With longer days and more sunshine, summer is an ideal time to pause, reflect, and align ourselves with our goals and community. Whether you're immersed in summer classes, engaged in work, or taking a well-earned break, Wolverine Wellness is here to inspire and support you.
Substances and Sports Betting: Effects on Mental Health
There are many ways in which substance use, sports betting, and your mental health can affect each other. For instance, people often place bets while drinking or using other substances like cannabis, leading them to take bigger risks because they are less inhibited. Remember though, no matter how many “free” bets you get, the house always comes out on top. This can cause people to turn to substance use as a coping mechanism. This can create a cycle of substance use and sports betting that takes a toll on your mental health.
Reflect on Your Relationship With Substances and Sports Betting
Take a moment to reflect on your relationship with alcohol, cannabis, other drugs, and sports betting. Think about how these elements may or may not align with your intellectual, social, spiritual, mental, physical, or financial well-being goals. This reflection offers an opportunity to reassess and potentially realign your habits to better serve your overall wellness and aspirations.
Here are some questions to start your reflection:
- Why do you engage in a behavior like drinking, using cannabis, or sports betting?
- What do you like about this behavior?
- What don’t you like about this behavior?
- What's different about the times when you have a good experience with this behavior vs. the ones where you have a not-so-good experience?
Resources for Support and Growth
The University of Michigan offers many resources for those who want to continue exploring their relationship with alcohol, cannabis, or sports betting, and extra support for those who are ready to make a change.
- Stay in the Blue. This campaign is designed to help students make better-informed choices about alcohol consumption. Use our free updated mobile app (available for iPhone & Android) to plan and track your drinks. Our website offers strategies your peers use to Stay in the Blue (keeping your BAC at or below 0.06%) and other helpful resources. Remember, non-drinkers are always in the blue!
- Clear30. Clear30 is a free iPhone app designed to help people take a break from their cannabis use. It provides personalized tools and resources, such as motivational messages, progress tracking, and community support to help you achieve your goals around cannabis use.
- Wellness coaching. Wolverine Wellness offers personalized wellness coaching tailored to your needs and goals. They can help you reflect on your current substance use habits and create a plan for the future. Students participating in tobacco cessation coaching can get free nicotine replacement therapy.
- Counseling and Psychological Services. CAPS therapists offer individual and group counseling, workshops, screenings, crisis services, and care management. Someone on their team can help or point you in the right direction to get the support you need.
- Addiction Medicine Clinic. The Addiction Medicine Clinic offers substance use and addiction medicine services, which include support for issues around sports betting/gambling. Staff work closely with you to help you achieve your goals.
- U-M Addiction Treatment Services. UMATS offers intensive outpatient programs, including detox, psychiatric evaluations and treatment, therapy, and medication management.
- Collegiate Recovery Program. CRP provides holistic, tailored support to students who are in recovery from alcohol or other drug problems.
We understand your mental health can be dynamic and changing. For more University of Michigan-specific resources and information, check out the Mental Health Continuum of Care – there’s something for everyone, no matter where you are on your journey.
Have a transformative and vibrant summer, Wolverines!