Health Initiatives Announces Summer 2020 Well-Being Offerings

While at home, stress and uncertainty may result in struggles with health and well-being. The Georgia Tech Health Initiatives has launched various summer programs to meet the needs of Georgia Tech students, faculty and staff. Below are the various initiatives that are available.

Well-Being Weekly

These virtual 1-hour workshops will be held weekly to support your well-being.

Join us for Well-Being Weekly all summer long!

• Mindful Mondays -- 4:00 p.m. Mindfulness meditation practices to start your week
• TEDx Talk Tuesdays -- 12:00 p.m. A Ted Talk and discussion over lunch
• Well-Being Wednesdays -- 2:00 p.m. Wellness trivia on a variety of health and wellbeing topics
• VOICE Message Thursday -- 1:00 p.m. Information on supporting survivors, 10 signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, and virtual harassment topics
• Flavorful Fridays -- 12:00 p.m. Join our dieticians on Instagram Live (@gthealthinitiatives) for recipe ideas and/or spicy nutrition conversation.

Register here to get access to the Blue Jeans links!

Open to faculty, staff, and students.

Fit to Thrive

Join us for a 6 week lunch and learn style series designed to teach faculty, staff and students how to incorporate the dimensions of well-being into their daily lives. By the end of the program, students should be able to:

• Assess personal well-being and set goals to make improvements toward a healthy lifestyle.
• Learn about personal fitness, nutrition, stress management and lifestyle change.
• Apply essential concepts in nutrition to a fit and healthy lifestyle.
• Practice stress relief techniques.

Time: Wednesdays 11-12 p.m.

Date: May 13 - June 17

To register click here.

More Information: https://healthinitiatives.gatech.edu/thrive

For Questions Contact: Amber Johnson, amber.johnson@health.gatech.edu

Jackets Journal Journey

Weekly Journal Prompts created by Georgia Tech's Health Initiatives

What do Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Frederick Douglass all have in common? Each of these famous figures kept a journal to record their experiences, thoughts, or feelings. Journaling promotes self-care, enhances our immune system functioning and has been proven to reduce stress. Join Health Initiatives’ Jacket Journal Journey for a weekly journal prompt every Monday on Facebook and Instagram (@GTHealthInitiatives) to help you get started.  

Mindfulness Book Club

Join the Georgia Tech community in reading and discussing the book "Mindfulness Meditation: Your Guide to Achieving a Life of Peace by Reducing Stress and Anxiety through Mindfulness Meditation" by Daniel K. Barton, while also learning simple mindfulness exercises that you can incorporate into your daily routine.

The sessions are open to faculty, staff and students and will be held over the course of 4 weeks throughout the month of June using BlueJeans conferencing.

Days and Times: Wednesdays 10-11 a.m. or Thursdays 3-4 p.m.

Register: Click Here

Virtual Wellness Coaching

Wellness coaching is now VIRTUAL! Wellness coaches will help you achieve your goals by guiding you through discussion and reflection. You can explore fitness, sleep, stress, relationships, future plans, and more.

Wellness coaching is where students can come to optimize their personal goals. Wellness will be discussed through goal-setting, forward-thinking, reflection, and self-discovery. For example, possible areas to explore in coaching include but are not limited to:

• Fitness
• Sleep
• Stress
• Time management
• Organization
• Healthy eating/weight management
• Relationships
• Future plans/aspirations

More Information: https://healthinitiatives.gatech.edu/support-services/wellness-coaching

To register: Click Here

Open to undergraduate and graduate students only.

Nutrition Consults Go Viral

All students can meet with our dietitians to receive individual counseling via BlueJeans. Each initial visit includes a one-hour appointment, an analysis of your current eating plan, and an action plan addressing your individual goals. Our dietitians see students who want to address disordered eating habits, change their eating habits, manage a medical diagnosis or concern, or learn how to stay nourished while following specific food restrictions or allergies. Our dietitians are also members of Georgia Tech's multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Treatment Team.

To make an appointment, email nutrition@gatech.edu 

Open to undergraduate and graduate students only.

The Body Positive

Through the generous allotment from JAC, Health Initiatives is bringing The Body Positive to campus.  The mission of The Body Positive program is, “To teach people how to develop balanced, joyful self-care and a relationship with their whole selves that is guided by love, forgiveness, and humor so they can focus on the things in life that really matter.” Research completed in 2014 at Stanford University demonstrated that the Be Body Positive model is strongly associated with self-compassion, healthy eating and exercise, more satisfying relationships, emotional wellbeing, and lower levels of anxiety.  We hope to bring this mindset to Georgia Tech to create a culture where positive body image, healthful eating, and self-care are the expected norms.

Health Initiatives is able to offer the following opportunities through this program:

1. You can be trained to be a Body Positive Facilitator at Tech.

2. You can access an online course to transform your own relationship with your body.

   • Be Body Positive Fundamentals: A deeper dive into the 5 Competencies for personal exploration. You’ll have access to videos, guided meditations, and worksheets where you can do your own self-exploration with the course material.

   • Body Positive Health: This course is an abridged version of the full fundamentals course. Not sure if you’re ready for the full course? This is a great place to start! You can decide to complete the fundamentals course after learning more.

Interested in the online courses or becoming a Body Positive facilitator? Email us at nutrition@gatech.edu These opportunities are open to students, faculty, and staff.

Weekly All Recovery Meeting

With the Georgia Tech Collegiate Recovery Program

Hosted by the Georgia Tech Collegiate Recovery Program, the All Recovery Meeting, is for any student who is struggling with substance use, has questions about their substance use, or is concerned about themselves or a friend. All students are welcome to attend!! This is a safe and supportive environment to openly discuss issues with alcohol and other drug use and the challenges that come in a time of social isolation. It’s important to stay healthy both mentally and physically during these stressful and uncertain times and this meeting is here to provide support to anyone who needs it.

Start Date: May 6, 2020

Time: Wednesdays at 3 p.m.

For more information and to receive the Blue Jeans link, contact Christina Owens at christina.owens@studentlife.gatech.edu

VOICE Advocates

As Georgia Tech takes measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, VOICE wants to remind you that we are here for you 24/7. Whether you are on or off campus, VOICE is continuing to provide confidential services to those impacted by sexual harassment, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and/or stalking.  Here is how to access VOICE: 

If you need immediate support call GTPD at 404-894-2500 and ask for the on-call VOICE Advocate. You do not need to make a police report and you only need to provide a phone number in order to reach an Advocate.

For non-urgent support, VOICE Advocates are available to speak with students by phone, to meet either via video conferencing or face-to-face, and to accompany them to seek other needed services. To schedule an appointment, call Amanda Planchard at 404-385-4451 or Jennifer Gagen 404-385-4464. Leave a message and the Advocate will call you back promptly during business hours.

Be aware that isolation can create safety risks and trigger trauma for survivors. During social distancing or quarantines, it’s normal to feel uncertain, trapped, socially isolated or like you don’t have control. For people who have survived traumatic experiences, these feelings and experiences can trigger trauma symptoms to resurface or increase. They also may exacerbate underlying mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. We know that as students are advised to move away from campus, many are moving to off-campus living quarters with their significant others, family, or returning to their childhood homes. Students who live in environments where abuse has occurred face additional barriers to accessing support and an increase in abusive tactics like verbal and physical abuse and interference with academic work. VOICE Advocates are here to support you and explore options and strategies to increase your safety. VOICE will work with you to find a safe and confidential means to have a discussion. Remember, being a proactive bystander means checking in on friends, finding ways to connect virtually, and recognizing when someone may be in an abusive or unhealthy relationship.  Contact a VOICE Advocate to access support or to learn more about how you can help.

VOICE Website

Healthy Jackets

Peer Educators

Interested in getting involved with health and well-being at Georgia Tech?

The Healthy Jacket Peer Educators are leaders who serve as healthy lifestyle role-models to their peers. They are extensively trained volunteers who give presentations on a variety of health topics, design and implement health programs for students, and collaborate with campus partners to create a healthy community. 

To register, click here