Now that it's summer, you probably have some extra time to devote to learning a new skill or subject. One essential topic everyone should brush up on is the area of well-being. UNL's Big Red Resilience and Well-being is now offering a well-being certification. All UNL students, staff and faculty are eligible to participate.
The certification program will help you discover the benefits of practicing healthy behaviors across the nine areas of well-being. Activities will enhance your ability to connect with others, help you learn how to reduce stigmas and teach you the steps toward getting help. By the end of the process, you'll be trained in resilience practices and ready to share your new skills with others.
View the entire 10-step checklist, complete with links and details, here. Keep reading to see an overview of each item and some helpful details for completing the steps.
1: Take the Well-Being Assessment Time: About 4 minutes
This step takes you through a few pages of survey questions to rank how much you agree with statements like, "I take time to appreciate nature" and "I feel that I work in a stressful environment." You'll then be assigned a numerical score for each of the nine categories on a scale of 1-5, to rank how proficient you are in each area. Next, you can select the areas of well-being that you'd like more resources about. The site gives you a comprehensive list of all sorts of resources for each area you choose.
2: Take the VIA character strengths survey Time: About 7 minutes
In this step, you'll click through several pages of prompts like, "My friends consider me a wise person" or "I always finish what I've started" and rank how much each sentence sounds like you.
Then, you can see your top five strengths, such as Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence, Curiosity, Perspective, Social Intelligence or Spirituality. You also have the option to see your middle strengths and lesser strengths– there are 24 strengths total. You can click for a further description of each strength to get in tune with yourself and see where you truly excel.
3: Complete the ScreenU alcohol screening Time: About 2 minutes
There are several options for substance screenings on this website, but BRRWB most recommends the alcohol and mental health quizzes to begin. This screening has you click through a short series of questions about your alcohol use and behaviors related to drinking. Then, the site explains your risk level for developing drinking issues or unhealthy alcohol habits. There also is a page with alcohol resources and some fast facts about drinking to give you quick tips to stay safe if you choose to drink.
4: Complete an online mental health screening Time: About 4 minutes
For this step, you can either choose from a list of specific screenings for habits you may be concerned about, or opt to take a wide range screening that will cover a variety of topics. If your answers to questions about your habits suggest symptoms of any disorder or mental health issue, the website will let you know. The site also tells you which disorders or issues you do not have any symptoms for. You can have your results printed or emailed to you.
5: Develop at least 5 smart goals for your well-being Time: 10– 15 minutes
This step consists of a downloadable worksheet to fill out with your personalized goals. If this seems a bit overwhelming, don't worry– there's guidance to walk you through the process of creating smart goals. Goal setting is beneficial because it requires you to step back and think deeply about what you'd like to accomplish, then offers concrete steps on how to take action on your goals.
By choosing to begin the well-being certification, you'll take a step toward improving your personal well-being and becoming more knowledgeable about how to help those around you.
More details at: https://resilience.unl.edu/doc/2021%20Well-being%20Certification_PDF_8.5x11.pdf