Bonus Challenge: Wheel of Wellness 

Complete the Challenge:

Enter your name, then click start.  Spin the Wheel of Wellness, complete the challenge, and receive an extra entry into the prize drawing.

Welcome to the December Challenge!

This month’s challenge is all about cultivating balance and resilience through mindfulness practices and stress-reduction techniques. Brought to you by the Well-Being Programs at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center this initiative supports emotional health and well-being across campus, emphasizing teamwork, resilience-building, and effective stress management. Join us in prioritizing your mental well-being as we close out the year! 

How to Participate:  

1. Complete any or all of the challenges below—the more you complete, the more entries you earn for our monthly prize drawing.
2. Confirm the challenges you've completed. Click the badge at the bottom right of each challenge and submit the form. 

Haven't registered yet? 

Last chance to sign up and be eligible to win some great prizes. 

*Content has been created and/or reviewed by Liz Chamberlain, PhD Licensed Psychologist.

Challenge 1: How Do I Know I’m Stressed?

Everyone experiences stress. What are some common signs and your individual signs of stress?

Take a minute and think about the following:

• How do you know when you are stressed? 
• Where do you feel stress in your body? What’s it like? 

How to Manage Stress When it Comes

•  Learn your personal early signals of stress before feeling overwhelmed. At the first sign of stress, practice a short grounding exercise. Click on the video to give it a try. 
• Work on getting consistent sleep and movement most days to help manage stress
  

Complete the Challenge:

Click each of the three images below to learn more about stress, then try a grounding technique by watching the video to the right.   

Additional Resources

6 things researchers want you to know about stress

How Stress Effects Your Health 

Stress Affects on the Body

I'm So Stressed Out Fact Sheet

Click the badge
to complete
the challenge

Challenge 2 : Quick Stress Relief

Feeling tension, worry, fatigue? Try the 3x2x1 Practice

We often get caught up in the wandering mind, especially when we are worried or feel stress. When you notice this, stop, and use your senses to describe what is around you using this short, easy practice:

Complete the Challenge:

Practice the 3x2x1 technique or one of the 5-minute variation videos when you feel stressed. 

Name 3 things you see (example: I see a green tree, I see snow falling, I see a blue wall)

Name 2 things you hear. Sometimes closing your eyes helps. (example: I hear the fan running, I hear people talking nearby, I hear cars driving, dogs barking, etc)

Name 1 thing you physically feel (example: I feel cold air on my face, I feel a warm mug in my hands, I feel the sun on my face).

5-minute variations on this practice: 

Grounding Technique 5-4-3-2-1

Anxiety Relief 3x3x3

Click the badge
to complete
the challenge

Challenge 3: Try Practical Mindfulness

You don’t have to meditate to practice mindfulness!
Mindfulness is a qualitatively different way to pause and observe thoughts, feelings and sensations. When we get curious and observe them like a scientist, we get less caught up in them and can respond instead of react – especially when stressed. Practicing when we are not stressed helps our bodies remember to use the tools when stress comes.

Complete the Challenge: 

Set aside as little as a minute a day to engage in a mindful practice. Pick one of the following and give it a try. 

• DISHWASHING When washing the dishes, notice and describe the temperature of the water, the scent of the soap, the feel of the dish before and after you wash it. You could do the same practice in the shower.
  
  
• BREATH Check in with your body and mind by closing your eyes and watching the breath come and go.
  
  
• MOVEMENT Try a yoga stretch or pose (or more than one) and observe how your body feels. How is it different from one day to the next? What is more challenging today? What is easier?
  
  

Click the badge and submit the form to complete the challenge. 

Challenge 4: Small Gratitude Practice

What are you grateful for today?

Practicing gratitude can support our overall well-being.  By taking time to pay attention to small things in our day that we appreciate we can help shift our focus – and our focus can often guide our mood.  Take in the small, good things you appreciated today such as, “I’m grateful the sun was out today”; “I loved having a warm cup of coffee this morning” or, “I appreciate having a break in my afternoon to try this challenge!”.

Notice small, everyday things (be as specific as you can) and then post them to our Gratitude Board.  Double click the board or click the plus sign on the bottom right to start posting.

Click the badge and submit the form to complete the challenge. 

Click the badge and submit the form to complete the challenge. 

Vist us online at anschutzwellness.com

Questions? Email us at ahwc.info@cuanschutz.edu

Complete the Challenge: