Twelve months of wellness: June 2020

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Resilience and growth through adversity

Twelve months of wellness is a campaign to promote the wellbeing of the employees and students of the College of Arts and Sciences. Each month, we will introduceÌýa themeÌýrelated to a specific dimension of wellness. Throughout the month, weÌýwill featureÌýresearch, informational events, highlighted faculty and opportunities to learn and grow in a specific dimension of wellness.ÌýThe theme for June 2020, which highlights the environmental dimension of wellness,Ìýis resilience and growth through adversity.

The Buffalo way

Resilience and growth through adversity

Buffalo Walking

BuffaloesÌý(Bison bison) have shownÌýresilienceÌýdespite overwhelming adversity. Humans hunted vast populations of buffalo nearly toÌýextinction, butÌýthe buffaloÌýsurvives,Ìýeven inÌýthe rapidly changing world toÌýwhich it must adapt. Buffaloes, and those who protect them, signifyÌýdetermination and the wherewithal to make clear and wiseÌýdecisions.ÌýWhen the buffalo thrives, so does its habitat. Healthy populationsÌýof buffalo fosterÌýa healthy environment.

Honoring the animals who once symbolizedÌýthe Great Plains, members of theÌýCU Boulder community call themselvesÌýBuffaloes. WeÌýbelieve each BuffÌýshouldÌýadopt behaviors that promoteÌýhealth and wellness. And as we navigate uncertain times, we aim to emulate the buffalo. We aim to persist, to actÌýwith purpose, and to pursueÌýwellbeing for ourselves, our herd and our habitat.

Resilience: Research, Application, Impact

Chris Lowry is an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology. His research focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying emotional behavior and the stress-induced control of physiology and emotional behavior. He is also a researcher at theÌýBehavioral Neuroendocrinology LaboratoryÌýwhere theÌýfocus is the neural mechanisms underlying stress-related physiology and emotional behavior with a focus on the role of serotonergic systems.

My research and community work entails the facilitation of spaces (intellectual, physical) that can help perpetuate Cherokee environmental knowledge, practices, and traditions—thus ensuring our collective health and the health of the land. This work presently consists of a community-based research project on natural resource access and land conservation in rural Cherokee communities in Oklahoma, and a land-based education program with Cherokee elders and students (see our project websiteÌý). In the course of this work, I have learned that, for Cherokee people, resilience is above all a collective endeavor—one in which we rely on each other (elders, youth, and all in between) to teach, learn, facilitate, and enact practices that will ensure our future as Cherokee people despite past and present attempts to eliminate us.

Lori Peek is professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the Natural Hazards Center.ÌýPeek has conducted field investigations in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill, the Christchurch earthquakes, the Joplin tornado, Superstorm SandyÌýand Hurricane Matthew.ÌýShe is the principal investigator for the NSF-fundedÌýÌýfacility, which is dedicated to improving research coordination and advancing the ethical conduct and scientific rigor of disaster research.

SonaÌýDimidjian is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and directs the .ÌýHer research focuses on cultivating mental health and wellness among women, childrenÌýand families. She develops and studies programs and practices in education and healthcare settings, with an emphasis on navigating key developmental transitions, such as the perinatal period, early childhood, and adolescence.

Resilience Resources

Since 2002, the CAIRR Neuroscience Laboratory in the Psychology and Neuroscience DepartmentÌýhas conductedÌýclinical research studies about the efficacy of acupressure for stress, cardiovascular function in stroke survivors, and mild traumatic brain injury in both civilian and veteran populations.ÌýFrom these, an evidence base has emerged, providing the foundation for the .

, assistant professor in the Department ofÌýPsychology and Nueroscience, contends inÌý³§³¦¾±±ð²Ô³¦±ðÌýthat mental-health trainees need particular attention now. Gruber's research focuses on positive emotion disturbance, or the delineating the ways in which positive emotion can go awry and towards developing an integrated clinical affective science model of positive emotion disturbance.

Virtual campus support resources

During these challenging times, many in the CU Boulder community may be looking to campus resources for assistance. Please knowÌýthere are many virtual support and advocacy resources available to you.

HeartMath

For over 20 years, the evidence-basedÌýHeartMath®Ìýprogram has helped people discover practical ‘in the moment’ self-regulation tools to increaseÌýresiliencyÌýin stressful or pressured situations.ÌýThese toolsÌýwill explain the role emotions play in performance and health and how to utilize the heart/brain connection to regulate your heart rhythms to immediately address your emotional state in challenging situations.ÌýEmailÌýErin CunninghamÌýto learn more and schedule workshops.

Mind & Life Dialogues are conversations between leading thinkers and spiritual leaders such as the Dalai Lama, addressing critical issues of modern life at the intersection of scientific and contemplative understanding. The Dialogues began in 1987 as intimate discussions and have grown to include large public and private events at locations around the world.

Sex Differences in the HeritabilityÌýof Resilience
²ú²âÌý, Casey L. BlalockÌýand Tanya M. M. Button

"Few have examined the possibility that the geneticÌýeffects on resilience may be different for men andÌýwomen. This is particularly relevant to the study ofÌýgene–environment interactions because sex may constrainÌýthe genetic expression of resiliency amongÌýwomen, and it may enable this potential among men."

Ìý Read the full article


Cultivating Resilience
by Abby R. Rosenberg

“Resilience is neither lucky nor passive. It takes deliberate effort. Indeed, while resilience researchers have quibbled over nuanced definitions and requirements for resilience, they agree that it can be strengthened with practice.“

Ìý Read the full article