FEB 2019 |
VOL 2 ISSUE 6

In this issue:

  • 10% Happier
  • Happy Habits
  • Happy Video
  • Houston Happenings
  • Project Happiness
  • MS4 Advice
  • SPOTlight
  • TAO
  • Tasty Valentine's Day Recipes
The Well is a monthly newsletter that serves to
positively impact the well-being of the McGovern student community
by highlighting a myriad of wellness-related content.
Project Happiness
As medical students, we are hyper-aware of the rising rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Burnout, burnout, burnout - learn it, know it, avoid it. We’re told to take care of ourselves mentally while caring for patients, impressing attendings, preparing for exams, building a killer CV… I mean the list goes on. But is not burning out good enough? Wouldn’t it be better to be happy? That’s the goal at Project Happiness - a “pro-purpose, non-profit” organization founded by Randy Taran, a mother yearning to help her child fight depression and who produced the movie and co-authored the book of the same name. And she didn’t stop there. Project Happiness has now taken on the world of education based on the science of happiness, working to raise “[s]ocially and emotionally competent children” with proficiencies in self and social awareness, emotional regulation, relationship-building, responsible decision-making, and goal achievement. Wow! Let’s be inspired by Randy this month and strive to bring out the best, bring out the happiness in the world around us. “[H]appiness is not just a state; happiness is a skill set that anyone can learn.” So let’s see it, lifelong learners!

Find out more about Project Happiness at https://www.projecthappiness.org/ .
10% HAPPIER
Dan Harris is the co-anchor of ABC’s Nightline and the weekend editions of Good Morning America. He wrote 10% Happier, a #1 New York Times bestseller, then launched the 10% Happier podcast and co-founded the 10% Happier app.
Happy Habits
  • Focus on what you can control. You can't control what questions are going to be on the exams, you can only control the level of effort you put into preparation.
  • Don't compare yourself to others. Focusing on others will distract you from your own journey and undermine your progress.
  • Don't focus on the grade, focus on the process. Focusing on the grade will create unnecessary anxiety; instead, focus on putting in work each and every day and let the results take care of themselves.
  • Make wellness a priority. It may feel like you can't "waste" time with other activities but those wellness activities will keep you fueled and motivated to keep going. 
MS4 Advice
I have no idea how or why I started doing this, but I’ve used a certain mental trick on myself since college every semester to keep myself calm through the chaos, especially during the semesters when it felt like everything was on the line and the next 6 months would determine the rest of my life, as it often does for us over and over again ever since we set our sights on this incredible pursuit to make a difference in people’s lives. At the beginning of every semester, I think about how anxious and scared I feel about everything I need to somehow accomplish, not living up to my own expectations, let alone my family’s and friend’s expectations, all the tests I need to take and responsibilities I need to fulfill, and how this next semester will seemingly never end. And after I’ve finally reached the end of every negative thought I could conjure up in my neurotic med head to freak myself out about what’s to come, I think to myself, “Burn this moment into your memory because once this semester is over, you’re gonna remember this moment and laugh at yourself for ever thinking these thoughts and doubting yourself this hard.”

Then you show up the first day, then the next day, then the next week. And then the months go by, the tests come, and then they pass, and then the semester is over, and you laugh at yourself remembering your thoughts at the beginning of the semester. The next semester begins and so does the same thought. And then you get your MCAT score and laugh at yourself, and again after the last med school interview and your acceptance letter, then the last biochem test, last neuro lab, last pre-clinical class, last block test, last SP encounter, last NBME, STEP 1, STEP 2CK, STEP 2CS, another round of interviews for good measure, and then a degree in your hand and two letters at the end of your name for the rest of your life - the ultimate punch line to the same joke you’ve tried to tell yourself at the beginning of every semester.

The best thing about this weird tradition of mine is that the more semesters I’ve done it, the better it works because I know I’ll always end up laughing at myself. You’ve made it this far for the same reason you’ll make it to the end.

As a final random note, I know it’s easy to get caught in the usual doom-and-gloom conversations that people love to spout about the worst of medicine and different specialties and life in general, but it’s just human nature to vent about the worst and ignore the best. Listen to the relevant points of people’s grievances, but only enough to learn from them. We get the chance to dedicate our lives for another’s; it’s a beautiful profession and a life truly worth living.

| Matthew Bell, MS4
 SPOTlight | Date Night
  • Nom Mi Street | $ | food truck, Vietnamese-to-go
  • Lucille's | $$ | Southern, cozy, vintage house
  • Chama Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse | $$$ | upscale, all you can eat
Tasty Valentine's Day Recipes
Houston Happenings

02.01: The Fab Four - The Ultimate Tribute (The Beatles),
Revention Music Center
02.02: Disney DCappella, Smart Financial Center
02.02: Texas Lunar Festival, 11122 Bellaire Blvd
02.05: Fleetwood Mac, Toyota Center
02.09: Chihuahua Races, Sam Houston Race Park
02.09: Lunar New Year, Asia Society Texas Center
02.09: Valentine's Day Houston Hot Air Balloon Festival,
Brookshire Polo Club
02.10: Marc Anthony, Toyota Center
02.10: Mixology Class, Poitin
02.10-11: Vince Staples, House of Blues
02.13: Travis Scott, Toyota Center
02.14: 2nd Annual Valentine's Day Singles Mixer, The Gite Gallery
02.15: Dwight Yoakam, Arena Theater
02.15-16: Asleep at the Wheel, The Heights
02.15-16: Noches del Amor y Los Enamorados - Valentine's Day Weekend, Talento Bilingue de Houston
02.16: Whiskey Myers, House of Blues
02.22: Mardi Gras! Galveston, The Strand
02.23: 14th Annual Empty Bowls Project,
The John Cooper Student Center
02.23-24: Meek Mill, Revention Music Center
02.24: Cypress Hill, House of Blues
02.25 - 03.17: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, NRG Park
TAO | Therapy Assistance Online
The Student Health and Counseling Clinic is excited to announce a new wellness tool available to all students, faculty, and staff at UTH.  TAO (Therapy Assistance Online) is an interactive, self-guided, web-based program that consists of tools and educational materials to help you learn about and change how you think and feel. 
Brought to you by the McGovern Student Wellness & Resilience Committee
Newsletter Staff: Andrew Eck, Ally Limmer, Joaquin Santoy
Questions, Comments, or Contributions to The Well,
please email MS.Wellness@uth.tmc.edu