Health and Wellness Newsletter

Apply to be a BTW peer educator!

Applications are now open for 2023-2024 Bridge to Wellness peer educators.

BTW is a paid student leadership position supervised by the Office of Health and Wellness Promotion (HAWP). BTW peer educators complete approximately 40 hours of training each fall. During the academic year, they work 4 to 6 hours per week. 

Apply now

Recovery support at Brandeis



The Office of Health and Wellness Promotion in collaboration with Spiritual Life and Hillel want to learn more about the needs of those in recovery at Brandeis. We are seeking students in recovery as well as anyone looking to improve their relationship to alcohol and substances to participate in a closed meeting to discuss ideas for better supporting student recovery at Brandeis. We will reach out with details for an in person meeting in January. If you prefer to share your thoughts via email, please contact hawp@brandeis.edu.

Sign up to participate

Actively Moving Forward®: Grief resources for young adults

Actively Moving Forward® (AMF), a HealGrief® program, is a national network created in response to the needs of grieving young adults. AMF connects, supports, and empowers grieving young adults to “actively move forward” in memory of their person. The AMF app offers facilitated virtual support groups, one-on-one support with a HealGrief Coach, book clubs and workshops, community forums, resources such as readings and videos, and direct messaging with other community members.

Learn more about AMF

How to boost your mood during the big dark

"The Big Dark is here. The winter solstice — the shortest day of the year — is on Dec. 21, and until then our days will keep getting darker and colder. With darker days and the less agreeable weather, it’s understandable to feel apprehensive or down about winter. Or maybe you’re already noticing a change in your mood. While we can’t change the weather or the hours of daylight (if only), there are ways to counter stress and feelings of sadness."

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How to handle family drama during the holidays

"The holidays can be a time for togetherness, gratitude, and, for some of us, family drama. Year after year, we might find ourselves in uncomfortable situations rooted in long-standing conflicts, differing beliefs, or continued patterns of behavior, leading to tension or inevitable holiday fights. While we can’t control how relatives act, we can be mindful of how we react to holiday family drama — and even find a better way to approach this emotionally loaded time of year."

Read more from Headspace

Make mindfulness your New Year's resolution

"Research suggests that one of the best ways to sustain our resolutions is to set realistic goals, ones that are well-defined and achievable. This way, we’re not overwhelmed and easily defeated by the task we set ourselves. Pair this practical strategy with the mindfulness teaching of taking things moment by moment, day by day, free of judgment, and we can start to see the drip, drip, drip effect of incremental changes building over time."

Read more from Headspace