Well, we made it to the end of break!  I hope everyone had a wonderful time off, and if you haven’t, I hope things improve for you.  I know everyone’s been missing Self Care Saturdays/Sundays, so I’ve made a mini master post with a variety of self-help things:

Here’s Asmrion which is a small compilation of popular ASMR sounds.  If that doesn’t work for you Youtube’s got you covered.

Didn’t work?  Fear not, you might like progressive relaxation combined with some good old Rainymood.

One of my favorite places on the internet is TheQuietPlaceProject.com but I seem to be having some issues in having it load on my computer.

You relaxed now?  Cool, cool.  Now, what were five things that you enjoyed about today?  Or, if your day was awful, what are five things you were grateful for?  For me, my list included being able to sleep longer, spend time with my partner, take some time for hobbies I haven’t been able to do in a while, and of course, coffee.  Some days it can be a struggle to even think of five things, but at least for a moment you can realize that not absolutely everything is horrible.

If you’re going through a hard time right now, I hope you all know to reach out to your fellow Pridelings*.  We’re here for you.  If your life is going fabulously right now– good for you!! Please keep going and if you have a moment, find a way to make someone else smile today.  Chances are, someone needs it.

*Don’t feel like talking to an actual person?  Try an AI; Replika.  Replika is more than happy to listen to you vent for hours on end, and the more you talk to it, the more it “learns” and begins to sound like a real person.  While it learns about you, it also begins to suggest self-care methods depending on your situation.  For iOS and Andriod

So you’re relaxed, you’ve gotten your very own Black Mirror plot device, but you still feel kinda bad.,, come to think of it, you’ve felt bad for a while now.  What now?  Well, you could start tracking your moods with Emood or Daylio or, frankly, any of the hundreds of journal apps out there.  I generally only recommend what I have personally tried, or what has come highly recommended by other Pridelings.  So, send me those suggestions!

Alright, that’s all I have for today guys.  I hope your break was wonderful and that we all finish off this semester strong!

Peace, love, and rainbows,

Whit

Hi everybody!

I’m so glad to be back with you this semester as Chair.  Last year was a struggle for  a lot of people and a variety of reasons, but we’re all here now.  We made it one more semester!  If you’re new here, welcome!  We’re so glad for new faces!  Here’s some tentative goals for this blog this year:

-I’d like to work more personally with our Social Justice department to keep you updated on events

-I’d like to work more closely with other diverse groups on campus and integrate Pride as a whole into the campus by being more involved and I’m fairly certain Executive board is keen on this, also, with other clubs’ involvement on the horizon.

-I’d like to hear more from you all on what we should do here, including Pride Media’s Youtube account.  (Thanks Ryan!)  Please feel free to email me or approach me with suggestions, I’m always open.

Jenny, our previous historian and our previous treasurer were excellent assets to Pride and I’m sure we’ll miss them dearly.  That said, I’d like to give my heartfelt congratulations to Ollie for their new position — Ollie, I’m personally so proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone for us!! We appreciate you and are so proud of how far you’ve come in the past year alone.  Lastly, shout out to Pride Mom for always making time for us no matter how busy she is.

That’s it, except SCS might be a little bit erratic since I’ve covered the most used self-help techniques, but I’ll keep consistent content coming at least a few times a month!

Love you guys!  It’s a new day, let’s make it a great one!

Peace, love, and rainbows,

Whit

Newsletter Chair

(they/them pronouns)

Howdy Pridelings!

This week we are talking about YOU. Yes, you.

Of course, Self Care Saturdays (or in this case Monday… my bad ya’ll) is all about taking care of yourself. But this week I want to dive deeper into what that really means, and show you some simple yet effective ways to track your physical, mental, and emotional health in a way to avoid those nasty triggers.

First thing first, look in your mirror. Have you showered? Have you eaten? If the answer is yes, you’re doing great. If its no, don’t fret! Just hop on over to the Managing Depression edition and it will help you get started on feeling like a spring daisy.

Second thing is some you time. Find a space that is neutral to you, without distraction or stress in the air. Your bedroom isn’t a good idea because most of your alone time is spent there and the negative energy from your bad days may linger. Perhaps a student lounge or the library quiet study area would be a good place. You need to relax your mind and think of a good place or a good memory. For the Harry Potter fans, our dark thoughts and feelings are Dementors and our go to happy place is our Patronus. We need that even ground to stand on when things get bad or we will be engulfed in our own negativity.

The third piece to this self help puzzle is a list. Not a grocery list or a list of your enemies you wish to slaughter at the mercy of your sword, but a list of your triggers. This may seem scary, but I assure you it is super important. Documenting what triggers you is just as important as a diabetic writing down the foods and drinks they need to avoid. Doing this can help your close friends, family or even a partner understand your limits on certain topics.

Whew it got deep in here. Lets bring you back to the surface. Since I am always trying out new apps that might better someones life, this week I encourage you to try emoods. It is an app usually for bipolar individuals but the way the app works can be beneficial to anyone. Basically you log in everyday and document your level of depression, irritability, and elevation in mood that day with a scale of none to severe. The app will also ask if you ate and if you have taken any medication you have. You can add other daily reminders like whether you went to class or if you went to a social gathering. The app keeps track of these and you can write notes on what triggered you or what helped you out of the dark place. I have been using it for a weeks to show my doctor how I am day to day and it really puts everything into perspective on how I can improve my day. I recommend it 10/10.

Remember if you or a friend need someone to talk to, I am always here.

With Love,

Jenny

“I would like to see the Pride meetings become more interactive and less discussion based. I think that the meetings are a very important time for people there to get to know each other and really build those peer relationships. Maybe we could have game nights, or have every meeting have some sort of theme? I would also like to do more events together as a club. Something as simple as a movie night or go bowling (we could actually go to Sunchase but I was thinking more like find a place to watch a movie together). I also would really like to go to some Pride Fest and I think that we should start fundraising for that way earlier, and we could also figure our logistics way in advance.”

Good points, anon contributor.  I, too, would also like more club events/bonding times.  I really wish we could reserve the NH Scott center for movie nights, but alas, there are a lot of logistics to that as we’re only one club that uses it.  All fundraising would be better off if done sooner, but that’s also a question of logistics that only Exec board can answer for us.  I really like your suggestions, but unfortunately it’s a question of when, how, and who’s shoes we have to shine to get the resources we need.  If you’re really interested in pursuing this, you could always contact one of Pride’s advisors.

Thanks, and sorry that I’m not in a position to get things done.

Peace, love, and rainbows,

Whit