Emotional well-being has to do with the ability to understand and acknowledge and accept feelings, express and resolve them constructively, and integrate those feelings and experiences into our future actions and understandings.
Try out Koru Challenge: If you’ve been thinking about mindfulness meditation skills and wishing you had the time/space/instruction/feedback you need to practice then this might be the challenge for you. Koru is an evidence-based curriculum specifically designed for college students and other young adults as a weekly, 75-minute class over four weeks by a trained and certified Koru Teacher. There are two sections of Koru Basic that will start today (Monday) and Wednesday and space is limited. To sign up, visit go/korusignup. To learn more about Koru Mindfulness at Middlebury visit go/koru. All participants will receive a free copy of The Mindful Twenty-something by Holly Rogers.
Write Yourself a Letter Challenge: Write yourself a letter of self-compassion for something that you are struggling with, just as you might write it to a friend you are concerned about. One of the most important determinants of resilience is how we treat ourselves when we’re having difficulty. Unfortunately, many of us respond to our own struggling with self-criticism, judgement, anger, and impatience. Learning to offer ourselves kindness, lean toward community instead of isolation, and practice mindfulness about our feelings instead of over-analyzing them can help reduce anxiety and reactivity. Dr. Kristen Neff offers guidance on how to write a letter of self-compassion from an imaginary friend who is unconditionally loving, accepting, kind and compassionate, but you could also consider calling in the voice of a loved one, mentor, or maybe yourself in 5 or 10 years.
Watch Your Mental Diet: Set aside 15 minutes to take an inventory of what you mentally consume in a typical day. This includes what you read, programs you watch, internet searches, and your virtual interactions. A number of studies have shown that watching the news or talk shows escalates anxiety, and spending time on social media contributes to depression and loneliness, including this study, 6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health. Consider taking time each day to unplug, or make an effort to balance your intake of negative or violent media content with positive stories. Pay attention throughout the week to how media makes you feel.
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Community Well-being Celebration: To celebrate the last week of the Well-being Challenge we invite you to take the opportunity to celebrate your participation and connect with others that also engaged in well-being and self care over the last month. Social connectedness generates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional and physical well-being so you’ll be boosting multiple areas by attending! We are going to be at Rehearsals Cafe in the Mahaney Center for the Arts from 11am to 1pm on Wednesday just ‘being’. There will be hot snacks and opportunities to connect with others to talk about the Challenge and how you’re (really) doing. Feeling like appetizers and chatting is the challenge for you? Let us know if you think you’re coming here.