UWell
Living Well. Being Well.
Socail Wellness

Social Wellness

Social Wellness at the University of Wisconsin: Social wellness includes building supportive and caring social relationships that contribute to a healthy community and support your individual successes. Cultural wellness, a part of social wellness, supports diversity of different social circles within a community by embracing the differences and similarities among people. To support social wellness, you can work towards effective communication skills with people of similar and different backgrounds and developing a network of family, friends, and mentors who will support and care for you. Involvement: Being involved in the campus community is important for your social wellness. Making the campus feel a bit smaller is nice too. Joining a social, professional, or volunteer organization can help you get involved with the community and with others. Be Yourself! Don't try to conform to standards that don't fit you. This can be hard, with peer pressure and other societal factors, but you don't need to change yourself to fit in. No matter what you are interested in, you can find other people interested in that too. Not being yourself can negatively impact your social wellness. Community: A great way to boost your social wellness is engaging in community efforts. This can be through a job, an organization, or a volunteer opportunity and will help you understand new social circles and cultures that exist in your community. Getting involved in a community based organization is a great start! Student Centers: Getting involved on campus can be difficult if you don't know where to start, but UW has many student centers to get you going! They offer resources and a community within UW to make you feel at home and supported. Hobbies and Groups: Joining a group and finding people with similar interests to you can enhance your social wellness! First, identify your passions and hobbies. Then, research student orgs who are based on those things. With so many organizations at UW, you are bound to find one that meshes with you. Communication: Effective communication allows you to accurately and respectfully express your feelings. Having these skills enables you to enhance your social wellness. Diversifying your social circle requires communication skills that work with people from different backgrounds. It will also help you maintain the good relationships you already have. Personal Relationships: Whether it be professional relationships, friendships, or romantic relationships, we communicate and bond with others all the time. To take care of your social wellness, it's important to make sure all your relationships are healthy. Free yourself of negative people, and give new people a chance to become a close friend. Make sure to be yourself, and accept the people in your life for who they are. If you have been in an unhealthy or abusive relationship, UHS has counseling, support groups, and survivor advocacy services.

Quick Resources

Social Events on Campus

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Involvement

Our campus is huge, and clubs are a great way to find your niche. Find a student organization that matches your interests. If you aren’t sure exactly what you want to get involved in, WIN has an organization matcher, so you put in your interests and it tells you which organizations are based on those interests! You can also check out the Student Org Fair, where many student organizations set up tables. If you want to join a social organization, Greek Life might be a good thing to check out.

UW students attend the spring semester Student Organization Fair at the Kohl Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Jan. 30, 2014. The fair is a promotional opportunity for student organizations to introduce themselves to the student attendees.

Involvement can be more than just a student org. Having a campus job is also great ways to enhance your social wellness! The Student Job Center has a list of employment opportunities specifically for students.

There are tons of volunteer opportunities for students and staff at UW, so you can definitely find something that’s right for you. The Morgridge Center for Public Service has so many options. If you’re science-minded, you might be interested in volunteering at the Discovery Building.

Be Yourself!

UW-Madison is committed to making campus a safe and welcoming place for all students. We value diversity as a source of strength for the university and recognize that each person has something unique to bring to the table.

Here at UWell, we are committed to promoting a campus climate that supports all students and staff. If you are having trouble feeling like you fit in here on campus, check out the support groups listed on our emotional wellness page or hop on over to the Student Centers tab here. Student Centers offer support and resources to students struggling to find their place.

Community

Getting involved in the campus and greater Madison community can be a rewarding experience. The Morgridge Center for Public Service has great opportunities for students to volunteer! The Morgridge Center also has opportunities for faculty and staff to get involved. You can also become more connected to the community via a student job. The student job center has on and near campus job postings specifically for students.

The Wisconsin Idea supports student and staff in reaching out to our communities. What we learn here should not stay here.

Student Centers

So. Many. Student Centers!

If you’re a new student, either a freshman or transfer student, the Center for the First-Year Experience is here to help you out. They want to help students gain confidence and comfort here on campus and engage in healthy behaviors.

Another great resource is the Center for Leadership and Involvement. Their goal is to help students reach out to all the opportunities provided on campus.

Depending on your personal identities, there are other centers that might be helpful to you. One option is the Multicultural Student Center. They even have specific resources for mental health and wellbeing.

Another option is the LGBT Campus Center. They provide education, outreach, and advocacy for the LGBT community and their allies here on campus. This LGBT Campus Center also has resources and support for LGBT staff and faculty members.

The Campus Women’s Center is a student run organization that serves people of all identities on campus. They also offer workshops and events!

Hobbies and Groups

No matter what your hobbies are, you can find groups here where you’ll fit right in! See the “Involvement” panel for info on student organizations on campus. Also, see Get Involved! for events and orgs that support wellness.UW students attend the spring semester Student Organization Fair at the Kohl Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Jan. 30, 2014. The fair is a promotional opportunity for student organizations to introduce themselves to the student attendees.

Communication

A huge part of your social wellness is being able to talk with others in your circles. This can include both personal and professional communication.

Personal Communication Skills

Communicating more effectively in your personal circle can be as simple as checking in more often with friends and family. Be an active listener, and listen to understand what the other person is saying. Stay aware of the context you are talking in. Things that one group of friends think is funny, another might think is offensive.

Professional Communication Skills

How you communicate with your coworkers, professors, or boss is probably quite different than how you communicate with your mom or your best friend. You probably already know the basics of professional communication too. How to send a professional email, how to act appropriately in a meeting, and so on. But let’s dive into how the real top professionals communicate that helps them better their career. Build trust and have actual conversations with your coworkers about how your work is going.

Personal Relationships

Having personal relationships is an important part of anyone’s life. If you are feeling alone on campus, we want to help. The UW-Madison community is pretty big, and it can be hard to make it feel smaller. First off, check out some of the above tabs talking about student centers, involvement, and groups. Going a group can really help make campus feel smaller.

If you want professional support for feeling lonely or depressed, UHS’s mental health services are a great way to go. Take a look at our emotional wellness page for more information about mental health services. If you are a faculty or staff member worried about a student, UHS also has some resources for you!