UNR Students Pet Dogs and Snack on Hawaiian BBQ as Part of “Camp Wellness”
Students at the University of Nevada, Reno, were recently able to take part in “Camp Wellness” to catch a break and learn tips on how to better take care of their mental health. Emily Richards reports in text and audio.
The Covid 19 pandemic brought physical and mental challenges to people all around the world — college students were hit especially hard.
Ellie Williams, the ASUN Assistant Director of Campus Wellness was one of the organizers of Wellness Week.
“Mental health awareness is important to me because as a college student things can get really overwhelming so it’s important to remember to take care of yourself and take care of the different aspects of your wellness,” Williams said.
Events included guided fitness activities, advice from the university’s nutritionist, therapy dogs, music from the music therapy club, and a Hawaiian food truck. Shirts were provided with the phone numbers of national resources like the suicide hotline and sexual assault hotline, and local resources like UNR’s counseling services and the student health center.
Stress balls in the shapes of carrots and avocados were lined up on a table for students as they waited for the Hawaiian food truck.
Maya Dampier, a sophomore at UNR, took a break from work to benefit from the food truck.
“The student health center had some booths set up and were talking about how you could come to them for mental health issues and you could chat it up,” Dampier said.
Taking care of your mental health can come in unexpected ways like simply petting a dog. A volunteer called Debbie and her pug Happy have been serving the community for four years and come to UNR — not just during Wellness Week — but every other week to ease students’ stress.
“It has actually been proven scientifically. Most people, unless you’re allergic or have a fear of dogs, most people when they pet a dog you’re enjoying it and what’s happening inside your body is your body is releasing a hormone. They call it the joy hormone and it really does lower your blood pressure, lower your heart rate, and gives you a sense of well-being,” Debbie said.
Debbie often explains to people that Happy is a comfort dog because the word therapy can be intimidating and some take it as a condescending term.
The Campus Wellness Assistant Director Williams and her department hope that Wellness Week will help remove the stigma associated with mental health and normalize using resources around campus.
“The pandemic was really a big challenge for many students on campus just with housing situations and internet access and things like that not even pertaining to personal wellness and it’s important to focus on that now as people are returning to campus because we want to be able to provide any resources students need to be successful,” Williams said.
Although Camp Wellness has concluded, students who are struggling are encouraged to reach out to counseling services or the student health center to receive the support and help that they need. Calls are needed to make an appointment and there is also a crisis hotline that can be reached at (775) 784–4648.
