ucla – MindWell

Resilience on the RISE

February 21, 2019/in EngageWell, MindWell /by uclahci

Resilience (noun)

re·sil·ience | \ ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s

1) The capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress.
2) An ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.

– Merriam-Webster Dictionary

As people in and around the university, we all face the trials and tribulations of stress, anxiety, and difficult situations. We can learn to better cope with daily challenges through a practice of resilience that supports our well-being.

The Office of Campus and Student Resilience and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) have created a “holistic wellness hub” on campus that provides a variety of programs, classes, trainings, and self-directed resources aimed at creating a greater sense of resilience on campus. This hub is called Resilience in the Student Experience (RISE) and is located on campus, downstairs at Lu Valle Commons room B-01. RISE serves as a physical extension of CAPS, and as part of its programming, RISE offers meditations, yoga, peer coaching, and other mind-body modalities.

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When I say that RISE offers a vast amount of programs and meditations, it’s no understatement. So far in the lineup they have:

Yoga as healing – trauma-informed yoga for survivors of sexual assault
Weekly drop-in resilience sessions for all
Mindful Ambassadors meetings
Drop-in meditations for post doctoral students
Weekly drop-in mindful nutrition for all
GRIT coaching corner
Wazo wellness series
Mindfulness for women of color
Healing expressed with art (HEART) for trauma survivors
Weekly drop-in mindful self compassion break
Fitwell yoga classes.

The RISE schedule is bursting with programs and opportunities that can meet our diverse student body where they are. And there’s no sign of slowing down; Dr. Allyson Pimentel, associate director of UCLA Campus & Student Resilience, tells me, “it’s only going to get better.”

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RISE has an upcoming 5 session training series, Training for Campus Peer Leaders, which is geared towards UCLA student leaders looking to learn more about resilience, how to support students in distress, and many other important topics. This workshop will be held every Wednesday from weeks 4-8, with each session lasting two hours. The sessions will be held in the basement level of Lu Valle Commons, room B-01. If interested in this particular workshop, you can learn more and sign up here.

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Check out the RISE space itself or come participate in some of the upcoming meditation sessions and workshops! For more information email RISE@caps.ucla.edu

RISE 6

Aubrey Freitas is an undergraduate student at UCLA double majoring in English Literature and Psychology with a minor in Italian. She is a blogger for the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center at UCLA in the Mind Well section, which focuses on the importance of mindfulness and mental health. Aubrey is the founder of the organization Warm Hearts to Warm Hands, which teaches the skill of knitting to people of the community in return for their donation of an article of clothing they create with the skill, to be given to local homeless shelters.

Healthy Minds and Healthy Hearts: An Interview with Kimberly Uehisa

February 13, 2019/in MindWell /by uclahci

While heart health is often overlooked by younger generations, the effects it can have on living a healthy lifestyle are nonetheless important. Mental health can be severely impacted by stress, and so can heart health. Kimberly Uehisa, fourth year MIMG major and global health minor, is championing the importance of cardiovascular health and education in her new study with the UCLA Women’s Cardiovascular Center. I sat down with her to find out more about ECHOS (Early Cardiovascular Health Outreach), herself, and the importance of heart health.

Kimberly has been a research fellow with the Women’s Cardiovascular Center for two years, studying prevention and effects of cardiovascular disease with her faculty mentor Dr. Tamara Horwich, Dr. Marcella Press, and Dr. Karol Watson. She became interested in heart health in high school after discovering she and her family had a history of high blood pressure and other heart-related medical issues. On top of her passion for helping others live heart healthy lifestyles, Kimberly is a research coordinator for the Department of Cardiac Surgery, and just started working in a bioengineering lab focusing on cardiovascular research. She was also recently selected for the Undergraduate Research Fellowship program for this particular research study.

To give a little bit more insight into who she is outside of her research, Kimberly strongly recommends owning a pet for their benefits in relieving stress, even though she doesn’t own any herself. Kimberly also likes to go hiking and explore the outdoors and is actually from Hawaii, where hula dancing was part of her school curriculum from elementary to high school. Also, while she is from Hawaii, no, she’s never surfed, and yes, she does get that question a lot. She’s an energetic firework here to spread the importance of early heart health with UCLA, and we are excited to learn more!

Q: What’s happening in the pilot study?
A: First, students will sign up on a link or QR code from a flier, and they will fill out a pre-survey. They will receive text messages for a 4 week period, 3 times a week, with suggestions of campus resources and heart health information. There will be weekly prize drawings to encourage active participation. At the end of the 4 week period, students who complete the post survey may receive a $10 gift card for their participation in the study. This text messaging system will hopefully alleviate stress and help student’s current and future well-being. The study is still waiting for IRB approval; once it is approved, we will notify UCLA’s student body.

Q: Why and when did you decide to study women’s cardiovascular health?
A: A history of high blood pressure in my family lead me become interested in cardiovascular health. I started my first research study in 2017 with Dr. Jennifer Phung-Woo. We recruited teens and young adults between the ages 13 and 25 and found out text messages were actually helpful, effective, and educational. The goal of the study was to reach out to young people about heart disease, connecting with them via text-messaging to educate them about the subject and know they aren’t the only ones that may be affected by it. Forming healthy habits early in life is really important.

Q: Why do you think heart health education is particularly relevant to college students?
A: As a student, I know from firsthand experience that college students experience high levels of stress, which affects our lifestyle choices. In this environment, education on heart health is particularly beneficial. The effects of stress on the body leave students at greater risk for developing cardiovascular disease.

Q: What are some cardiovascular health resources on campus?
A: A lot more will be shared in the text messages sent out to participants in the study, but off the top of my head: CAPS, Mindful Meditation, and Mindful Music. The text messages sent out in the study will give students quick links to the schedules so they can effectively and efficiently access the resources. The goal of the text messages is to cover all aspects of student life.

Q: If you could tell someone one tip to change or add to their lives to positively impact their heart health what would it be?
A: Just try not to be stressed (haha). On a more serious note: having a good support system and really strong relationships to be there for you is really helpful in the long run. Also, being aware of yourself and how you take care of your body.

Q: What do you think one of the biggest misconceptions is about heart health?
A: That it’s a man’s disease and not a woman’s disease. It happens to everyone, at all ages.

Q: What’s the main thing you hope students take from this study?
A: I hope for everyone to be aware of their stress and be engaged with their bodies as the heart is the heart of all health! Everything begins with being aware of yourself and aware of your surroundings.

February may be known for the more emotional aspects of the heart, but it’s also Heart Health Month. This makes it the perfect time to learn about living a heart healthy lifestyle and also just so happens to be when participants can begin signing up for the study. In just four weeks you can learn about resources on campus to help you engage in stress relief, be more educated about heart health, and possibly receive a $10 gift card. For further information or questions about the study, please contact Dr. Horwich at Thorwich@mednet.ucla.edu.

Aubrey Freitas is an undergraduate student at UCLA double majoring in English Literature and Psychology with a minor in Italian. She is a blogger for the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center at UCLA in the Mind Well section, which focuses on the importance of mindfulness and mental health. Aubrey is the founder of the organization Warm Hearts to Warm Hands, which teaches the skill of knitting to people of the community in return for their donation of an article of clothing they create with the skill, to be given to local homeless shelters.

Meet Anusha Sadda, CAPS Student Advisory Board Member

June 5, 2018/in MindWell /by uclahci

Many people know about Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at UCLA, but most people don’t know there is also a board of students working alongside them to provide the best mental health resources possible. This group of students is called the CAPS Student Advisory Board (CSAB). The board is made up of students from different organizations and backgrounds, who have come together to voice the concerns of their respective communities and to inspire change. (Any student can apply to be a part of the board, so if you have an interest in mental health, think about making your voice heard by applying for next year’s board! Keep an eye out for an application announcement.)

About Anusha: Anusha is a graduating fourth year Psychobiology major and Public Health minor and a member of last year’s CSAB board. She’s a mental health advocate because mental health affects all of us even if we don’t all have a mental illness. After graduating, she hopes to work as an analyst at a healthcare company and eventually go to graduate school to become a psychiatrist or work in community health. She prefers TV shows over movies, and if she could watch only one for the rest of her life, it would either be Grey’s Anatomy, or This is Us. She isn’t a fan of either cats or dogs, and if she had to have a pet, she would prefer a goldfish. She adores Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, and her life motto is “you can’t change the world, but you can change your world.”

Q: Tell me a little bit about the CAPS Student Advisory Board: how, why, and when was it created?

Anusha Sadda: Nicole Green, the director of CAPS, created CSAB in the 2016-2017 school year. She met with a lot of student groups and wanted a space for students to voice their opinions. She wanted to have a better idea of how to prioritize student needs, and she did that by hearing many different perspectives from some of UCLA’s students.

Q: Why did you want to join the CSAB last year?

AS: I was always involved with mental health groups on campus. I served as the campaign manager for All of Us, and I wanted to be involved with something that was more all encompassing. I wanted to learn more about CAPS, their staffing, finances, everything that played a role in making CAPS efficient and effective. It was a privilege making a difference for the students.

Q: What did the board focus on or accomplish last year?

AS: The biggest focus was the session limits at CAPS. There has been an increase in mental health service needs nationally, and we wanted to figure out what we would do with all of that demand.

Q: What specific things did you want the board to focus on? What concerns did you bring?

AS: I wanted to focus on educating students about what CAPS is, what resources there are, and using CAPS as an avenue to seek the right kind of treatment. Increasing awareness of mental health on campus was an important goal of mine last year. I wanted to create a collaborative effort, kind of like an umbrella, of all kinds of people focused on mental health that were coming from different campus groups, but that were coming together as partners to achieve a common goal.

Q: Why do you think it’s important for students to have this close interaction with CAPS?

AS: Not all students can advocate for themselves, and that leads to some people feeling like they aren’t represented. The CSAB board provides a way to bridge that gap, by having representatives speak for a community. The board is then able to hear their issues and address them. It’s also easier for students to talk to students, which helps create honesty and strengthens students’ relationship with CAPS.

Q: What do you think the impacts are of having a board run by students geared towards the benefit of students?

AS: I think it shows people that CAPS is really trying to be the best it can be and tend to student needs. Their efforts are going above and beyond. Dr. Green is a very busy woman, and she takes the time to be present at all of the CSAB meetings because she really cares to hear from students. We want people to say what they want to say to the board and have their issue addressed.

Q: What do you hope future members of the board accomplish with the partnership?

AS: I don’t have a long term goal for the board, because we never know what is going to be changing in the future. All I care about is that students, staff, and faculty feel like they have the best mental health resources possible— for the UCLA community to be happy mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Aubrey Freitas is an undergraduate student at UCLA double majoring in English Literature and Psychology with a minor in Italian. She is a blogger for the UCLA Healthy Campus Initiative in the Mind Well section, which focuses on the importance of mindfulness and mental health. Aubrey is the founder of the organization Warm Hearts to Warm Hands, which teaches the skill of knitting to people of the community in return for their donation of an article of clothing they create with the skill, to be given to local homeless shelters.

Yoga in the Community: Meet Carina Marcellas and Yoga for Flexible Futures!

June 5, 2018/in MindWell /by uclahci

The Healthy Campus Initiative funds a plethora of research and clubs on campus that are related to mindfulness and mental health. Yoga for Flexible Futures (YFF), a previous HCI Small Grants Recipient, is a club that teaches mindfulness, nutrition, and yoga to children at UCLA’s Community School in Koreatown. The club is composed of passionate bruins who advocate for teaching of mindfulness and fitness at a young age to help kids lead healthy lives in the future. I interviewed the current president of YFF, Carina Marcellas, to learn more about the club and the vision and passion behind their work. A club that rolls kids and yoga into one mat, what could be more exciting than that?

About Carina: Carina is a graduating fourth year double majoring in Italian and Anthropology. She loves yoga (unsurprisingly!), is teacher-certified in yoga sculpt, and is on the SET team at Corepower Yoga in Westwood. She’s also the special events intern at the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA) and is a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. If she could only watch one movie for the rest of her life, it would be La La Land. Carina embraces her strong female identity—it’s even reflected in her choice of favorite actress, Emma Watson and her love of Hermione throughout all of the Harry Potter films. One of her life mottos is “be the energy you wish to attract,” which is a wonderful affirmation and reminder to be resilient and positive in all aspects of life. If you couldn’t tell from her list of accomplishments and personality traits, Carina is a shining star of YFF and an inspiring bruin.

Q: YFF has been an HCI Small Grants recipient in the past for the clubs connection to the MindWell Pod’s mission, how do you think YFF embodies what the Mind Well pod stands for?

Carina Marcellas: At the beginning of the quarter, we did a mindfulness activity with the kids with setting goals for ourselves. We had them set two goals for the quarter, one that was personal, and one that was yoga/mindfulness related. At the end of the quarter we gave everyone back what they had written down to see if they had met their goals. We wanted to plant the seed of setting goals to make that a familiar concept, and give them a sense of accountability. We showed them how to set intentions for themselves and then work towards maintaining them.

Q: How do you think YFF bridges the connection between mental health and social justice?

CM: We try and make mindfulness accessible and engaging for the kids. We recently did a collaboration with a mentorship program where they partnered UCLA students with kids to help further connections and increase accessibility. It was also a conscious decision to have YFF bring its program to the UCLA Community School, because it’s important to expose kids to something that they haven’t been exposed to before. It allows us to reach a community that is different from the one that surrounds UCLA, one that doesn’t necessarily have the funds to have programs like this incorporated into the school curriculum.

Q: What is your favorite part about working with the kids?

CM: When you come in to teach a class every week and they remember you. It sounds silly, I know, but one time I met a girl and then the next week she wrote my nametag for me. It makes me feel important that they appreciate me. It makes yourself feel like what you’re doing is special. It also feels great to see them get excited to do it again as the weeks go by.

Q: How do you think this early exposure to mindfulness, nutrition, and physical/social well-being strategies will affect the kids in the future?

CM: Exposure to it at a young age is important, having the memories to look back on and keep with them as time goes on. It has an influence on them. They’re at a great age of learning and trying new things.

Q: Did you have a program like this when you were younger? How would that have affected how you live out your life now?

CM: No, it was all up to ourselves to stay active. I grew up in an area where everyone was really active, and it’s important to me and to my family. Yoga is more creative than other workouts, and I think that’s why I have a passion for it. It gives me something different than what I get from just running. I think that if you don’t have the strong foundation of exposure at a young age, it’s hard to carry it with you when you grow up.

Q: What does it feel like to know that YFF and mindfulness are making a positive impact on the community?
CM: It warms my heart. We try so hard to get these positive messages out there. It’s easy to get caught up in the frustrations, but you get past it and become so incredibly grateful to be a part of something that has had so much impact. “Thankful” is a word, but I don’t think it can truly convey what I’m feeling. Being a better person and lifting each other up is such a rare thing, and we have to be thankful whenever we can do that for each other. I go there to teach the kids, but they also end up teaching me. Their energy and approach to life is what I want to feel all the time, and I feel like I have that mentality when I’m with them.

Aubrey Freitas is an undergraduate student at UCLA double majoring in English Literature and Psychology with a minor in Italian. She is a blogger for the UCLA Healthy Campus Initiative in the Mind Well section, which focuses on the importance of mindfulness and mental health. Aubrey is the founder of the organization Warm Hearts to Warm Hands, which teaches the skill of knitting to people of the community in return for their donation of an article of clothing they create with the skill, to be given to local homeless shelters.

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