Participating in an on-site or off-site stress management, meditation, or other relaxation program (multi-week program, attending at least 85% of sessions over a minimum of 8 weeks) is necessary to be eligible for this incentive. You must complete an attestation form in HCM by Nov. 30 to earn the incentive.
Why is this important?
Stress is experienced by many people on a daily basis. The American Psychological Association and the National Institute of Mental Health describe numerous effects of stress on health, including physical health issues such as cardiovascular disease. While all stress is not bad, chronic stress may affect overall health negatively. Learning how to manage the stressors that one experiences is important for good health.
Breath as a Flowing River
Breath practice is a powerful centering and grounding method that facilitates relaxation. This experiential, practice-oriented program, presented by Heidi Weiker, MSSA, follows this flow: from river to ocean. A poignant metaphor for breath, the river is a force of nature that nourishes and sustains, and keeps moving forward. Founded on relevant science and contemporary methods and practices – this program explores our understanding and utilization of the unyielding power of breath. The six sessions explore breath as each section of a flowing river: 1) source (awakening); 2) current (flow); 3) rapids (resilience); 4) still pools (presence); 5) delta (expansion); and, 6) ocean (connection). [Since this series is only six weeks in length, participation does not lead to eligibility for a Wellness Program Incentive.]
Wednesdays, May 14 - June 18 from 12-1 pm via Zoom
Register for this Breath Series
HealthyLife® Thrive
The American Institute for Preventive Medicine's HealthyLife® Thrive program is a journey of self-discovery. Thrive guides participants to learn more about themselves and what well-being means for them, as well as how to make small, powerful shifts in ways of thinking and doing. Designed to empower participants with the necessary tools and skills to enhance their emotional well-being and navigate life’s challenges, Thrive will help you discover your strengths, give yourself a moment to really reflect, and take actions that support your mental and emotional health. You will come away feeling more connected to your inner voice and in control of how you respond to life’s stressors.
Topics covered during this 8-week series will include:
- Developing a growth mindset
- Noticing and changing unhelpful thought patterns
- Adapting to change
- Building confidence and self-esteem
- Connecting to purpose and values
- Managing energy and attention
- Strengthening a sense of community and connection
- Balancing different roles, work-life integration
- Moving more to support mental health
- Fueling the body to support brain health
Tuesdays, March 18 - May 13 (no session on April 1), from 12:30-1:30 pm via Zoom
Attentional Fitness: Sneaking Mindful Habits into Real Life
Physical exercises strengthen the body. Mindfulness exercises strengthen attention. Learn how exercising your attention – with or without meditation – can develop attentional capacities for relating more effectively to the challenges of daily life. Join Daron Larson as he shares how to develop attentional skills without drawing attention to yourself. This 8-week series will explore flexible ways to turn mindfulness practice into a secret mission.
Participants will:
- Learn about mindfulness as a practical, customizable, evidence-based way to develop empowering attention skills
- Discuss ways our default attention habits can undermine personal and professional satisfaction, increase internal friction, and escalate conflicts
- Discover how small attentional habits, explored discreetly lead to increased satisfaction, decreased internal friction, and empathy
Wednesdays, March 19 - May 7, from 12-1 pm via Zoom
Mental Health Matters
Mental Health Matters is an 8-session series focusing on various topics surrounding mental health, from managing personal challenges to helping your team thrive. This series is being presented to foster mental well-being in spite of the challenges we all face on a daily basis.
Tuesdays from 12-1 pm via Zoom
April 1 - Work Life Balance with Patricia Schultz, MBA, CTTS. Session 1 Recording
April 8 - Realistic Optimism: Improving Life Satisfaction with Susan Fee, MEd, LPCC (V). Session 2 Recording
April 15 - Mindset 2.0: An Innovative Approach to Managing Your Mind to Reduce Costs with Tamsin Astor, PhD. Session 3 Recording
April 22 - Grief at Work with Julia Ellifritt, LISW-S. Session 4 Recording
April 29 - Help! I Can't Stop Thinking with Daron Larson, BA. Session 5 Recording
May 6 - Emotional Roots of Clutter with Susan Fee, MEd, LPCC (V)
May 13 - Learning to Establish Boundaries in Order to Have Health Relationships with Co-Workers, Family members and everyone Else in Your Life! with Kelsey Loushin, BA, LICDC-CS, CDP
May 20 - Laugh for the Health of It! with Christine Smith, MA
Building Inner Resilience: Navigating Modern-Day Stress
Worldwide, the experts agree: today’s stress is a growing "public health crisis" (WHO, CDC, NIH). Stressed-out – tired but wired – is our rampant norm, and it is wreaking havoc on all aspects of our well-being. No one is immune. That said, it needn't be this way; there is a better way! Come and find out about how to feel better and be better.
Join Heidi Weiker for an engaging, fun, and impactful 8-week series that is not just another canned ‘stress-management’ class telling you what you already know – this is real-world, hands-on, and real-time. It’s jam-packed with relevant science, contemporary theory, and quick, yet powerful and proven, practices. Together, we’ll dialogue, share, practice, and enjoy moving out of unrelenting distress; breathing into relaxed, calm, peaceful, and focused energy; building greater positivity; and attuning to and affirming our inner strengths.
Tuesdays, January 28 - March 18, from 12-1 pm via Zoom
Building Connection and Communication
Wouldn't it be great to be able to better manage stress in your relationships at work and at home? Learn new and transformative ways to improve response versus reaction, diplomacy and respect, verbal and non-verbal communication, and more. Join Heidi Weiker for the Building Connection and Communication (BCC) series to learn to use these tools for better success in your relationships.
2025 TBD
Release, Relax and Reach
Join Heidi Weiker for Release, Relax and ReachTM, an engaging, impacting, and interactive 8-week series. Not just another canned stress-management program repeating what you know – it’s insightful and readily applicable in your real-world.
Each week we’ll explore fun and quick, yet powerful and proven methods that you can use right in the moment. We'll discover a release out of unrelenting stress and strain. We'll relax into a deeper balance of energy and calm. And then, we'll reach into inner peace and joy, to reach up and out into the world. Join us to learn relevant science and contemporary theory, to engage and enjoy in these practices in real-time, and to reinvigorate your well-being.
May return in 2025.
Avidon Health's Stress and Resiliency Training
Online Stress Management
Avidon Health's LivingEasy program is a multi-session class which will change the way you think, feel and react to stressful situations.
Read more: LivingEasy Stress & Resiliency Program
To register, follow the prompts on the Avidon Health page of this website.
Individual Counseling through AllOne Health
All benefits eligible faculty and staff and their families can receive up to five free counseling sessions per occurrence for a variety of issues including:
- Anxiety
- Work/life balance
- Marital stress
- Depression
- Substance abuse
- and more
Contact AllOne Health (formerly Impact Solutions) at 1-800-227-6007 to request your first session.
Please note that this service covers benefits eligible CWRU faculty and staff, spouses/partners, household members, dependents living in and away from home, even parents and parents-in-law.