Living Health & Well-Being Week: Spring 2022
Well-Being Journeys
We launch the CSHH Living Health Week Spring 2022 with Student Voices from the Well-Being Project
Well-being, a common phrase, is by no means experienced either commonly or “in common.” Student voices describe individual odysseys in well-being, with journeys that go back in time and across oceans. Dimensions of well-being are recognized in brief moments in times past and present, amidst connectivity with people and beloved pets, and emerge as revelations in the presence of nature through the rhythms of the day and seasons. Individuals recognize a sense of well-being from walks, hikes, and sailing, from personal achievements and demanding sports; while enjoying or performing music and dance, in states of flow amidst painting and photography, and in activities shared with friends and family, with feelings of connection, purpose, and meaning. These are the moments ascribed as sources of balance, health, inner peace, companionship, and acceptance of true self associated with the concept, well-being.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28: WHAT IS WELL-BEING?
As we begin living health week, we give a voice to the challenging nature of daily life individuals face on multiple levels and we call out the importance of identifying modulating actions one can take. Well-being has emerged as an important concept to aim for. What is it, how do you find it, and how do you incorporate it into your daily life? Can you? These are challenging questions.
Monday's Challenge
Take time today to reflect on your own well-being. Finding what well-being means for you is core to achieving it. From quiet times alone to shared experiences with others, people vary in where and how they find their well-being. Whether it has been a long time since you actively experienced it, you are not sure you ever have, or you already have a well-developed sense, envisioning a state of well-being for yourself is foundational for maintaining your health. Here we share the highlights from more than 150 CSHH students in the Predictive Health class as they reflected on their personal visions of well-being.
Get Involved
*LIVING HEALTH WEEK EXCLUSIVE EVENT*
Film Series: Healthcare Ethics on TV | 8:00pm
Mental Health Monday | 12:00pm
TUESDAY, MARCH 1: WHERE IS WELL-BEING IN DAILY EXPERIENCE?
With a vision of well-being for yourself, you are empowered to find and generate opportunities in the course of your daily life for lived well-being moments. It may take some time to identify action steps that take you near a sense of well-being, and on some days this may be elusive, but identifying the types of moments that enhance well-being for you can have a profound effect on your outlook. This can extend to improving resilience to stress, connecting to others who understand us, and simply clearing our heads, with profound restorative potential.
Tuesday's Challenge
Consciously make small choices to enhance your well-being. Let your vision of well-being guide you to participate in activities that may give you a sense of well-being. For many people, it is nature that confers an immense sense of well-being. A walk in Lullwater is restorative to many and readily available. Stopping to take in the movement of trees outside a window, or contemplating the sunset are moments that are remarkably healing. Put down the electronic device and call a friend to talk in person, share a meal, listen to music, or write in a journal. These small behaviors have the potential to be experienced mindfully and remind us what we have to be grateful for each day. Consider the Write to Know You workshop.
Get Involved
Write To Know You | 6:00pm
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2: CHASING WELL-BEING
Taking time to engage in an activity that gives you a sense of well-being is a challenge for many, who cannot see their way clear to do so, claiming they “don’t have time.” The most common time commitment error is not prioritizing sufficient sleep. The fact is that taking time to sleep, to center and restore, is not a waste of time, it is a step towards increased efficiency, productivity and a more joyful and meaningful existence. This requires acknowledgment of well-being as important and finding a strategy that incorporates the experiences of well-being into your daily life. Take the challenge: Chase well-being.
Wednesday’s Challenge
Make a daily plan: identify when you might benefit from enhancing your well-being. It may be a change in your sleep patterns, or your morning routine for “starting the day.” It may be mid-afternoon when you find yourself lagging--take a walk, a swim, meditate. Make time to de-stress: Engage in activities that absorb you to the point of losing sense of time and self, or what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined “flow.” Learn to be mindful of the importance of daily well-being, and explore new ways to find it in daily life. Music is restorative for many at any time of day. Take in the Midweek Musical Meditation (OSRL Mid-Week Music). Visit the Emory Well-Being Fair at McDonough Plaza and experience PAWS puppy therapy, visit the Petting Zoo and have a massage, try a physical activity class in WoodPec.
Get Involved
Emory Well-Being Fair | 12:00pm
Emory Climate Talks with CARE | 12:00pm
Midweek Musical Meditation | 12:00pm
IDAS Seminar Series: Guido Silvestri | 12:00pm
Feminist Comics, Medical Anthropology, and the Arab Spring | 1:00pm
Slacklining | 5:00pm
THURSDAY, MARCH 3: WELL-BEING IN CREATIVITY
Life is filled with experiences beyond the control of individuals. Maintaining a sense of well-being is a challenge, and one many people have to learn how to achieve. For some, artistic expression is essential. From music and dance to the graphic arts, crafts, writing and choral music, the human experience is a source of passion and requires expression through imagery, sound and movement. Identifying sources from which to draw strength and energy is a journey.
Thursday’s Challenge
Participate in an activity related to arts, creativity and expression as you explore your well-being. For many people writing is central to their well-being. Engage in your journaling, listen to the Writing Resilience conversation today. The arts in many forms provide an essential expression for the human experience. Consider the hands-on experience of making clay jewelry, attend the gallery talk with Aime Esslinger, and celebrate the achievements of your musical classmates at Emory’s symphony orchestra performance.
For photographers, explore your well-being visually: take a photograph of your sense of well-being and submit it to our Well-Being Photo competition. More than 100 of our students have already submitted their work and we will take a look at this work in the coming weeks.
Get Involved
Writing Resilience: A talk with Véronique Tadjo | 4:15pm
Twin Memorials Engagement Session | 6:00pm
DIY Clay Jewelry | 6:00pm
Buddhist Meditation | 6:00pm
Gallery Talk with artist Aime Esslinger | 7:30pm
Chabad Shabbat | 7:30pm
Emory University Symphony Orchestra Featuring Concerto and Aria Competition Winners | 8:00pm
FRIDAY, MARCH 4: CELEBRATING DISCOVERIES RELEVANT TO WELL-BEING
The Center for the Study of Human Health is privileged to have Emory scientists renowned for expertise in well-being as faculty and consultants. Corey Keyes, PhD ground-breaking work in positive psychology initiated the science of flourishing and languishing that has become a focus of mental health in the pandemic era. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD leads the Center for Compassion, Integrity, and Secular Ethics, committed to embracing human values of gratitude, generosity, meaning in life, contentment and an ability to forgive as they contribute to health and mental resilience.
And it is Charles Raison M.D., and Andrew Miller, MD (Director, Emory Behavioral Immunology Program) who launched the new paradigm linking declining well-being to inflammation tied to modern lifestyles.
Friday's Challenge
Choose one lifestyle behavior that you have learned about that is known to contribute to inflammation and change it for today. The expanding science of health and well-being makes clear that our behaviors directly influence our sense of well-being and our health. The many ways in which our behaviors create inflammation can influence the chemistry of the brain to decrease our experience of pleasure and satisfaction with life. Even small steps to decreasing your inflammation will contribute to feeling better at the source: your brain.
Discovery is based upon creativity, innovation, and understanding. Listen to stories of health discovery on Health is Everything and explore resources on campus where you can create and learn new skills:
Emory ArtsLab
Emory TechLab
The Hatchery
Attend the SOPHE conference to learn more about public health education. Apply for a CSHH award to cover the registration fee.
Get Involved
Jumu’ah Prayer | 1:55pm
Futsal Fridays | 4:00pm
Aarti | 5:00pm
Hillel Shabbat | 6:00pm
