What is academic wellness?

I've taken my own wellness more seriously in the past few years, as I think many of us have since the pandemic. Beyond investing more energy into my physical health, I am also taking stock of what I need for my mental well being and my sense of community. For me, self-care is not simply an excuse to spend money on fancy skincare products or pampering myself. These can be nice perks, but they don't get at the root of the issues - in fact, they may just hide or exacerbate them.

I'm talking about real self care (like Pooja Lakshmin, MD describes in her book , or like Hannah Good illustrates in this amazing Instagram post ).

Because, as the internet memes say,

Real self care is creating a life you don't need to escape from.         

And because I work with teenagers and young adults, I have been thinking a lot about what wellness looks like for them.

A large part of it - an often overlooked part of it - is the same: sleep, eating habits, social connections, and feeling in alignment with themselves and their sense of purpose or meaning. I say overlooked because when we think about wellness in teenagers, we typically think about the pressures of school and the dynamics of adolescence. And the interventions for these challenges usually treat the symptom and not the root of the problem. They are often one-time quick fixes without lasting impact or they are complicated solutions that are really hard to maintain or prioritize.

Pressure or tension at school takes up almost all the space in the conversation for teenagers, but it's not the whole story. A student's success in academics can impact their mental and physical health -- and vice versa.

So in addition to helping young people embrace healthy habits for their bodies, minds, and relationships, we can also encourage them to have good academic wellness habits.

Academic wellness habits are not the same as how "smart" a student is, or how "hard" they are willing to work. No matter what kind of student we are talking about - neurotypical or neurodiverse - academic wellness practices can help them boost their strengths and address their weaknesses.

These habits come in many forms. Here are some examples:

• Complete and consistent morning & evening routines. These would include anything needed to wind up or wind down for the day - a quick look at the calendar and what's coming up, packing the backpack with everything needed for the school day and after-school activities, even journaling.
• A method for keeping academic materials organized. I like one folder and notebook per class, and a clear place for those folders and notebooks to live near the student's study space.
• A way to visualize important events, due dates, and study time. Think a task list, calendar, whiteboard, or self-designed bullet journal. These can be digital or analog. It's more important for it to be simple (ie sustainable) and work than for it to be the most advanced perfectly color-coded system ever.
• A community of mentors, supporters, and peers. Teachers, coaches, tutors, parents' friends can all be excellent mentors. At an age when teenagers want to listen to the parents less and less , helping them connect to people you trust that they like is vital. And their community should also include peers who share their interests and truly care about them. It will take work to cultivate trust, but these should be friends your teen feels comfortable being vulnerable with - not ones they feel secretly competitive with.
• Clarity on priorities, values, and strengths. This one is hard, but the best time to start working on it is now. Students who know what matters to them, where their boundaries are, and what strengths they can rely on in tough situations have an easier time staying focused on their own definitions of success. And isn't that what we all want for our kiddos?

Implementing some of these will be easy for students who get it. For example, tweaking their morning routine to have a better start to their day can help them feel more confident and empowered to tackle school, studies, high school drama, and everything else. Changing up a morning routine now can have a quick impact and help them supercharge themselves for AP and finals season.

Other changes, however, are not so small, and may be hard to prioritize when everything feels like its on fire or super challenging classes are demanding all of your kid's attention.

In these situations, starting an academic wellness practice (just one at a time, please) over the summer is an excellent way to build routines, get introspective, and develop skills without risking that something is going to get overlooked or there isn't enough mental space to prioritize them.

If you want to learn more about academic wellness practices and how you and your teenager can start implementing them, follow this space and mark your calendar for April 24 at 5pm. More details to come; we'll talk about the academic wellness habits your kid can develop to sail through high school.