SELF CARE

Phone-alt Envelope

Webpages/ Organizations:

Apps:

  • Liberate – #1 meditation app for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community.

Podcasts:

Books:

  • Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting by Terrie M. Williams
  • Crunk Feminist Collection by Brittany Cooper
  • Eloquent Rage by Brittany Cooper
  • Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing by Dr. Joy DeGruy
  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Articles

  • Aronson, J., Burgess, D., Phelan,S. M., & Juarez, L. (2013). Unhealthy interactions: The role of stereotype threat in health disparities. American Journal of Public Health, 103(1), 50-55.
  • Smith, W., Hung, M., & Franklin, J.D. (2011) Racial battle fatigue and the miseducation of black men: Racial microaggressions, societal problems, and environmental stress. The Journal of Negro Education, 80 (1), 63-82.

Headspace

  • Guided meditation app with targeted meditations for sleep, productivity, happiness and many other topics. Track time in mindful practice and training.
  • A collaboration with Headspace and Christie Campus Health has created the opportunity for all UGA students to have access to a FREE Headspace account.
  • Click here to learn more and access a free account!
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Sanvello for Stress & Anxiety

  • Daily tools for stress, anxiety and worry alongside a supportive community. Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Meditation, focusing on relaxation and wellness. Comprised of five core activities. *Previously known as Pacifica
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Simple Habit

  • Meditation-only platform to help fight stress and gain perspective. Classes and meditations on broad and specific topics available.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Aura

  • Input your emotions when you open the app and be connected with mindfulness meditations, stories, sounds and a gratitude journal to help dispel negative thinking.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with a paid Premium Subscription option

Daylio Journal

  • Private journal and mood tracker
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Youper

  • Emotional health assistant, powered by AI
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Woebot – Your Self-Care Expert

  • Self-care and intelligent mood tracking informed by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

MoodTools – Depression Aid and FearTools – Anxiety Aid

  • Both apps were developed by the Anxiety & Depression Association of America to help with assessing and addressing mood and anxiety concerns.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

COVID Coach

  • Developed by the VA’s mobile mental health apps team and the VA’s National Center for PTSD. It provides education to improve well-being, tools for coping and self-care, trackers for mental health and personal goals, and resources for additional supports.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

Remente – Self Improvements

  • Goal setting and self-improvement toward daily life balance
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Moodnotes – Mood & CBT Tracker

  • Mood tracker and journaling app to help improve negative thinking habits and shift perspective
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

What’s Up?

  • Self-care and mood tracking informed by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) for coping
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Jour: Journal for Mindfulness

  • Mindful guided daily journal that tracks your mood and finds new, helpful daily prompts for wellness
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Shine: Calm Anxiety & Stress

  • Mental health support through learning daily self-care strategies, as well as an extensive audio library with more resources
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Oak: Meditation & Breathing

  • Guided meditation and breathing exercises, as well as resources for more restful sleep
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Calm

  • Audio content for meditation, sleep and relaxation.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with a paid Premium Subscription option

SAM (Self-Help for Anxiety Management)

  • SAM helps users understand what causes anxiety, monitor anxious thoughts and behavior over time, and manage anxiety throughout self-help exercises. The added ‘Social Cloud’ feature allows users to confidentially share their progress with an online community for added support.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

Meeting Guide

  • Developed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Service, Inc., Meeting Guide is a free meeting finder app that provides meeting information from A.A. service entities in an easy-to-access format.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

Stop, Breathe, Think!

  • Daily mindfulness app that also prompts users to input how they’re feeling. Select mood when opening the app and it will suggest meditations, yoga sequences, acupressure and other skills that could serve best in that moment.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Breathe2Relax

  • Created by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, this app teaches users how to do diaphragmatic breathing. Features include educational videos on the stress response, logs to record stress levels, and customizable guided breathing sessions.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

Curable

  • CBT based biopsychosocial coaching for chronic pain and stress.
  • iOS, Google Play; $

Sleep Cycle

  • Track sleep and get analysis that helps with better sleep, which can lead to better overall health. Includes alarm clock that tracks sleep patterns to wake users during lighter sleep.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with a paid Premium Subscription option

Happify

  • Offers activities and games to help fight negativity and stress. Employs techniques and evidence-based interventions in the areas of CBT, positive psychology and mindfulness to help users break old and unhealthy patterns to form new, helpful habits. Emotional well-being is calculated with regular use and a happiness score is developed each week.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

Smiling Mind

  • Modern meditation designed to help bring balance to life. Developed by a team of psychologists with expertise in youth and adolescent therapy, Mindfulness Meditation and web-based wellness programs.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

Moodpath

  • Asks daily questions in order to assess users’ well-being and screen for symptoms of depression. Provides videos and exercises to help strengthen mental health. Aims to increase awareness of thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Tracks over time and develops a document you can review and discuss with a mental health professional.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

Productive

  • Helps set goals and routines and track progress. Offers users help in breaking negative habits and forming new, healthier ones. Sends motivating reminders, tracks streaks and growth.
  • iOS; Free, with in-app purchases

Yoga Studio: Mind & Body

  • Play, create, customize and schedule easy-to-follow HD video yoga classes.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free, with in-app purchases

Mindshift

  • Straight-forward stress management tool that emphasizes the importance of changing how users think about anxiety. Offers encouragement to take charge of anxiety and tune into body signals.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

eMoods

  • Mood tracking app for managing symptoms of depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. Throughout the day, users can track mood, irritability, stress and other symptoms. Users can see their mood changes on a color-coded monthly calendar which can help identify specific triggers and fluctuating mood.
  • iOS, Google Play; Free

iTunes U

  • Multiple resources uploaded by universities, including guided meditation, PMR, deep breathing, and other exercises
  • iOS, In-app purchases

Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program, Sharon Salzberg

  • An introduction to mindfulness practice guided meditations for a 28-day program
     

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Steven C. Hayes, PhD with Spencer Smith

  • An ACT self-help workbook designed to help readers assess values and commit to acting in ways that further those values.
     

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Jon Kabat-Zinn

  • An ACT self-help workbook designed to help readers assess values and commit to acting in ways that further those values.
     

This is Your Brain on Depression: Creating a Path to Getting Better, Faith Harper, PhD

  • Dr. Faith explains the brain science behind depression (complete with Zuul references) and talks readers through different options for getting better.
     

Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works, Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD

  • Intuitive Eating has become the go-to book on rebuilding a healthy body image and developing a healthier relationship with food.
     

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, Brené Brown, PhD

  • Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe about ourselves and each other.
     

Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body, Jessamyn Stanley

  • Inspiration for beginners and practitioners of yoga of all shapes and sizes. It’s a book that challenges the larger issues of body acceptance and the meaning of beauty. Includes easy-to-follow directions to 50 basic yoga poses and 10 sequences to practice at home.
     

The Stress-Proof Brain: Master Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness & Neuroplasticity, Melanie Greenberg, PhD

  • Offers powerful, comprehensive tools based in mindfulness, neuroscience, and positive psychology to help readers put a stop to unhealthy responses to stress. Readers are provided with exercises to develop an original and effective approach to mastering the brain’s response to stress; by creating a more stress tolerant, resilient brain, readers can learn to overcome negative thinking.
     

The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You, Robert L. Leahy, PhD

  • A comprehensive approach designed to help readers identify, challenge, and overcome types of worry, from the more general worries to unique issues.
     

The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook: Proven, Step-by-Step Techniques for Overcoming Your Fear, Martin Antony, PhD and Richard Swinson, MD

  • A comprehensive program to help shy and social anxious readers confront fears and become actively involved in the world.
     

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, Brené Brown, PhD

  • Brown challenges readers to consider that, when we step back and examine our lives, nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what if.
     

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook: Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, & Distress Tolerance, Matthew McKay, PhD, Jeffrey C. Wood, PsyD and Jeffrey Brantley, MD

  • A collaborative effort offering evidence-based, step-by-step exercises for learning these concepts and putting them to work for real and lasting change.
     

Stop Overreacting: Effective Strategies for Calming Your Emotions, Judith P. Siegel, PhD, LCSW

  • Stop Overreacting helps you identify your emotional triggers, discover a new way of processing impulsive thoughts and feelings, and understand how your emotions can undermine your ability to think rationally in moments of crisis and stress.
     

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, Brené Brown, PhD

  • Brown explores the psychology of releasing our definitions of an “imperfect” life and embracing living authentically, offering benchmarks for authenticity.
     

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook, Martha Davis, PhD, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, MSW and Matthew McKay, PhD

  • This workbook offers the latest stress reduction techniques to combat the effects of stress and integrate healthy relaxation habits into every aspect of daily life.

#BeWellUGA Workshops and Programs

Getting Outside on Campus—Some places to explore:

  • Founders Memorial Garden (North Campus)
  • Latin gardens (beside Baldwin Hall)
  • Trial gardens (behind Snelling)
  • Lake Herrick & Walking trails (IM Fields)
  • UGA Creamery (sells ice cream for $3 a cone)

These are playlists curated by the CAPS staff. There’s a fair amount of variety, so it’s an opportunity for each person to find a song or even a whole list that speaks to you!

Get Hyped – Whether you’re getting up in the morning or trying to find energy for the next thing, this list will get you moving!

Relaxation – For those moments when you want to take a breath and be still, or you’re coming down after a long day.

Pink Noise – Soothing sounds with lower frequencies to help with relaxation, improved focus and sleep. You may notice this in our waiting room from time to time.

Mental Health Resources:

Self-Compassion Guided Meditations and Exercises from Kristin Neff, PhD

  • Various informal exercises and formal medication practices to help increase the habit of self-compassion.

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Meditations for Happiness, Love, and Inner Peace from Rick Hanson, PhD

  • Guided meditations for mindfulness, peace, contentment and motivation.

Yoga with Adriene on YouTube

  • For all levels, all bodies, all genders, all souls! Browse our library of free yoga videos to find a practice that suits your mood or start a journey toward healing.

TED Talks

Fragrant Heart – Heart Centered Meditation – heart centered meditation

  • Free audio meditations and a 5 day “How to Meditate” course

The Honest Guys on YouTube

  • Channel offering guided meditation and relaxing music for muscle relaxation exercises and sleep. Variety of video lengths from 7 minutes to 3 hours.

Guided Meditations from Tara Brach

  • From Tara Brach, founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC, one of the largest non-residential meditation centers in the United States. Choose from a variety of guided meditations or consider the Mindfulness Daily course, a free 40 day course designed to help users create consistent meditation practice in less than 15 minutes a day.

Support Group Virtual Resources:

Alcoholics Anonymous Virtual Meeting Information

  • Regularly updated information on support through Alcoholics Anonymous.

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA)/Dysfunctional Families Virtual Meetings

  • Information on online and telephone meeting options.

Narcotics Anonymous Meeting Search

  • Information on meeting options.

Cocaine Anonymous Online Meetings

  • Information for finding online meetings.

Co-Dependents Anonymous Meetings

  • Information for finding online and telephone meetings.

When You Need a Mini-Vacation:

14 Best Virtual Museum Tours To Satisfy Your Travel Cravings

  • Through partnerships with Google Arts and Culture, more than 2,500 locations around the world are offering virtual museum tours of their collections and spaces. Here’s a list of just 14 of the virtual museum tours you can explore while home.

12 Virtual Vacations You Can Take Right Now from the Comfort of Your Own Home

    • While practicing social distancing and remaining home, there is still the opportunity to explore spaces outside our homes, even if not physically. Here are 12 virtual tours of sites around the world.

The Savvy Psychologist’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Mental Health

  • Host Dr. Jade Wu takes the science of psychology and makes it both entertaining and relatable. Using a sympathetic ear and evidence-based research, she explains the ‘why’ behind emotions like joy, anger, fear, trust, and anxiety, and helps you better understand the relationships you form with your friends, family, coworkers, and yourself. 

Mental – The Podcast to Destigmatise Mental Health

  • Created by host Bobby Temps to break down mental health stigma and discrimination. Joined by special guests, the podcast is a to hear honest and insightful mental health interviews in the hope listeners will feel more empowered to continue the conversation with others. 

Therapy for Black Girls

  • Weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible version of ourselves. 

Mental Illness Happy Hour Podcast

  • Weekly podcast that interviews comedians, artists, friends, and the occasional doctor. Each episode explores mental illness, trauma, addiction and negative thinking. 

Black Girls Heal

  • Helps women break out of cycles of unhealthy relationships with unavailable partners and feeling not enough by combining coaching, therapeutic support, and practical tools. Every episode will talk about intimacy, attachment, healing unresolved trauma, and growing self-worth. 

Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN

  • Registered Dietician, Nutritionist and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor Christy Harrison talks with guests about their relationships with food, body image, eating disorders, weight and size acceptance, non-diet nutrition, exercise, body politics, feminism, self-compassion and self-care – all from a body-positive, Health at Every Size perspective. This podcast is designed to offer safe and non-triggering support for listeners in recovery from eating disorders, weight stigma and body shame. 

The Hardcore Self Help Podcast with duff the psych

  • Hosted by psychologist Robert Duff, or Duff the Psych, this podcast is dedicated to ‘mental health for real people’, answering questions about mental health, anxiety, depression, relationships, and life in an approachable way. 

Secret Lives of Black Women

  • Join close friends Charla Lauriston and Lauren Domino on their hunt for the ‘secrets’ that have helped black women flourish through the difficulties. They connect with guests over shared experiences by wading through everything from sex and self-care to rage and anxiety. Each conversation centers on creating a space for joy with some newfound besties while asking: how do the black women we admire stay incredibly phenomenal? 

Being Well with Dr. Rick Hanson

  • Learn how to increase everyday happiness, build inner strengths, and get the most out of life. 

Unladylike

  • Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin tackle questions to find out what happens when women break the rules – those unwritten but all too real expectations of how we should live our lives. 

Mental Health Today

  • John Cordray, LPC, NCC helps listeners discover what’s keeping them from living their desired life. Learn what to do with anxiety, anger, depression and relationship conflicts, as well as other emotions and behaviors that can prevent us from living a fulfilling life.

Please remember to use care in practicing the relaxation exercises. One exercise focuses on breathing techniques. If you have any kind of respiratory disorder or disease, or you suffer from allergies, consult your physician before practicing this exercise. During another exercise you will be asked to tense and relax different muscle groups. As you tense muscle groups, be cautious about areas of the body that have been injured. Be careful not to hold too much tension in your head, neck or toes as doing so might result in muscle cramps.

Exercise 1. Mindful Acting with Awareness

Exercise 2. Mindful Attitudes

Exercise 3. Deep Breathing

Exercise 4. Imagery to Manage Stress and Anxiety

Exercise 5. Mindful Observing

Exercise 6. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Exercise 7. Relaxation Exercise: Mountain Visualization