The holiday season is here, bringing a flurry of emotions, memories, stresses, and delights. Wherever you find yourself this season - celebrating special traditions, taking a quiet break, or feeling out of sync - I encourage you to approach this time with gentle understanding.
Seek to accept what this season evokes in you. Listen to your needs with warmth and patience. If celebrations uplift you, embrace the joy. If grief arises, make space for processing. If exhaustion creeps in, prioritize rest. Your reactions are valid and this season is fleeting - meet yourself where you’re at.
Consider adopting practices that nourish. Express gratitude by reflecting on people and moments most meaningful. Set kind limits around your time and energy. Move, eat, sleep in ways that feel good. Anchor in life-giving rituals.
You may experience great joy in connecting with loved ones during this season. Cherish the laughter, traditions, and quality time shared - these bonds nurture the spirit. If you feel moved to expand your circle and support others too, acts of giving and community enrich us all. It is possible that you may experience feelings of distress or disconnectedness. Please know that is normal and support exists. Reach out to trusted confidants. Utilize resources that are available to you. You deserve to feel held during hard moments.
The weeks ahead may be comforting or difficult, or ebb and flow between the range of these experiences. No matter what you experience, you can respond with self-compassion. My hope is that you discover pockets of peace this season. Wishing you warmth and wellness.
Wellbeing Links
McLean’s Guide to Managing Mental Health Around the Holidays
Podcast by Mick Krasner, MD - Flourishing in Medicine: From Surviving to Thriving
Mindfulness Webinar: The Gift of Presence - December 13, 2023 at 12:00 PM
The Gift of Presence is a webinar hosted by the School of Professional Studies.
Description: In the Northern Hemisphere, December marks the darkest month. While on the outside, this time is often marked with holidays and celebrations, there is also often a deep pull to go inward, to spend time in silence, a time of rest, restoration, and reflection. In this session, we will honor this need for stillness and quiet with gentle mindful movement and a quieting meditation inviting peace, to acknowledge the gift of our own presence in our lives. Register here.
The Pause - December 14, 2023 at 11:00 AM
You are invited to The Pause: no lectures, no incoming information—just the soothing embrace of silence and solitude. The Pause invites you to rest from perpetual incoming information, refresh your spirit, allow your mind to explore new horizons, nurture your curiosity, and perhaps even unlock fresh insights. It's more than a break; it's an invitation to improve concentration, increase self-awareness, and stimulate intellectual curiosity. Join us, and experience the power of a pause. Come for the entire hour or just a portion of the time. You’re welcome to quietly come and go, as you see fit. The Pause will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at The Warren Alpert Medical School, Room 275.
Sexual Health Pop-up - January 8, 2024 at 12:30 pm
On January 8th, 2024, BWell will hold a Sexual Health pop-up from 12:30-1:30 pm at 222 Richmond Street. Free safer sex supplies (including condoms, lubrication, and EC) will be available for pick up, and Brown Health Services providers will be on-site to let you know about other sexual health and wellness services available to all Brown students.
January Wellness Lunch & Learn: Financial Literacy - January 17, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Enhance your financial know-how at our upcoming Wellness Wednesday Lunch & Learn on Financial Literacy for physicians & medical students. Special guest Dr. Kristina McAteer, emergency medicine physician and Editor-in-Chief of Money Minutes for Doctors podcast, will discuss why your financial health and wellness needs to be a priority. The goal of the session is to help you identify your financial goals and create approaches that will help to improve your financial well-being. Join us and walk away with actionable takeaways you can implement right away. Register here.
Doctoring Skillfully - Starting January 31, 2024
Doctoring Skillfully is a 9-week course designed to help physicians develop skills to navigate the complex emotional, mental, and physical demands of their profession and to advocate for change in the medical education and healthcare systems. This training recognizes that being an effective clinician often means holding two conflicting realities: caring deeply for patients while accepting the limits of being human; feeling fatigued by the work while still being motivated by core values; and maintaining compassion despite feelings of frustration. Learning groups are cohorted separately for students and attending physicians. Residents and fellows can elect to participate in either cohort, based on preference.
Dates:
Warren Alpert Medical Students (3rd & 4th year)**
Starting 1/31: Wednesdays 12:00-1:30 pm
Physician Faculty**
Starting 2/1: Thursdays 4:00-5:30 pm
**Residents/Fellows can choose either group
Visit here for more information.
Student Health Council (SHC) Peer Mentorship:
SHC would like to remind all students about their peer counseling services. They are available to help with a wide variety of topics including adjusting to med school, imposter syndrome, academic difficulties, difficult patient experiences, managing mental health, personal stressors, and more. For more information on requesting a peer counselor please visit their website.
Health Services now offers free, over-the-counter emergency contraception
Resources are available to all undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. Please follow this link to receive more information.
TimelyCare. On-Demand Access to Mental Health Care:
CAPS is excited to announce a new partnership with TimelyCare, a student-centered platform designed to provide Brown students with on-demand access to mental health care and a diverse, culturally competent provider network. In addition to teletherapy, students will have access to wellness videos about sleep hygiene, nutrition, managing stress, and other wellness topics. TimelyCare can be utilized in conjunction or as a complement to other CAPS services; if students would like to discuss their plan of care or have questions about TimelyCare, they may schedule a meeting with a CAPS therapist for support. Click here now to register with TimelyCare. All enrolled Brown students are encouraged to register with TimelyCare. Even if you do not need to access any services at this time, TimelyCare is a valuable support tool to have at the ready.
Brown University Health Services
You already know that Health Services can meet many of your physical health needs. Did you know that Health Services helps to manage a broad range of mental health concerns? Providers routinely treat conditions like anxiety, depression, and others. Please call 863-3953 for an appointment.
Other Available Resources
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Peer Support via Student Health Council (studenthealthcouncil@brown.edu)
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Medical School Embedded Therapist - Laurice Girouard, LICSW (laurice_girouard@brown.edu)
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Counseling via Brown Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
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The opportunity to consult or check in on your wellness - Kelly D. Holder, PhD (kelly_holder@brown.edu)
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Wellness Website: wellness.biomed.brown.edu
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Resources to locate off-campus counseling:
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Crisis/Immediate Support:
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CAPS On Demand (24/7): 401-863-3276
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Brown Sexual Assault Response Line: 401-863-6000
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Physician Support Line (for medical students, residents & physicians): 1-888-409-0141
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Crisis and Suicide Lifeline: 988
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Crisis Text Line: text ‘HOME’ to 74174
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GLBT Hotline: 888-843-4564
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Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
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And finally, a poem.
Unnamed from The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
when the world comes crashing at your feet
it’s okay to let others
help pick up the pieces.
if we’re present to take part in your happiness
when your circumstances are great,
we are more than capable
of sharing your pain.