Sunday night, October 1^st 2017, 58 people were killed and almost 500 injured in a devastating tragedy in Las Vegas. This event is only the most recent in what seems to be a non-stop slew of mass violence in our country. Massacre and tragedy seems to be a new norm. At the same time, many folks are struggling with the rhetoric that surrounded the presidential election, the visibility of police violence, blatant and violent white supremacist movements, lack of safety for undocumented immigrant communities, and the insidiousness of our currently divisive sociopolitical climate.

One might ask oneself, is the world a garbage fire? I cannot say, but it’s safe to say that morale is low. When I talk to students and colleagues, I find a common experience of what we call in our field “burn out.” However, the treatment for burn out is radical self-care. In the wake of such hate and violence, we have an obligation to ourselves and our loved ones to take care of our…

You’re in your new place. Your classes are scheduled. Your friends are back In Eugene. The fire smoke has cleared from the air (at least, for now).  It is going to be a great year . . . maybe.

Many of us at the University live in the fast lane, and we may measure our worth by what we accomplish. There is nothing wrong with staying active and achieving things. The problem arises when we forget the person who is driving the car. If we don’t have time to ask: what is it all for? What do I really want to get out of life? What makes me thrive?

The signs and forms of self-neglect are many. We neglect ourselves when we routinely do not get enough sleep or don’t pay attention to a healthy diet. Another form of neglect is not making time for close friends — or perhaps, to make a new one. Irritability is one indication that something is amiss. Another sign is insomnia when you are unable to wind down at the day’s end. Another is a sense of listlessness, the feeling…

The beginning of term is right around the corner! And along with students’ return to campus comes, you guessed it—parties. Unfortunately for many, this can be a time of engaging in heavy alcohol use and dealing with the consequences, which can include vandalism, violence, sexual aggression, and occasionally death.

I don’t mean to alarm you, but I do want you to consider the very real possibility of encountering both short and long term consequences from drinking.

That being said, this is not a post to tell you that you need to stop or cut back on your drinking. This is a post to encourage you to think about your drinking goals, and to identify specific harm reduction strategies that you would be willing to implement, and that align with your drinking goals. My purpose here is to empower you to make wise choices that serve your overall happiness and well-being.

For instance, maybe you’re not willing to give up drinking games, but you’d be willing to leave the…

This time a few years ago, while slogging through the final chapter of my dissertation, I had lunch with a friend. At one point, I lamented to him, “If I could just find the motivation to get through the last few paragraphs, I’d be done with this thing, once and for all.” He responded with, “Why wait? You should just embrace the pain and get it done. It’d be worth it.” At the time, I stared back at him with confusion (and frankly, more than a little annoyance); however, in the years since that conversation, I’ve recalled his words often and reflected upon the realization that my friend was absolutely right.

There is a prevailing notion in our culture that we cannot do something unless we feel motivated to do it. However, in his book, Beat the Blues Before They Beat You, Dr. Robert Leahy points out that we do plenty of things each day that we don’t want to do—we go to class or work when we’re not feeling well, we put up with behavior we don’t like from other people, and we…