Quoteworthy
Self-compassion is not kicking yourself when you’re down, which prolongs stress reactions, creates more suffering, and delays your ability to get back up. Instead, self-compassion is about treating yourself as you would treat a good friend in distress. It is about responding with caring support.
Jean Whitlock, Trinh Mai, Megan Call, and Jake Van Epps

Most Recent
Use This Technique to Reduce Stress and React With Compassion

COVID-19 and social unrest have brought about heightened stress and trauma for our health care community. Nurse manager Bernice Tenort provides a simple exercise to help employees and teams pause, think critically, and respond compassionately when stress levels increase.

Five Ways Our Culture of Wellness is Working During COVID-19

Family Medicine physician and co-director of the Resiliency Center Amy Locke outlines five ways U of U Health’s strategic commitment to well-being is paying off during COVID-19.

Of Course People are Baking Bread

It’s the mundane and the sublime, sustenance of all forms. Harvard Graduate School of Design student Emily Duma encourages us while confined to mix sorrow, knead beauty, bake in connection and slather the butter on thick.

Am I Really a Hero? I'm Just Doing My Job

For many in health care, the heroic expectations brought on by the pandemic present internal conflicts that threaten our well-being. Director of psycho-oncology at Huntsman Cancer Hospital Paul Thielking and social worker Megan Whitlock examine this conflict and provide strategies for attending to our own needs.

The Coronavirus Hits Home

Terry Tempest Williams is a Utah native, writer, naturalist, activist, educator—and patient. Terry’s brother Hank Tempest fell sick with Covid-19 in early March and is now recovering in the desert. In this fifteenth dispatch, Terry interviews Hank.

A Blessing, a Prayer, and a Plea for Another World

We all need faith right now – whether in ourselves or a higher power. Harvard Graduate School of Design student Emily Duma shares three poems that offer a blessing, a prayer and a brief respite from our broken world, with an introduction from U of U Health Chaplain Lorie Nielson.

Most of Us Live Off Hope Street

Poetry can feel like a deep breath–a few second break from the busyness. Harvard Kennedy School student Becky Nirav shares an original poem, with an introduction by U of U Health mindfulness educator and social worker Trinh Mai.

Let Us Be Thankful

Though we feel urgency and angst in this moment, there is beauty and calm all around us—we just have to take the time to see it. Harvard Divinity School student Dan "Shutterbug" Wells shares the beauty he encounters and gives thanks, with an introduction from GME Wellness Director Rob Davies.

Making Room for Grief in the Workplace

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, grief was and is a normal part of the workplace, especially when you work in health care. As a leader, it’s often hard to know what to do. The Resiliency Center’s Megan Whitlock draws from the wisdom of colleagues to share four practical ways to manage grief in the workplace.

Triangles

Terry Tempest Williams is a writer, naturalist, activist, educator—and patient. In this sixth “Dispatch from the Desert,” Terry reflects on triage, triangles, and how service brings purpose to our lives.

A Mirror of Water

Terry Tempest Williams is a writer, naturalist, activist, educator—and patient. In this third “Dispatch from the Desert,” Terry examines what natural disasters leave in their wake, both in the earth and in our memory.

Want To Reduce Burnout? Focus on Autonomy and Community

University of Utah Health’s best thinkers came together to tackle a major problem: burnout. Last year, 40 teams across the health system took on the challenge as part of the Resiliency Center’s Wellness Champion Poster Session. The results? Fulfilling basic needs like scheduling autonomy, being heard, and building a community all make a big difference.