Wellness and Well-being

Use Mental Health America’s online screening program to evaluate your symptoms.

Online screening is one of the quickest and easiest ways to determine whether you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition. Mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, are real, common and treatable. And recovery is possible.

Let’s Talk: Let’s Talk provides easy access to informal and confidential support and consultation with counselors from UHS Mental Health Services. Speaking with a counselor consultant can provide insight, solutions, and information about other resources. Students often discuss issues related to stress, worry, sadness, relationships, academic performance, family problems, or financial struggles.

Virtual Let’s Talk:  Virtual Let’s Talk is open to all students. Some Let’s Talk sessions are designated for specific identities or concerns, including engineering sessions with our engineering-focused provider: Michelle Bond (Wednesdays 3-5pm) and (Fridays 10am-Noon). Engineering students are welcome to sign up for any session that best aligns with their needs and identities. Sign up for a Let’s Talk session here: https://www.uhs.wisc.edu/wellness/lets-talk/

Thrive Workshop Series: Thrive Workshops help you develop skills, techniques, and strategies to support your success and well-being.

Virtual Processing Spaces: Process spaces are programs for UW–Madison students that provide easy access to confidential support and consultation with peers and counselors from UHS Mental Health Services. Each process space is focused on a specific topic, identity, or concern.

University Mental Health Services is currently supporting students virtually. Services are confidential, and any enrolled UW undergraduate or graduate student is eligible. There is no charge to students for counseling sessions, because services are paid through tuition and fees.

For crisis services, please call 608-265-5600 (option 9)

University Health Services

SilverCloud- a no-cost cognitive behavioral health resource available 24/7 (learning modules that help w/ stress, anxiety, depression, and body image. You can also download the SilverCloud app for your mobile device. SilverCloud is available for all currently enrolled, full-time students at UW-Madison. You will need to use your wisc email address when signing up, and you will be asked to login using your NetID.

YOU@WISC– continues to be a free, online resource for UW-Madison students, faculty, and staff during this time. YOU@WISC now includes specific COVID-19 resources.

New content cards include:

• Mental Wellness Tips for COVID-19
• Communicating Your Needs with Faculty During COVID-19
• Tips to Be Productive when Studying at Home During COVID-19
• Getting the Most Out of Online Classes
• How to Show Up While Remaining Physically Distant
• Science-Based Strategies to Cope with Coronavirus Anxiety
• And more!

As a reminder, YOU@WISC is an online portal, specifically designed for UW Madison to foster student success in 3 domains: Succeed, Thrive, and Matter.

• Succeed [Degree & Career Options, Leadership & Professional Development, Academics & Grades, Internships & Career Path, + more],
• Thrive [ Stress Management, Sleep, Fitness and Nutrition, Alcohol & Substance Use Resources, Loneliness & Depression resources, + more ]
• Matter [Building relationships, Clubs and Volunteering, Social Resilience, Mindfulness & Balance, + more]

Visit: https://you.uhs.wisc.edu/  for more information.

Student Engagement and Involvement

• Student Engagement– Ways to get connected and involved, include a list of engineering student events.
• Engineering Student Organizations– There are more than 50 engineering affiliated student organizations on campus, so there is bound to be a group that speaks to your interests and passions. You can also get involved by being a tutor or joining a research lab.
• UW Student Organizations– Find organizations across campus, attend events, and track your involvement.
• Campus-wide, the Center for Leadership and Involvement and the Morgridge Center for Public Service are two resources that assist students in intentionally connecting with the many opportunities that exist on campus.

Diversity Affairs Office (DAO)– The DAO is committed to ensuring a welcoming and inclusive campus community for all students, particularly students historically underrepresented in engineering. The DAO is a great space to gather and connect with friends and support staff and offers a comfortable study space with access to computers and printers.

Identity Based Communities

• Black Cultural Center
• Gender and Sexuality Campus Center
• Latinx Student Union
• Multicultural Student Center

Protest Resources

• How to Protest Safely During a Pandemic
• Know Your Rights as a Protester
• When to get tested for COVID-19 if you’ve been protesting

Anti-Racism Resources

• Anti-Racism Resources
• 75 Things White People Can Do To Be Anti-Racist
• 10 Things White People Can Do To Be Anti-Racist
• Opportunities for white people in the fight for racial justice
• Anti-Racist Resource Guide
• Anti-Racism and Mental Health Resources
• Stream to Donate (don’t skip ads)
• BLM Resources and Ways to Help
• Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (local)
• Rebalanced-Life Wellness Association – Supporting Black Men’s Health (local)
• Campus Resources for White Allies
• Black Mental Health Resources

UW-Madison Division of Diversity, Equity, and Educational Achievement

Academic Advising– Meet with your academic advisor, who can help with questions about courses, navigating degree requirements, resolving academic issues and more.

Undergraduate Learning Center (ULC)– The ULC provides tutoring and academic support programs specifically for engineering students. ULC programs focus on supporting challenging courses that students take to progress into their engineering department. The ULC also provides support in select core engineering, math, statistics and science courses. The ULC is a place where students study, form study groups, and discuss engineering concepts and problem solving strategies with their peers and with the tutors.

McBurney Disability Resource Center– McBurney partners with students, faculty, and staff to design accessible environments and provide academic acommodations so that students can engage, explore, and participate.

Engineering Time Management and Organization

GUTS Study Skills Program– The Study Skills program will help you improve your studying habits and give any tips needed in certain studying areas. GUTS works with students to help identify problem areas in time management, note-taking, concentration, test-taking, and more; and then help students develop their own personal learning strategies.

Medical Withdrawals may be granted to students who experience a serious or unexpected physical or behavioral health condition; who may need to provide care to an immediate family member who is experiencing a serious or unexpected physical or behavioral health condition; or who have experienced the death of an immediate family member. Approval will be granted on a case-by-case basis. If a medical withdrawal is approved, tuition will be refunded based on a predetermined schedule.

Like other withdrawals, medical withdrawal results in the drop of all enrolled classes.

Learn how to request a Medical Withdrawal.

Badger Recovery– UW-Madison’s recovery program for students in active recovery from alcohol, substance use, and other addictions. Badger Recovery strives to provide a safe environment that empowers students to stay on track with their recovery to help achieve academic and personal goals.

• Unemployment
  • Information needed to apply
  • COVID-19 Unemployment FAQs
• Foodshare
  • Income levels used to determine eligibility
  • Information needed to apply
  • FAQs
• BadgerCare
  • Medicaid programs for adults
  • Information needed to apply
• Local Food Pantry Information
• Domestic Abuse Intervention Services
• National Suicide Prevention Hotline (phone and chat option)

Below is a list of wellness and well-being activity suggestions for you to pick from anytime you need unwind and de-stress.

Activity 1: Relax with yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises

Take 10 minutes and relax with these yoga and mediation exercises:

• Yoga For The Classroom – Yoga With Adriene
• Yoga at Your Desk
• 10-minute Beginner Friendly Yoga – Plus Size
• Gentle Chair Yoga\
• Classroom Meditation
• Positive Energy Meditation
• The Five Minute Miracle Meditations

Breathe Boards: Print or open these breathing activity sheets. Trace the design with your finger slowly, taking a breath in or own depending on the instructions. Do this for 1-2 minutes when you feel overwhelmed or stressed during the day.

Activity 2: Write down, rip up, and throw away your stress

Write down or draw a picture of any concerns, expectations or insecurities. Then, rip them up and throw them away, and wipe your mental slate clean.

Activity 3: Take a fitness or dance break

Get your body moving and release those endorphins with a break for fitness or dancing!

• Fitness Blender- Search over 500 free workouts by length, difficulty, training type, muscles used, calories burned, and more.
• POPSUGAR Fitness- Hundreds of free workouts.
• 4-Minute Fat Burning Workout | Tabata for Beginners
• 8-Minute Hip-Hop Dance Class
• Total Beginner Contemporary Dance Routine
• Beginners Dance Tutorial- Afrobeats

Activity 4: Practice positivity

Encourage yourself and others through messages, email, and social media. Send out words of kindness, compliments, and praise to family and friends.

Activity 5: Give your brain a break

Give your brain a break from your studies and try one of these activities:

• Virtual walks:  Italy, Arizona, Museums, National Parks, Beach
• GeoGuessr – Get dropped somewhere in the world and try to guess where you are.
• Virtual (and free) fun and games: Jigsaw Puzzles, Scrabble, Card Games, Board Games
• Doodle or draw – How to doodle, How to Draw
• Distractor- Distract yourself for a few minutes with this series of distraction videos.