Social Wellness is our ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships with individuals, groups, and communities.
Our relationships and communities can provide much needed support during difficult times. Social wellness involves building and maintaining healthy, nurturing, and supportive relationships as well as fostering a genuine connection with those around you. Learning how to balance your social life with your academic and professional life takes practice but is important to your overall wellness.
Why is Social Wellness Important?
Social wellness allows us to build and maintain healthy relationships with others. Having a supportive social network allows you to develop assertive skills and become comfortable with who you are in social situations. Surrounding yourself with a positive social network increases your self-esteem. Social wellness enables you to create boundaries that encourage communication, trust, and conflict management. Having good social wellness is critical to building emotional resilience. To learn the role social wellness plays in your overall health and wellness, check out the resources below.
Self Check-In
- Are you satisfied with your social life?
- Are you involved in at least one university or community group?
- Do you maintain a network of supportive friends, family, and/or social contracts?
- Do you give and take equally in your relationships?
Where to start?
As you begin your journey to social wellness, you will discover that you have the power to enhance your relationships. Maintaining social wellness allows you to practice empathy and active listening. There are many ways you can begin your journey to social wellness.
- Take our self check-in to assess your social wellness! A great place to begin is first to understand where you are at in terms of your social wellness.
- Reflect on yourself and your social needs. What aspects of your social life do you enjoy? What parts would you like to improve?
- Make an effort to keep in touch with supportive friends and family.
- Practice self-disclosure. Sharing stories and details about your life with others and allowing them to do the same with you is a great way to build emotional bonds, increase trust, and is one of the building blocks of a strong social support network.
- Participate in group discussions and practice active listening.
- Join a club or organization.
Resources to support you on your journey
- While many might think RecWell mostly impacts Physical Wellness, Social Wellness is a strong contender for being #1.
- Walk on the track with a friend while chatting.
- Socialize with your friends or classmates in one of our many sitting areas.
- Find community with our Group Fitness Classes.
- UNO has contracted with Best Care Employee Assistance Program to provide confidential counseling and referral services to all UNO Staff and Full-time Faculty, and their eligible dependents.
- Who is eligible? All UNO staff (regardless of full-time or part-time status), full-time Faculty, as well as the President’s office can receive assistance and counseling provided through the FSEAP.
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Best Care services are provided by UNO and available to you at no cost. The program provides five (5) counseling sessions for you and your eligible dependent family members. Some situations may require the use of ongoing or specialized support.
In this case, your Best Care counselor will work with you to find the most appropriate and cost-effective resource. Any fees related to using that resource then become your responsibility.
- The most common reasons an individual may choose to seek assistance through an FSEAP include:
- Marital/Relationship Issues
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse/Dependency
- Work / Life Balance
- Personal Wellness
- Family/Parenting Concerns
- Grief and Loss
- Stress
- Mental Illness
- Depression/Anxiety
- Divorce
- Legal Assistance
- Crisis & Emergency Services
- Webinar Library for personal and professional growth
- Financial Concerns (for unexpected financial emergencies and more information to see if you qualify for UNO's Emergency Loan Fund)