This past Wednesday, April 1st, Stout held their Wellness Fair and invited plenty of companies and organizations into the gym. Each vendor came in with a variety of suggestions to inform students of ways to take care of themselves and combat poor mental health. There are many well-known factors that go into a college student’s emotional wellbeing, such as relationships, schoolwork, and world-wide events. While these are age-old stressors for young adults, in the year of 2026 there are tons of new ways unwanted emotions and stress can seep into our lives. These factors include social media, AI global impacts, and extreme body image standards. While there is no way to entirely silence exterior stressors, the vendors visiting the Wellness Fair offered a plethora of suggestions to the Stout community as ways to combat poor mental health and promote mindfulness.
Physical Health and Exercise
While it may seem counterintuitive to exhaust your body when your mind feels overexerted, exercise is widely suggested to aid in mental health. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Dopamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter that is known to be modulated by physical activity […] Dopamine has essential roles in regulating motor neurons, spatial memory function, motivation, and reinforcement learning […] Concerning vulnerability, an excess or lack of dopamine can cause mental disorders, such as depression.” (Marques 2021) One easy activity to add into your routine is yoga. There are tons of online resources to discover free yoga movements that can be done at home. There are also free yoga classes at 9:00 a.m. on Mondays at the Menomonie Public Library, going on until May 11th, 2026. If you’re looking for a more permanent yoga studio, Rising Sun Yoga has a variety of classes and weight training classes.
In the winter, it can be tough to find the motivation to pay for the gym, and with the gloomy, cold weather outside it’s not easy to find movement naturally. Spring is just around the corner, and there are plenty of ways to implement activity into your day! One option is to appreciate Wisconsin’s natural beauty by hiking. With plenty of trails scattered throughout the area, there is no limitation for your adventure! If you’ve already spent enough time on the Red Cedar Trail and you’re itching for a new path, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail tracks across the entire state, and the Ice Age National Alliance will work with you to create a personalized start/end point on their trail.
Internal Physical Health and Wellness
The external stressors bogging you down may not always be able to be extracted from your routine; however, there are additional steps you can add to your routine to improve physical health. Aromatherapy is a holistic practice that utilizes essential oils to relieve stress. According to Cleveland Clinic, aromatherapy has been practiced for centuries by applying oils to wrists or diffusers and smelling to activate sensors in the nervous system. Young Living, an independent distributor of essential oils, visited the fair and expressed the powerful calming benefits of lavender.
Invicta Wellness, an online resource to guide in longevity, also made an appearance at the fair. Through their website, you can schedule lab tests to inflammation in your body, help with weight loss, information on peptides, and learn how to keep muscle density while transforming your body. If you feel your mental health would benefit from physically feeling better from the inside out, this is a great source to discover possible food sensitivities or deficiencies in your diet. If spending money on your nutrition isn’t realistic for your lifestyle, Stout has a dietician on campus that is free for students to use! Miranda Roberts can help understand portion control, nutrition management, and meal planning during one-on-one sessions.
Mental Health Focused Care
In an era where artificial intelligence is constantly being promoted and on every corner of the internet, it is easy to rely on a computer’s opinion of mental health. If you are in need of help with low stakes tasks and assistance with generating coping tools, AI is an easy, affordable option, but not always foolproof. There are so many human resources to find mental health support in that are not AI, including the Stout Counseling Center. Charlie Health is another great resource that is partnered with our counseling center. It is an online resource that provides personalized help with mental health, substance use, and eating disorders. One unique aspect of Charlie Health is how they partner their clients with experts based on the experience of the mentor AND client.
Specialty Care
When dealing with mental health, there are special instances when remedies or mindfulness are helpful, but do not address the weight of the situation correctly. If something is impacting your mental health so severely that it’s beginning to affect your physical health as well, there are specialists in Menomonie that you should absolutely consider seeking help with. Arbor Place is a private, non-profit agency that provides support to those who are aiming to break habits of drug and alcohol abuse. With multiple different programs that target different aspects of substance abuse, they are there to remind you that you do not have to walk the path to recovery alone.
St. Croix Valley Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) offers free, confidential support to nine counties, including Dunn County and Eau Claire County. They aim to improve the health and safety of the community by providing services to prevent intrapersonal violence. If you or someone you know has experienced current or past physical or sexual abuse, SART is determined to help you heal. They also offer free services from a forensic nurse if you are in need of an examination after sexual violence.
While these are just a few of the helpful sources the Wellness Fair had to offer, they are great places to start when beginning your own wellness journey. Remember: you are not alone and there are so many people who are ready to support you. With summer around the corner and calmer days coming, take time to examine your current wellness routine and alter it to your current needs. There is no shame in prioritizing your wellness!
Works Cited
