{"id":60467,"date":"2019-09-18T16:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=60467"},"modified":"2019-09-19T14:10:33","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T18:10:33","slug":"student-award-recipient-shares-story-of-wellness-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/09\/student-award-recipient-shares-story-of-wellness-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Student award recipient shares story of wellness struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Connor <\/span>Sclater<\/span> knows firsthand the importance of maintaining positive mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fifth-year <\/span>Concurrent <\/span>Education<\/span> student<\/span> is one of four recipients of this year\u2019s Brock University Wellness Award, a $1,130 bursary created from funds raised through the annual employee <\/span>Wellness Day<\/span><\/a> penny sale.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sclater\u2019s<\/span> journey began in his first year at Brock. Like many new university students, <\/span>he<\/span> ha<\/span>d a difficult time managing new academic and social challenges. He started exercising to clear his mind and made sure he was choosing nutritious food options, but despite making what he thought <\/span>were healthy lifestyle decisions, he continued to experience anxiety and lost a significant amount of weight in a relatively short period of time.<\/span><\/p>\n

After seeing his family doctor for a cold, <\/span>Sclater<\/span> was referred to specia<\/span>li<\/span>sts who d<\/span>iag<\/span>nosed him with generalized anxiety disorder and atypical anorexia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy ability to deal with anxiety and stress isn\u2019t at the same level of most people,\u201d said Sclater. <\/span>\u201cI tried a little too hard to be healthy and over-exercised, so even though I was consuming <\/span>the recommended 2,500 calories<\/span>, I wasn\u2019t actually eating enough and became malnourished.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since being diagnosed, <\/span>Sclater<\/span> has taken steps to manage his mental health.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always strived to be the best I can, but I’ve learned that I don\u2019t need to get t<\/span>op <\/span>grades or always try to eat healthy,” he said. “For me, being my best is a mental health thing. I stopped worrying so much and let loose a little bit. I still work hard at my grades, but I don’t push myself to take on as many commitments as I used to.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sclater<\/span> also takes rest days in between exercise routines and has prioritized spending time with friends.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“[His] application for the Brock University Wellness Award really stood out,\u201d said Kathryn Walker, Manager, Health Management, <\/span>who <\/span>chose<\/span> this year\u2019s award recipients<\/span> on behalf of the <\/span>Wellness Day committee. \u201cWe were impressed with his volunteer experience in schools and youth camps, his professional certifications in safety- and mental health-related programs, and his aspiration to develop his passion for health and wellness by teaching a younger generation.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Brock University Wellness Award<\/span><\/a> is provided annually to two or more Brock students who have made positive contributions within their community based on eight components of wellness: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, financial, environmental and occupational.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joining <\/span>Sclater<\/span> as award recipients this year are Concurrent Education student <\/span>Mattye<\/span> Bologna, Nursing student Jake Sanchez and Business Administration student Mila Isabella Race<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past year, <\/span>Sclater<\/span> has gained back much of what he lost and is still making progress. He continues to maintain <\/span>a place on the <\/span>Dean\u2019s <\/span>Honour<\/span> Roll<\/span> and <\/span>is<\/span> a<\/span> member <\/span>of <\/span>the<\/span> Br<\/span>ock University Golden Key International <\/span>Honour<\/span> Society.<\/span><\/p>\n

He aspires to be a secondary school <\/span>health and <\/span>physical education teacher and <\/span>plans <\/span>to continue studying at Brock in the Master of Education program, which he hopes will prepare him for future leadership opportunities in a school board.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to influence all aspects of student wellness, including physical activity, nutrition, positive lifestyle choices and maintaining mental health, not only through teaching, but by modelling these <\/span>behaviours<\/span> myself,\u201d <\/span>Sclater<\/span> wrote in his award application. \u201cExperiencing my own challenges has provided insight, empathy and sensitivity into helping others.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sclater<\/span> is thankful for his family and friends who have helped him through his mental health journey and encourages those who are struggling <\/span>to reach out for assistance.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI used to downplay mental health, but now that I\u2019m experiencing issues myself, I realize just how much of a role it plays in our overall health and well-being,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to ask for help. People care.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Students seeking <\/span>assistance<\/span> with their mental health <\/span>can drop in to <\/span>Personal Counselling Services<\/span><\/a> at ST 400 in <\/span>Schmon<\/span> Tower or phone 1-833-BROCK33 (1-833-276-2533) to book an appointment with a Morneau Shepell counsellor. Students can also book an appointment with a <\/span>Student Health Services<\/span><\/a> physician in Harrison Hall by phoning 905-688-5550 x3243.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Counselling services and other resources are available for eligible Brock employees through the University\u2019s <\/span>Employee and Family Assistance Program<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Connor Sclater\u00a0knows firsthand the importance of maintaining positive mental health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":60468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[40,3319,1,4],"tags":[8257,339,3393,1985,5132,926,5877,71,2721,1141],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60467"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60552,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467\/revisions\/60552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}