLORE OUR 3-MINUTE BREATHING SPACE WORKSHEET
Mindfulness
Motivation
Motivation. We know that there are days (or weeks) where it can be REALLY hard to motivate yourself to get work done, whether that’s for school, a job, or in your personal life. This video will give you enough information to understand how you work best and give you some skills to motivate yourself. EXPLORE OUR TIME TRACKER WORKSHEET
Motivation
A Better Night's Sleep
You have heard about the importance of getting enough sleep. But you might be thinking, there’s a lot on your plate and often sleep takes a back seat. This video will provide information about why prioritizing your sleep can actually help you get things done. EXPLORE THE SLEEP WORKSHEET
A Better Night's Sleep
Crisis Situation Skills
Have you been in a situation that felt completely overwhelming? Here are three things you can do to navigate crisis situations and avoid making a tough situation worse. EXPLORE OUR CRISIS PREVENTION PLAN WORKSHEET
Crisis Situation Skills
Self Esteem
Self esteem is the way you think and feel about yourself. It shows up in three main areas of our life. Most of us don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how our self esteem is doing. It does impact us if we don’t pay attention to it, so we want to talk about how to improve your self-esteem. EXPLORE OUR FIVE-FINGER EXERCISE
Self Esteem
Perfectionism
There are big differences between perfectionists and healthy achievers. You might be wondering, “Do I have a problem with perfectionism?” Watch this video to find out and to discover ways to keep perfectionism from getting in your way. LEARN MORE
Perfectionism
Every Body Matters
Our relationship with our body is tied into our experience with our emotions. When we watch how we talk about our bodies and and focus on self-care practices, the easier it is for us to maintain our emotional well-being and a positive relationship with ourselves. Check out this video to learn how. EXPLORE THE HANDOUT
Every Body Matters
Using Psychology Today
How to use Psychology Today as a resource. Using Psychology Today.