Graduate school can be intellectually rewarding but also emotionally and mentally challenging. Your wellbeing is essential not only for your academic success, but also for maintaining a sustainable and fulfilling graduate experience. This section offers tools and resources to help you manage stress, build resilience, and maintain a healthy balance between work and life. From wellness supports and mental health services to strategies and guidance on navigating academic pressures, these resources are here to help you care for yourself while you pursue your goals. Prioritizing your wellbeing is a key part of your journey.
Mental Well-being
Managing one’s thoughts, feelings, and stress related to learning and work, while coping with emotions to promote resilience, healthy relationships, self-compassion and happiness. It encompasses nurturing curiosity, critical thinking, and continuous learning to support personal growth and development.
Physical Well-being
Maintaining a healthy quality of life that allows individuals to get the most out of their daily activities without undue fatigue, physical stress or impacts to physical safety while on York’s campuses.
Occupational Well-being
Achieving a balance between work and leisure in a way that promotes health, personal satisfaction, growth and professional development.
Financial Well-being
Managing to comfortably meet one’s current financial commitments and basic needs while having the tools to continue doing so in the future.
Spiritual & Cultural Well-being
Experiencing meaning and purpose in life through connectedness with self, others, arts, media, nature, faith or a power greater than oneself.
Social Well-being
Sharing, developing and sustaining meaningful relationships through involvement with other community members.
- Read the YorkU Well-being Strategy 2024-2030 (.pdf). York's Well-being Strategy aims to deliver a safe, healthy, inclusive and supportive environment that fosters well-being. The Well-being Strategy is informed by the Anishinaabe teaching of Mino Bimaadiziwin, which refers to “the gift of the good life .” The teaching was provided on behalf of Nookomis Julie Ozawagosh from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek (Whitefish Lake First Nation) .
Grad school and life in general can be overwhelming. Did you know that graduate students and postdoctoral fellows have access to counselling services via Graduate Student Wellness Services at the Faculty of Graduate Studies at YorkU? These services are geared specific to graduate students (and Post Docs), understanding the unique life circumstances of mature scholars as they navigate school-work-family responsibilities and strive to find balance. These are confidential and flexible services just for you!
Graduate Counsellor: The Faculty of Graduate Studies has embedded counsellors who provide individual counselling services to graduate students and offer a support group program. Attending a consultation and counselling session can act as a starting place for graduate students seeking to enhance, maintain, or address concerns related to their mental health and well-being.
Graduate students can request a wellness consultation for help with:
- Concerns about mental health
- Balancing life as a graduate student
- Personal wellness goal-setting
- Transitioning to graduate school
- Difficulty coping with stress, anxiety, low mood, self-doubt, relationship difficulties, overwhelm or isolation
- Staying healthy while progressing through one’s degree program
- Exploring options for mental health and wellness services at York University or in the community
- Psychoeducation and resources
Additional Support
Visit Student Counselling, Health and Wellbeing at YorkU. This student service department provide a range of health and well-being services that foster academic success, student development and an engaged community at YorkU. The primary aim of SCHW is to support students in realizing and developing their personal potential and manage the demands of university life.
Visit Well-being at York. This is the student page which has services, community resources, tools, health care, 2SLGBTQIA+ Supports, food access and virtual wellness tools.
Read
- Read the Graduate Students Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Toolkit (.pdf) from the National Graduate Caucus – Canadian Federation of Students. The toolkit aims to equip graduate students’ communities to evaluate and improve the state of graduate students’ mental health and wellbeing at post-secondary institutions in Canada.
- Read How Are You Feeling? (.pdf). This document can assist you to determine how you are feeling and whether you might consider seeking out support. Above all, your wellbeing matters and there are services here at YorkU to support you.
- Read Where Can You Go for Help? (.pdf). This resource is geared specifically to you, the graduate student. We want you to know where you can go for support related to your emotional well-being.
- Read the YorkU Well-being Implementation Guide for Students. (.pdf). This guide is a collection of suggestions to help with implementing individual-level change at York.
Visit
- Visit Good2Talk for free, confidential support services for post-secondary students.
- Visit 988 for the Suicide Crisis Helpline for a safe space to talk, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
- Visit Just One Thing: Simple Practices for Resilience by Dr. Rick Hanson.
- Visit Pathways to Wellness which introduces Indigenous students to concepts and tools to support their wellness journey using traditional Indigenous Knowledge.
- Visit Station SME for resources to support the mental health of CEGEP, college, and university students. Resources include understanding mental health, browse by subject to find specific themes with tools to help you, and helping someone. This website is available in English and French.
- Visit the Virtual Wellbeing Hub where you can find personalized content designed to help you manage stress, find balance and connect with wellness resources.
Watch
Balancing research, coursework, deadlines, and personal responsibilities can take a toll on your wellbeing. Stress is a normal part of the graduate journey, and learning how to recognize and manage it is essential for both your health and your success.
- Watch Scholarly Skills Workshop: Put Your Stress to Work!. Listen to FGS Dean Alice MacLachlan and Professor Heather MacRae as they discuss how to distinguish between productive and discombobulating stress, and strategies for working through it.
- Watch Grad Wellness: Coping with Stress as a Graduate Student. Listen as some skills and suggestions are presented along with wisdom harvesting from one another and connecting.