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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at USF chapter.

Personal wellness has become an emphasized topic in today’s society. Like me, after seeing a multitude of postings and videos about wellness plastered all over social media feeds, you may finally be asking yourself the begging question: What is wellness?

Wellness is a healthy balance between our mental, physical, spiritual, and social health, including our lifestyle; all dependent on the conscious choices we make daily. 

How does a busy, and at most times, overwhelmed college student balance his or her wellness? It seems absolutely impossible to have a thriving social life and an up-kept physique, all while being a full-time college student who works long hours to make every deadline.

The only true way to efficiently balance your wellness is to learn about its dimensions.

Mental Wellness

Many people often ignore this important dimension of wellness. They confuse having poor mental wellness with having some sort of mental disorder. These misunderstandings lead to ignorant ideas about mental health. To clue you in, mental wellness has to do with having a happy and healthy mind set. That excludes putting ourselves through immense amounts of tension and negativity because stress exhausts our minds the most.

As college students we stress a lot. We are always worrying about something whether it is an upcoming assignment, test, essay, GPA, work, boyfriends, girlfriends, drama; you get the point. Regardless of the issues looming over our heads, we need to push them aside in order to successfully maintain our mental wellness.

Photo courtesy of Tim Goedhart via Unsplash

Physical Wellness

Almost everyone struggles with weight, and it is no secret that college students enjoy snacking. (Guilty as charged). We put off working out and become couch potatoes, and never fulfill our new year’s resolution to have a hot summer body. Thankfully, physical wellness is not just about how we look, so hitting the gym six times a week is not necessary.

Physical Wellness is all about how we feel by being more conscious about how we are treating our bodies, and learning how to balance a healthy, confidence exuding life.

Photo courtesy of Nik Shuliahin via Unsplash

Spiritual Wellness

Spirituality can be a complex subject, and at this stage in our lives, some of us might be unsure of what we believe in. Spiritual wellness involves seeking meaning and purpose in our human existence.

Spiritual Wellness is about more than you and me; it is about finding our purpose on this Earth and how we can improve our way of life as well as the lives of the people around us.

Photo courtesy of Yogi Madhav via Unsplash 

Social Wellness

Social Wellness is our ability to relate to and connect with other people in our world. Our social wellness depends on our comprehension of the way we form relationships with those around us.

It is very easy for college students to unintentionally exclude ourselves. Sometimes we become busy with work and school, forgetting that socializing can improve our health. A strong social network can create a good mood and enhance self-esteem, so it is safe to say that two is better than one.

Photo courtesy of Priscilla du Preez via Unsplash​

Kaylen Alvarez is a Mass Communications major at the University of South Florida. Her concentration focuses on Magazine Journalism, but she very much enjoys creative writing. Kaylen is eager to publish purposeful content for Her Campus, and she hopes to enforce the idea that girls are much more than fashion and frill. To read more from Kaylen, you could find her published works on the USF Online Odyssey page. Follow her socials for content updates.
Interests include but are not limited to: art, history, astrology, skin care, the french, politics (yikes), frank ocean, controversy and being extremely overdramatic.