Princeton University's Wellness Wheel & Assessment
Stress remains one of the strongest emotions we have to work to constantly overcome in life. Whether it may be managing the home, work or relationships, stress has the power to both motivate us to get through tasks during our day, but also overwhelm us to the point of exhaustion, fatigue or even depression. A 2022 study, by the American Psychological Association, found 60% of students met the criteria of experiencing at least 1 mental health problem. Given the high-pressure demand of readings, papers, completing assignments and exams and the career stakes involved, it's no surprise that overtime universities have slowly become hubs for wellness resources and support, beyond academic guidance.
Through research, I found Princeton’s University’s curated collection of wellness supports. Princeton defines wellness as "a lifelong process of making decisions to live a more balanced and meaningful life." Wellness is looked at through the lens of 7 different categories: Emotional, Environmental, Intellectual, Social, Physical, Spiritual, and Occupational.
The purpose of the wheel is to help you figure out the areas of your life you would like to nurture more and which practices or techniques can help you feel better and more balanced in each area. For example: in the emotional wellness category, Princeton provide a list of relaxation and stress management techniques, along with resources to help you improve your communication, in order to better understand your own feelings and relationship with others.
How to use the Tool
- Review each wellness category to better understand the different areas of wellness and how they fit within your life.
- Take the self-assessment quiz and see where you score (Ignore the Princeton-related questions of course!).
- Use the Princeton Wellness Guide to develop an action plan
The more tools we have to improve our well-being the better! Princeton work on wellness provides a detailed breakdown of the different areas of wellness and how to better understand how each shows up in our day-to-day life.