The exploration of the idea about the importance of wellbeing brings psychologists to conclude that it is as relevant as treating mental health conditions. In order to fully understand the connection of the sense of wellbeing at university, wellbeing should be first defined. Science defines wellbeing as an experience of good feeling wherein people should have to have a strong sense of individual vitality and clear state of mind. It is important that people have a sense of relatedness to others so that apart from social experience, internally focused elements and personal thoughts, people could achieve also achieve the vital aspects of wellbeing. Having a sense of wellbeing conjures useful thoughts that are essential to the dynamic process that provides people enough awareness of how they live their lives. Some people would relate a good sense of wellbeing as being contented and happy with their life’s situation, while others view wellbeing as being in a state of clear mind and focus (Bhikkhu 2003).
The sense of wellbeing has been given a great consideration at universities because of the large impact of stress among students. Given the situation of completing loads of school tasks, peer pressure, home and personal relationships and financial situations, university students are troubled and deteriorates their concentration (Ereaut and Whiting 2008). The context of wellbeing at university is correlated to having a sense of happiness. There is a universal reason that young individuals flock to universities and that is to earn a degree. On the other hand, the rationale behind achieving a professional degree is because of the mere pursuit of happiness (Helliwell et al. 2012). Happiness determined by income, social status and educational attainment is associated to individuals entering university wherein they start to take steps in obtaining their life-long goals. Therefore, it is important to promote a sense of wellbeing at university to help its students in obtaining their goals in life.
Considering the number of factors that affects the wellbeing of students in universities such as academic pressure and relationship stress, the amount of concentration and sense of happiness diminishes along with their pursuit of a healthy life. However, there are several ways that students can generally improve their sense of wellbeing at university and research provides relevant evidence of their approach. In order to implement strategies in increasing the sense of wellbeing, it is first important to understand that an education matter has a link to subjective quality of life. Education greatly affects wellbeing on a certain level; one is that education provides access to two primary wellbeing determinants such as non-alienated paid work and supportive relationship (Ross and Willigen 1997). Wellbeing is a measure of satisfaction, which is determined by the educated individual’s lack of satisfaction with their jobs because of endless exploration for higher compensation and recognition. Therefore, wellbeing should be increased at universities to promote satisfaction to students and reshape their perspectives in life after graduating.
Seligman’s (2011) theory of authentic happiness provides an insight to the importance of positive psychology on every individual. It has something to do with choosing what is right for your own sake. It involves meaning, engagement, accomplishment, relationships and positive emotion. The goal of connecting the aforementioned elements is mainly to increase life satisfaction (Seligman 2011). Looking at Seligman’s principles of happiness, it can be concluded that each individual can choose for the things that will make them happy and that happiness determines life satisfaction. Therefore, incorporating Seligman’s principles in increasing the sense of wellbeing in universities provides a framework that can be used to develop effective approach. Following the concepts proposed by Seligman would allow university administrations to create programs that would promote wellbeing among its students.
One of the most effective ways of increasing the sense of wellbeing among the students in universities is to demonstrate the meaning of satisfaction. Counseling sessions and special classes should be created for students to teach them about satisfaction and for the counselor to learn about each student’s perception of happiness. The goal of counseling is to reveal the possible causes of depression among students that has a tremendous effect on their satisfaction in life (Bates 2011). Through the use of instructional methods, the factors fuelling depression among university students would be addressed and each participant would be engaged in exercises that would allow them to use their character strength more often. Teaching about wellbeing in universities will reduce the occurrences of depression among the students and it will teach them to build stronger character and will enhance learning abilities. University administrators must consider the benefits of teaching their students about wellbeing in order to introduce more engaging activities that will further promote having developing sense of wellbeing.
The second approach is establishing relationships, having a strong relationship among students in universities provides higher sense of self worth reduces occurrences of depression caused by relationship conflicts. Humans are generally social creatures that thrive in contact with its environment and interaction with other people. The reliance on others is experienced from childhood and it should end on that stage. Healthy social interactions have to be more emphasized during college life because this is the stage where individuals begin to take relationships more seriously. Having a companion would allow individuals to voice out their emotional thoughts and feelings and relationships offer opportunities to express individuality and uniqueness (Moran 2005). Universities on the other hand should put emphasis on promoting good relationship among its students through interactive programs that will allow them to communicate and make a connection with one another. Programs such as sports events and social gatherings allow students to channel their positive personality to other people and eventually find a particular connection among their peers. Creating pro-social values that promote healthy relationships both personal and social enable students to have an emotional outlet where they can channel their emotional trouble that causes depression (Rosenthal et al. 2006).
Reference List
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