CUSSW Wellness Caucus

A great post, worth reblogging!

vmarano:

Every day through the actions we take or the words we speak, we come closer to or further away from our true self. We encounter different situations that bring us to a fork in the road where we have to choose - do I want to move towards or away from being my authentic self? Choosing to staying on the path to our true self can be challenging. But if you can find the courage and perseverance to do this, you will be greatly rewarded. Read what Dr Kathleen Young, a psychologist who treats trauma in Tuscon, AZ has to say about finding your authentic self in the context of National Coming Out Week. This article can apply to you no matter what your sexual orientation because showing someone who you are is a universal vulnerability we all share. Here is an excerpt from her article:

“….That’s when I asked the question – ‘what’s the secret you are keeping?’ a group of heaving and breathing body’s rose and took reclining hero’s pose. I asked them to look beyond the ceiling and ponder the sky. What if you could give this secret to the sky? I asked and followed with a short ‘you can’t’…”

via drkathleenyoung:

 Continue reading →

Once upon a time, in a land far far away (we’ll call this land California), a temporary worker (code name: TheHobo), began to blog about life living in a state of constant change. Eventually those changes led TheHobo to a brand new path, one called “Graduate School” where she studied to be a social worker. But the rapid changes and stress involved with being a social work student were greater than TheHobo ever had to deal with before, and she got tired. And sad. And maybe just a little bit depressed.

TheHobo discovered that she was suffering the symptoms of compassion fatigue and secondary stress, both of which lead to feelings of burnout. So TheHobo decided that she needed a better plan for year two of her journey toward being a social worker, and investigated ways to combat secondary stress and compassion fatigue. Listed among these was positivity. Yep, being positive and optimistic helped fight off the symptoms that had made TheHobo’s first year at grad school seem so far. Even better than just being positive was being around people who supported positivity and optimism. So TheHobo began go work toward a model of Supported Self Care, one where people helped each other out to encourage self-care behaviors and life-work balance, and where people helped each other focus on the positive. 

As part of her mission to keep self-care alive and well in her and her fellow students’ lives, TheHobo restarted the Wellness Caucus at school. This is the journey of that Caucus.

So far, it’s been a bit of a rough journey, but the Wellness Caucus is still alive and well (for the time being), and more importantly, the mission of promoting supported self-care continues.

Another great video, this one on the importance of being an informed science consumer. Very funny as well as informative!

A reminder that beauty comes (and can be appreciated) in all forms, even math. 

This is a great article with a different perspective on what people often feel are their greatest weaknesses, and may actually be their greatest gifts:

psychotherapy:

“In my decades of practice as a psychotherapist, this is the insight that has inspired me most:

Our deepest wounds surround our greatest gifts.

I’ve found that the very qualities we’re most ashamed of, the ones we keep trying to reshape or hide, are in fact the key to finding real love. I call them core gifts.

It’s so easy to get lost in the quest for self-improvement. Every billboard seduces us with the vision of a happier, more successful life. I’m suggesting an opposite road to happiness. If we can name our own awkward, ardent gifts, and extricate them from the shame and wounds that keep them buried, we’ll find ourselves on a bullet train to deep, surprising, life-changing intimacy.

One of the Google execs talks about how important the culture of your work environment is:

Nurturing the people in your organization doesn’t require expensive perks or touchy-feely gimmicks. It’s about motivating, engaging and listening – and it can work for anybody. Laszlo Bock, Google’s SVP of People Operations, explains how.

Social Psychologist Timothy Wilson looks at the history of social psychology and the importance of evidence-based practice:

Then there’s the whole self-help industry, which is interesting because it’s not that all of their messages are wrong; it’s that they’re packaged in a way that give people hope that isn’t backed up by science. I tend to think of the self-help industry as kind of like playing the lottery. That is, if we buy a lottery ticket, we’re buying hope. We don’t really think we’re going to win, but for the week before the drawing, we can dream that we’re going to suddenly have millions of dollars.

Social-work.org has a list of their top recommended social work blogs. Very good stuff!

fuckyeahpsycharticle:

Not only does having strong relationships make it far more likely that you take joy in life, but studies show that it also lengthens life (incredibly, even more than stopping smoking), boosts immunity, and cuts the risk of depression…

Anonymous