Online Resources

Eight dimensions of wellness are featured in Strengths and Troubles and Goal Hero. Making them part of daily life can improve mental and physical health for people with mental and/or substance use disorders.

General Information
Information about all eight dimensions.

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA 8 Dimensions
  
• 8 dimensions video. SAMHSA video
  

Emotional Wellness
Listening to your feelings and coping effectively with life.

• Ten Golden Tips for Emotional Wellness
  
• Five Habits That Will Improve Your Emotional Wellness
  
• A Comprehensive Guide to Overcoming Your Low Self-Esteem
  

Environmental Wellness
Occupying safe, pleasant and stimulating surroundings that support well-being.

• How Does Your Personal Environment Impact Your Wellbeing?
  

Financial Wellness
Understanding your finances, establishing good money habits and planning for the future.

• 8 Tips for Financial Wellness
  
• The Fulfillment Curve
  
• How to use a planner to track your money. Paycheck to Paycheck Budget in a Planner Video
  

Intellectual Wellness
Expanding your knowledge and creativity, staying curious and open to new ideas.

• Eight Simple Steps to Increase Your Intellectual Wellness
  

Occupational Wellness
Finding personal satisfaction and engagement in your work, school or volunteering.

• Occupational Wellness
  

Physical Wellness
Maintaining a healthy body with healthy eating, exercise, sleep and appropriate health care.

• Five Key Aspects to Physical Wellness
  

Social Wellness
Developing a sense of belonging, connecting with a reliable support system and creating satisfying relationships.

• 7 Ways to Successfully Cultivate Social Wellness
  

Spiritual Wellness
Discovering what values and beliefs are important to your sense of purpose and meaning in life.

• 7 Ways to Improve Your Spiritual Wellness
  

Online resources for the 'tools you could use' on the Troubles cards in Strengths and Troubles.

Animal Videos
These will cheer you up.

• Joyful Baby Elephant Swimming
  
• Baby Goats in Pajamas
  

Breathing
Over-worked, under-slept, and feeling pressure like whoa? There are plenty of ways to find calm—without investing in a 90-minute massage. Turns out all you need is a pair of healthy lungs, your breath, and 10 minutes or less.

• 6 Breathing Exercises to Relax in 10 Minutes or Less
  

Clothing
What we wear affects the way we feel.

• How Clothes Can Make Us Feel Better
  

Exercise
Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.

• 7 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity
  
• See Walking, below.
  

Finances
Hate the word 'Budget'? Make a 'Spending Plan'.

• The Envelope System Explained by Dave Ramsey. The Envelope System
  
• A Quick Guide to Your Emergency Fund by Dave Ramsey. Your Emergency Fund
  
• 11 Expenses Destroying Your Budget Slideshow
  
• Save money on food. Slideshow. 12 Ways to Save Money on Food
  

Forgiveness
Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which one undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense and lets go of negative emotions with an increased ability to wish the offender well.

• The Practice of Forgiveness
  Crestwood Behavioral Health touch newsletter, page 4.
  Contributed by: Patty Blum PhD, CPRP, Crestwood Executive Vice President
  
• This page of links from Psychology Today includes Self Forgiveness. The Nature of Forgiveness
  

Friendship
The philosopher Aristotle said, “In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge."

• The Importance of Friendship
  
• Why Friendship is Important
  

Good Deeds

• Random Acts of Kindness: Kindness Ideas
  
• See Volunteering, below
  

Gratitude

• Become a happier person. Excerpts from The Upward Spiral by Alex Korb
  
• Gratitude rewires your brain. Neuroscience reveals how gratitude literally rewires your brain to be happier
  

Healthy Eating

• The Healthy Eating Plate from the Harvard School of Public Health. Healthy Eating
  

Hot Lines

• Telephone Hotlines and Help Lines
  

Hugs
A hug is a form of physical intimacy, universal in human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. If more than two persons are involved, this is informally referred to as a group hug.

• 10 Reasons Why We Need At Least 8 Hugs a Day
  
• Never Underestimate the Power of a Good Hug
  
• How to Hug Safely in a Pandemic/
  

'I' Statements

• I-Messages
  
• I-Messages in Therapy
  

Journal
Write it down.

• The Health Benefits of Journaling
  
• 10 Surprising Benefits You'll Get From Keeping a Journal
  

Legal Aid
There are legal aid offices (also called legal services) throughout the United States.

• Definition and information. LawHelp.org
  

Meditation

• Mingyur Rinpoche, a Buddhist monk with some advice. Video. Any time. Any place.
  

Music
Fascinating Ways That Music Affects Your Mood and Mind.

• Music and the Brain
  
• How Music Changes Your Mood
  

Organization
Organizing your home, lists, pills etc.

• In a World Gone Mad, Paper Planners Offer Order and Delight
  
• 5 Health Benefits of Being Organized
  
• Unclutterer: Benefits of Being Organized
  
• 20 Ways to Organize Your Life Now
  

Perspective

• From Wikipedia The Serenity Prayer
  
• The Power of Positive Thinking
  
• See Gratitude, above.
  

Peer Support

• From Mental Health America The Center for Peer Support
  
• The Benefits of Peer-Based Approaches
  
• From Wikipedia Peer Support
  
• Cultivating a Culture of Compassion InterNational Association of Peer Supporters
  

Power Poses
Sitting or standing in certain ways, ways that exude confidence, can relieve stress and help you feel in control.

• The Amy Cuddy - TED Talk Video. Amy Cuddy
  
• Power Pose drawings, video, recorded audio, and article. Power Pose Info WSJ
  

Résumé
Here are some links to help with résumé preparation:

• How to Write a Resume
  
• Resume Preparation Dos and Don'ts
  

Rest
Napping: Your cat knows something you don't. Also, nappers are in good company: Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Napoleon, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and George W. Bush are known to have valued an afternoon nap.

• Napping
  
• Health Benefits of Napping
  

Relaxation
Relaxation is a process that decreases the effects of stress on your mind and body.

• Relaxation Techniques
  
• 10 Health Benefits of Relaxation
  

Sleep
Good sleep is more under your control than you might think.

• Sleep Hygiene
  
• Twelve Simple Tips to Improve Your Sleep
  

Support Groups
Feel less lonely, isolated, or judged.

• Support Groups: Make Connections, Get Help
  
• 9 Benefits of Support Groups
  

Therapy
It's important to find a therapist, peer, sponsor or all three to work with. See Peer Support above.

• 4 Ways Everyone Can Benefit From Therapy
  
• 11 Intriguing Reasons to Give Talk Therapy a Try
  

Volunteering
Gain confidence, make a difference, learn new skills, be part of a community, have fun!

• Volunteering and Its Surprising Benefits
  
• Why Volunteering is So Good For Your Health
  
• See Good Deeds, above
  

Walking
Improve your mood and so much more.

• 12 Benefits of Walking
  
• 50 Amazing Benefits of Walking Daily, According to Science
  
• Walking: Trim Your Waistline, Improve Your Health
  

Those who know their strengths and use them frequently tend to have more success in several areas. They feel happier, have better self-esteem, and are more likely to accomplish their goals.

Strengths List

• What's the difference between a skill and a strength? Strength VS Skill: The Value of Knowing the Difference
  
• This printable worksheet from Therapist Aid can help you identify your strengths and ways to use them. Strengths Exploration
  

Strengths Survey
A scientific survey from the VIA Institute on Character

• Discover your character strengths in 15 minutes with the free, scientifically validated VIA Survey. Learn to use your character strengths to live your best life. Strengths Survey
  

Facing Fears

• Gain strength by facing your fears.
  
  1. Thinking it Through
  2. Getting In the Conquering Zone
  3. Attacking Your Fears
  How to Face Your Fears
  

Resilience
In case you hadn’t noticed, life is difficult and unpredictable. So, how do you move forward in such a complex and confusing world? Build your resilience.

• UCLA Medical School psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Marmer offers 5 tips for coping with life’s unwelcome surprises. A 5 minute video from Prager University Building Resilience
  

Goals are important for Wellness.

Goal Setting
Reasons and methods for setting wellness goals.

• Psychology Today The Value of Goals
  
• Long term, short term and SMART goals. Setting Goals for Wellness
  
• Written Goals The Power of Writing Down Your Goals
  
• State Your Intention 10 Ways to Set Yourself up for Success Each Day
  

Personal Recovery Goals
Peers helping peers set goals.

• How are personal goals different from traditional, clinical goals. A story: The Challenge of Exploring Personal Recovery Goals by Steve Harrington
  
• From the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance DBSA - Setting & Achieving Goals
  
• DBSA - Recovery Goal Setting Course and Workbook
  

Play is the therapeutic method for Goal Quest Games.

Play Therapy

• Play Therapy Makes a Difference
  
• The Healing Potential of Adults at Play
  

Play for Adults

• The Importance of Play for Adults
  
• The Importance of Play: It's More Than Just Fun and Games
  
• Why Use Games?
  

Tabletop Games
A tabletop game is a board game, card game, dice game, miniatures wargame, tile-based game, or other game that is normally played on a table or other flat surface.

• Board Games' Golden Age
  
• The Full History of Board Games
  

Game to Grow
Uses Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop games with three main objectives:

1. Provide therapeutic and educational gaming groups that contribute to the growth of communities
2. Promote an understanding of the power and benefit of games across the world
3. Train others to use game-based interventions intentionally to help youth and other populations

• Game to Grow
  
• Also from Game to Grow a new initiative to create a tabletop role-playing game to help children on the autism spectrum build valuable skills through play. Critical Core
  

The Bodhana Group
A nonprofit that advocates the use of tabletop gaming as a directed therapeutic practice that can benefit personal growth as well as enhance social and educational services to individuals and families.

• The Bodhana Group
  

Educators can help students with wellness and games can play a part.

SEL
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

• Hanover Research examines research-based strategies for effective social-emotional learning (SEL) programs in PK-12 schools.
  The use of games in SEL curricula is discussed. Best Practices in Social-Emotional Learning
  
• This 5 minute video from Edutopia shows how Summit Prep in Redwood City, California, uses a variety of activities where students learn Habits of Success and develop social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. Habits, Community, and Culture: Laying the Foundation for Emotional Intelligence