Wellness is one of those buzzwords that can be hard to define. Is it a necessary part of success, or one of those indulgences reserved for other people? In 2019, the answer is clear: being well is a prerequisite to doing well, in law school or anywhere else. When it comes to wellness, law school is a great time to find and maintain habits to deal with stress in a healthy way.
Around the country, you will see more and more efforts being made to promote wellness in the law school arena. Marquette University Law School has the Organization for Student Wellbeing because they believe that arming students with tools to succeed physically and mentally will set them up for future success.
Over at Irvine School of Law, you can find the Mental Health in Law Society, which focuses on the mental elements of wellbeing.
Bringing in practicing lawyers to talk about how they deal with stress could also be helpful. Both co-founders of Sweatours graduated law school and have lived through the ups and downs that come along the journey. We are often asked to speak about our own wellness challenges, both while in law school and while practicing. Many times, hearing a fellow lawyer open about their real world vulnerabilities helps law students open up about their own. Having law students, rather than faculty and staff, lead wellness-focused activities could also have the effect of attracting more students.
In the end, owning our stories can be hard, but it’s not nearly as difficult as spending a lifetime running from them. What happens when people open up their hearts to one another? We feel better and become stronger, together.