CHW Self-Help & Resources

Self-care is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Here you can learn about a variety of health topics important to students, learn relaxation skills, and get connected with the Headspace App.

Mental Health Screening

Want to better understand your mental health needs? Take an anonymous screening to identify what you may be experiencing and learn what you can do about it.

You can also check out Ulifeline’s Self-Evaluator page or Mental Health America’s variety of screening tools.

You do not have to this alone. Knowing more about what you may be experiencing is the first step to making it better.

Stress Less with Headspace

Stressful situations are an everyday part of life. Headspace can help you improve sleep, respond better to stress and anxiety, and get moving with effective workouts that fit any schedule.

Suffolk University students can access all Headspace content for FREE!
Sign up using your Suffolk email to get started today

Resources

Follow these audio clips designed to help you relax and destress:

Quick Relaxation Tricks

  • Sit in a balanced position.
  • Settle into your chair so you feel as little strain as possible on your lower back or abdominal muscles.
  • Imagine a cord attached to the top of your head, pulling your spine perfectly straight and aligned from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.
  • Place your feet comfortably on the floor and allow your hands to rest easily on your thighs. Now visualize the cord being cut and allow your head to move very slowly to a comfortable position
  • Engage your senses. Close your eyes and notice 3 sounds you can hear. Notice what you smell. Notice the quality of the air against your face or hands. Really concentrate on noticing without judgement or exploration. Do this for 5 minutes.
  • Count each breath. With eyes closed breathe normally, inhale and exhale to a count of 3 or 4 each way. Concentrate on the air moving in and out. Go back to "one" if you lose count.
  • Muscle tightening/relaxing: Concentrate on a particular muscle group in your body. Tighten the muscle for a count of ten and then relax it slowly, noticing the contrast between the tightness and the relaxation. Repeat a number of times. Try the same procedure with other muscle groups.
  • Mini-vacation: With eyes closed, visit a favorite peaceful spot in your imagination. Imagine what you would be seeing, smelling, hearing in this location. Really imagine yourself there. Feel your body relax into this imaginary space.
  • Pick an interesting sentence and write it out in longhand very slowly, making sure that every letter looks just the way you want it to look.
  • Imagine yourself floating above the place you are in and pay attention to how things might look from above – notice the details of color, size, shapes, and movement as you imagine looking from above.
  • Rub your palms together vigorously and place them flat on a surface in front of you. Let them rise slowly, very slowly, up about six inches and then fall very slowly, as if they were pushing the air down, to touch the surface. Repeat.

Physical Health

  • Student Health 101 is a free e-publication for all Suffolk University students. Monthly issues highlight a variety of college health and wellness topics
  • CHW SUPERS Podcast: A group of peer health educators working to promote wellness
  • Move Your Way: Center for Disease Control Recommendations for Exercise

Cold & Flu

Nutrition

  • Scarleteen: The highest-ranked website for sex education and sexuality advice online for 15-25 year olds
  • Get Yourself Tested provides the facts on STIs, testing, and protection; talking tips to help young people communicate with their partners, parents, and health care providers; and a testing center locator provided by the CDC
  • Alice!: Information on college sexual health. Ask questions or find an answer to a question. A SUPERs favorite!
  • Planned Parenthood: Info on sexual health, contraception, emergency contraception, etc
  • American Sexual Health Association: ASHA is America's authority for sexual health information
  • Centers for Disease Control Sexual Health & Topics page
  • Testing for STIs and HIV: Testing is available, whether or not you will have to pay out of pocket for the testing depends on what type of health insurance you have. Please review your health insurance policy for coverage details. There are also many free and low-cost STI testing sites in Boston. You can also call Counseling, Health & Wellness Services for more information regarding STI testing
  • Planned Parenthood: Get free and confidential testing for STIs as well as non-judgemental options about birth control at your local Planned Parenthood health center.
  • Boston GLASS: Organization offering services to LGBTQ+ youth of color and their allies. Same day free and confidential prevention and testing services for STIs and HIV/AIDS.
  • Fenway Health: Organization offering specialized healthcare for those who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies. Fenway Health is a safe and respectful place to receive testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS and other STIs.

 

Alcohol

Marijuana

Tobacco

  • Truth Initiative: is America's largest nonprofit public health organization committed to making tobacco use a thing of the past
  • American Cancer Society: Includes FAQ about tobacco and cancer
  • Electronic Cigarettes: Get the facts about electronic cigarettes, their health effects and the risks of using e-cigarettes
  • How to Quit Smoking: The American Lung Association can help people figure out their reasons for quitting and then take steps towards quitting for good
  • Tobacco Edu: An interactive, web-based, self-paced curriculum for college students

Other Drugs

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): Information about commonly misused drugs
  • GenerationRx: Medication safety resources and information for teachers and students (K-college), student understanding of medication safety issues, particular the dangers of abusing prescription, and over-the-counter medications

Depression, Anxiety, etc.

Stress Management & Self Care

Eating Disorders & Body Image

Healthy Relationships, Relationship Abuse, & Sexual Assault

Gambling

  • College Gambling: Developed by the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) as a tool to help current and prospective students, campus administrators, campus health professionals, and parents address gambling and gambling-related harms on campus.
  • National Council on Problem Gambling

Online Materials

Phone/Text Support

  • The Steve Fund
    • Text “STEVE” to 741-741 for crisis support for young people of Color
  •  ASHAAA
  • DeQH (Hotline for South Asian/Desi LGBTQ+)
    • (908) 367-3374

Online Communities

Blogs

Podcasts

Apps

SU/Boston/National Resources

Page Submissions

At this time, we do not accept unsolicited requests to place additional resources on this page.