Laurier Wellness Centre hosts thrive week 

The Laurier Wellness Centre hosted their fall semester Thrive Week Oct. 23 to Oct. 27.  

Many post-secondary institutions have adopted Thrive Week with the goal of promoting wellness on their campuses.  

“Post-secondary mental health is in crisis right now. Post-secondary students are facing challenges and I think mental health and physical health play a huge role in how somebody balances their personal life, family life, everything,”  

Sydney Austin, a fourth year psychology student and peer wellness educator.  

“… I think that’s where ideally, Thrive comes in to try to help,” said Austin. 

Laurier has been participating in Thrive week every fall and winter semester since 2017.  

The university’s website outlines that Thrive aims to improve mental health literacy, foster a caring community, promote resources and encourage a proactive approach to wellness for students.  

Thrive events put on by the Wellness Centre also aim to touch on the seven dimensions of wellness.  

“We like to focus on the different dimensions of wellness,” said Austin.   

This includes events that tackle physical, social, financial, spiritual and environmental elements. 

 “We try to put on all those because for some people, they want to focus on one type of wellness over the other.” 

Austin

Austin continued, “I think trying to kind of hit on all those [dimensions of wellness] can really apply to everybody and support them in kind of anywhere they are on their journey to wellness.”  

Events put on throughout the week are categorized into six pillars of mental health.  

Each pillar contributes to students overall wellness.  

They include, learning, connecting, relaxing, nourishing, creating and moving.  

“I think that the biggest thing is that participating in Thrive, you can kind of realize that you’re not the only one facing the things you might be facing,” said Austin.   

“For example, if you’re in first year and you’re having a hard time struggling with your mental health or you might be a little bit lonely, I think that you can really take advantage of these events and talk about it with a network.” 

Thrive emphasizes taking what you need, and is unique to every individual. 

Events held on both the Waterloo and Brantford campuses were free for students.  

Thrive kicked off with breakfast on Oct. 23.  

Pancakes, coffee, and tea were available in the concourse.  

A caffeine cart offering free coffee and fruit also visited the Waterloo campus throughout the week.  

The events gave students the opportunity to listen in on topics that relate to them and a university experience as a whole.  

 Talks about important subjects like conflict resolution, DBT and studying strategies were available for students. 

“I think that a lot of events run by the Wellness Center can be really powerful,” said Austin. 

“There’s the DBT workshop, there is a journaling workshop. I think those are the ones where you’re kind of building on the most fun skills that can serve you in the future and kind of help to improve your wellbeing from now on,” said Austin. 

“ … It is really meaningful. Those are probably the events that have a huge impact on people.” 

A favourite Thrive event, Paints, Plants and Peers, had to be split up into two sessions due to popular demand.  

Austin praised the event, noting how it brought students together as they collaborated creatively. 

“It’s an event where you can chat with people, get to know them and then take home a plant in your brand new little painted pot.” 

Many workout sessions held at the athletics complex took place during Thrive Week and were a hit with students. 

Students were able to participate in yoga, nature walks, zumba and glow cycle.  

To see a full recap calendar of Thrive Week events, visit the university’s website.