Ways to Flourish

Acupuncture services are now available at W&M! But, chances are, you haven't experienced it before and you don't know much about it. Luckily, Dr. Haunani Chong Drake, our Licensed Acupuncturist and Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, is here to explain to us how she got into the field, how Acupuncture works, and what positive benefits the practice can have on our physical and mental well being.

Interested learning more? Want to book a session now? Check out the resources below!

Resources:

Learn more about Acupuncture at W&M

Book an Acupuncture session (30min Acupuncture Lounge or 45-60min individual session)

Conditions treated by Acupuncture:
The Acupuncture Evidence Project
Evidence Map of Acupuncture for Pain

Acupuncture research:
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Evidence Based Acupuncture
World Health Organization
U.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development

Welcome back to Part 2 of our conversation with Candice Fox, Assistant Director of Health Promotion and Sexual Violence Prevention! We are finishing up our conversation about how social media affect relationships, this time with the lens of creating healthy boundaries and knowing what we want in our romantic or sexual relationships. We cover what it takes to start thinking about your boundaries, what some examples are of seemingly healthy or unhealthy famous couples, and how different forms of media can alter our views on what's right for us.

If you missed the first part of this conversation, don't forget to check out Part 1!

Resources:
loveisrespect.org
The Haven at W&M
Sexual & Relationship Violence Prevention webpage
W&M Counseling Center
W&M Student Health Center

Ways to Flourish is back with another Valentine's Day special! We sit back down with the Assistant Director of Health Promotion & Sexual Violence Prevention, Candice Fox, to do a little gossiping--what role does social media play in our relationships and the ways we perceive others'? We chat about some examples of couples using their platforms to show off their relationships, signs of an unhealthy relationship based on what they show on social media, and some red flags that could occur in our own relationships.

Stay tuned next week for Part 2 of the conversation!

Resources:
loveisrespect.org
The Haven at W&M
Sexual & Relationship Violence Prevention webpage
W&M Counseling Center
W&M Student Health Center

Balancing mental health with life is a difficult task for anyone, but this topic sometimes gets pushed aside in the world of sports and being a student-athlete. Amy Schwem, a Psychology and Kinesiology major and member of the Tribe Women's Volleyball team, comes in to continue the conversation about how important taking care of mental health is, not only as an athlete, but also simply as a college student. We talk about what barriers exist to talking about mental health, how student-athletes' lives be glamorized, and what strategies we can use in our busy lives to focus on our mental well being.

Note: This episode was recorded by the Ways to Flourish team in October 2023.  

Resources:
W&M Counseling Center
The Hidden Opponent
Tribe Volleyball Instagram page
Tribe Athletics website

Welcome back to another semester of classes and the eighth season of Ways to Flourish! Our team has grown: Cheryl will be taking the mic, and Jazzy will be helping out behind the scenes. We're so excited to get started this semester and have some fun conversations with new and familiar faces alike! Stay tuned every Wednesday for a new episode.

Questions? Feedback? Know someone who should be a guest? Reach out to our email [email protected] or DM our Instagram account @wellnesswm!

It's the last episode of the season, which means the Ways to Flourish team is once again getting together to talk about the semester. Lindsay, Ginny, Lilly, and Calder have a cozy chat about how we've been, our favorite episodes of the semester, and what we're looking forward to in the future.

Have an idea for an episode? Questions? Just want to reach out to say hi? DM us on Instagram @wellnesswm or email us at [email protected].

Thank you so much for sticking around with us--we're so excited to see where the next few months take us. Good luck on finals, and have a wonderful Winter Break!

In the second episode of our Music & Wellness series, we are talking about the benefits of making music. Sound and the body have a strong relationship, and creating music is the livelihood of many. Today, we talk to Townsend T, a singer-songwriter and mental health advocate from Arkansas. We go over how she got into music, how it has helped her during challenging times, and what she has learned by doing her You're Not Alone project. Keep an eye out for Townsend next time she is in Williamsburg, and check out her new EP!

Resources:
Townsend's website
Townsend's Spotify profile

College is supposed to prepare us for real-world workforce. However, most people will find at their first job that the learning curve can be quite steep. Nikita Khandheria, a W&M senior and CEO of the fine dining restaurant Ditas in Marin County, has experienced workforce culture shock firsthand on an especially extreme level. Today, she talks about how she got to where she is, how difficult it can be to balance all of life's demands with mental health and success, and what advice she has for those stepping into the workforce.

Resources:
Ditas Marin website
Nikita's Instagram

It's almost Thanksgiving, so we're all probably thinking about food. Luckily, we have Abe Konick, owner of Abe's Kitchen and previous contestant on MasterChef, as well as Wellness Ambassador Anne Ryan Gareis, to talk to us about how food can appeal to all 8 Dimensions of Wellness. Abe tells us about where his love of food came from, how food brings us all together, why national food insecurity is a problem, and how we can improve our cooking in college.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break too all, and remember to use more salt!

Resources:
Abe's Kitchen website
Abe's Kitchen Instagram

The Matoaka Bottom Feeders' Instagram page reads "Tight lines and good times. Conservation, Mental Health, Sustainability." The student org was established a few years ago to allow William & Mary students to engage in their favorite hobby while contributing to local research. This week, we are casting our lines out to Co-Founders Xavier Starrs and Dudley Harmer to talk about why fishing can be wellness, too. We discuss how the club came to be, how getting on the water improves our mental health, and how the club supports conservation efforts.

Resources:
Matoaka Bottom Feeders TribeLink
Matoaka Bottom Feeders Instagram
[email protected]