Self-Help Tools and Resources

Mental health screenings are a quick way to determine if you or someone you care about may need to reach out to a doctor or mental health professional for an evaluation. They are educational, not diagnostic. Completing a quick screening test will help you determine if your recent thoughts or behaviours may be associated with a common, treatable issue.

Our screenings are anonymous and only take a few minutes to complete. When you're finished, you will get information and next steps.

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Looking after yourself is key to achieving academic and personal success. The Wellness Check lets you check in on your personal and academic well-being, create a plan for success and find out about the people and resources available on campus to help you succeed.

It's anonymous, only takes a few minutes to complete, and can be done more than once to enhance your well-being.

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Helpful links:

• Addictions and Recovery
• Keep it Social

Anxiety is a normal reaction to a stressful event and it can be experienced by anyone at one time or another.

What can help?

• relaxation and breathing techniques
• mindfulness exercises
• access or expand your social network
• medical check-up to rule out any physical factors
• a healthy diet, adequate sleep and regular exercise
• talk to a counsellor who can help you learn coping techniques and thoughts

Video:

• Ted Talk: How to Make Stress Your Friend | Kelly McGonigal

Depression involves feelings of extreme sadness, despair and loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable. These feelings can interfere with daily living and last two weeks or longer.

What can help?

• get out of bed every morning
• set small, short-term goals
• self-care
• a healthy diet, adequate sleep and regular exercise
• medical check-up to rule out any physical factors
• talk to a counsellor who can help you learn coping techniques and thoughts

Helpful links:

• Heads Up Guys
• The Antidepressant Skills Workbook
• Depression Hurts

Videos:

• I Had a Black Dog, His Name Was Depression
• Living With a Black Dog

Helpful links:

• Grief
• Coping with Loss

Helpful links:

• Basics of Mindfulness
• Relaxation Exercises
• Quiz | What's Your Stress Index?

Podcasts:

• What is Stress

Video: 

• Ted Talk:  How to Make Stress Your Friend| Kelly McGonigal

Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person's demands exceed their resources and ability to cope. Each person experiences and reacts to stressful situations differently, learn to recognize the signs and then identify the cause of the symptoms.

Stress management is a combination of changing the stressful situation and your response to the situation.

Symptoms:

• Withdrawal
• Blaming or anger
• Fatigue or an inability to focus
• Forgetfulness or lack of concentration
• Anxiety or excessive worry
• Irritability
• Change in eating or sleep patterns
• Headaches
• Stomach difficulties
• Teeth grinding
• Suppressed immune system

Causes:

• Change in life circumstances — financial, health, family, work or school changes
• Feelings of being challenged or threatened
• Feelings of a loss of personal control
• Feeling overwhelmed with the workload

Helpful tips:

• Discover your specific triggers and symptoms
• Manage your time — prioritize, reduce and schedule time demands, balance activities
• Develop healthy practices — eat properly, sleep seven to eight hours, exercise regularly, relaxation and meditation techniques
• Develop a support system — talk with friends and/or family
• Positive and calming self-talk — examine thoughts and beliefs
• Meet with a counsellor

Anger is a normal, often healthy emotion. When anger gets out of control, it can lead to difficulties. Here, we offer some ideas for managing anger.

Relaxation response

The key to developing relaxation skills is practising them when you don't need them. Practice will make it easier to put this skill in place when you start to notice yourself feeling stressed or beginning to feel irritated.

Relaxation tools can help to calm down the anger and physical tension. Many people breathe shallow, more quickly, and from the upper chest when angry and stressed.

Try the following:

1. Diaphragmatic breathing
   • Lie on your back and place one hand flat on your stomach and one on your chest. Breathe in and out, and notice how your breath causes your stomach to rise and fall rather than your chest. This is diaphragmatic breathing.
2. Cued breathing
   • Now that you know what diaphragmatic breathing feels like, see if you can feel that sitting up. Pick a behaviour that you do several times a day (this could be getting a glass of water, turning your computer on or picking up your phone). Each time you do this behaviour, take a moment to practice 5 or diaphragm breaths.

Don't believe everything you think

The meaning we give to an event or comment can transform a neutral situation into an anger-filled one. You actually have a lot of choice over the meaning you give to events.

Decrease stimulation

Other ways to decrease the escalation of anger could include:

• yelling or name-calling you may be doing in your head.
• if you're feeling wound up and the TV is blaring, turn it down.
• pay attention to your own tone of voice and choose to turn the volume down on it.

Exercise

Moderate, regular physical exercise — 20 - 30 minutes per day — can help reduce agitation caused by anger and stress. It is an excellent stress management practice and can reduce overall mental, physical and emotional tension.

What to do in the moment

If you're already very angry, try to remove yourself from the immediate situation. Take some time away, and let people know when you'll be back. If possible, don't drive.

Anger interferes with people's ability to think very clearly. You don't want to say or do something you'll regret.

Helpful links:

• Controlling Anger Before it Controls You
• Anger Self Help: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
• Feeling Angry

Book:

• When Anger Hurts: Quieting the Storm Within | Matthew McKay

Helpful link:

• Effective Communication Skills

Video:

• Ted Talk: How Miscommunication Happens (And How to Avoid it) | Katherine Hampsten

Helpful links:

• Returning to your Family
• Succeed Socially
• Sex & U

Self-esteem is what you think about yourself and the value or worth you consider yourself to have as a person. Low self-esteem can keep you from the things you enjoy and from working towards personal goals. Self-esteem is a significant part of your well-being, and can sometimes be related to mental, emotional or relational issues.

Helpful links:

• Improving Low Self-Esteem
• Self-Compassion

Video:

• Ted Talk: Body Language and Confidence | Amy Cuddy

Helpful links:

• The Strengths Recipe for Success
• VIA Institute on Character Strengths Self-Assessment

Videos:

• Ted Talk: The Happy Secret to Better Work | Shawn Achor
• Ted Talk: The Power of Believing That You Can Improve | Carol Dweck
• Strengths | Marcus Buckingham

Videos:

• Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset
• How to Practice Effectively
• Why Exercise is so Underrated
• Ted Talk:  The Power of Passion and Perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth

This website will introduce you to DBT – Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.

You will discover ways to develop skills such as regulating your emotions, increasing your distress tolerance, calming your mind and enhancing your interpersonal effectiveness.