Browsing by Subject "Self-care"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Adaptive mechanisms of self-compassion in predicting depression symptoms
(2017-12) Nadeau, Miranda Mei; Rochlen, Aaron B.; Suizzo, Marie-Anne
Research has shown that self-compassion, a positive way of viewing oneself, is strongly associated with positive mental health outcomes, including lessened depression. Self-compassion interventions are also powerful means by which to reduce depression over the short- and long-term. However, the extant research has failed to examine the adaptive means by which self-compassion may reduce depression symptoms. The present research investigated whether self-compassion lessens depressive symptoms by encouraging adaptive behaviors, including selfcare. This hypothesis was tested in a sample of 120 students, who completed measures of self-compassion, depression symptoms, and self-care. The results found that self-care agency, interest and engagement in gratitude journaling, and positive feedback seeking mediated the relationship between self-compassion and depressive symptoms. Self-compassion predicted each of these behaviors, and these behaviors were responsible for some of the relationship between self-compassion and depressive symptoms. Self-compassion may reduce symptoms of depression by encouraging self-care behaviors. Implications and suggestions for further research are provided
Byheart : a personalized heart-health companion
(2018-05) Barve, Ajinkya S.; Gorman, Carma
The number of people living with some form of chronic cardiovascular disease is growing worldwide. Studies have shown that people often lack sufficient information about their heart condition. This issue can be addressed by improving heart health literacy and by helping those with a chronic heart disease to understand and manage their condition so that they are empowered to make informed decisions regarding their health. Although many existing online resources provide heart-health-related information, most fall short on providing actionable content—namely, nudges, prompts, reminders, and tracking features—that would help heart patients and their families make that information actionable in ways that would improve health outcomes. Byheart is a personalized heart health web and mobile companion that helps heart patients and their caregivers understand, track, and more effectively manage chronic heart conditions.
Feminism, care work, and collectivity : the case of progressive self-care
(2021-07-30) Berumen, Gwendolyn Marie; Williams, Christine L., 1959-
This study is an investigation into the social nature of self-care. Using the specific case of a phenomenon that I refer to as “progressive self-care,” I study a collection of groups that come together in order to practice a form of self-care that attempts to remove itself from capitalist productivity and consumption practices. Using Patricia Hill Collins’ Black Feminist Theory and Paula England’s Care as a Public Good framework, I find that groups attempt to politicize the nature of their meetings and the discourses surrounding rest, identity, and care in order to differentiate their practices from mainstream practices. I also find that collectivity is central to progressive self-care because it is fundamentally a collective practice, not an individual one. Finally, I find that progressive self-care practitioners use selfcare practices and discourses to dissect meanings of care and care work. I finish this study by discussing the implications of this work for further sociological research
Principal burnout prevention: a program evaluation of a principal stress, burnout, and self-care strategy program
(2024-05) Brandt, Thomas Lyle ; Sylvia R. Reyna; Pedro Reyes; paul.cruz@austin.utexas.edu
Principal burnout and churn negatively impact teacher retention and student achievement. The principal retention problem has led to programs to help principals gain resilience and reduce burnout. This program evaluation aimed to discover the effectiveness of the Principal Impact Collaborative (PIC) over time and which strategies reduce principals’ chances of burnout. The purpose was to evaluate the short- and long-term effectiveness of the PIC program and what strategies reduced principals’ chances of burnout. The research questions were: (a) What is the short and long-term impact of the techniques taught to principals in this program? (b) What can be learned about investing in programs like PIC to have a long-lasting impact on principal retention and school success? (c) To what extent do principals report consistency in the implementation of the program? I applied an explanatory sequential design to this mixed-method program evaluation. Stage I collected 24 anonymous surveys from former PIC participants to measure compassion satisfaction and burnout. The data were used to describe the outcomes of the program quantitatively. Stage II involved interviewing five elementary, five middle, and five high school principals about their PIC experiences and what they have gained from the program. The data from the two stages were triangulated. The quantitative data showed that PIC principals have compassion satisfaction and lack burnout, which supports the stated goals and products of the PIC program. The qualitative data demonstrated four major thematic findings about the PIC program among the 15 principals: (a) builds resiliency, (b) benefits participants with a cohort model, (c) promotes design thinking, and (d) shows consistency in program implementation. The program evaluation showed that the PIC program achieved its goal of building resilience and provided toolkit-building skills that reinforced the findings in the literature. The PIC program positively affects principal retention and longevity and improves compassion satisfaction and burnout outcomes. Additional action and research are needed because principal retention is a national crisis impacting countless students and their school communities. Further research and policy development could ensure every school in the nation has a resilient principal prepared to take on the ever-changing challenges of this essential educational leadership role.
Radical self-care : performance, activism, and queer people of color
(2014-05) McMaster, James Matthew; Gutierrez, Laura G., 1968-
Queer people of color in the United States are perpetually under siege politically, psychically, economically, physically, and affectively in the twenty-first century under capitalist white supremacist heteropatriarchy. Radical Self-Care, connects radical artivist performance in Austin, Texas with the theoretical genealogies of queer of color critique, women of color feminism, queer studies, and performance studies in order to propose a program for queer of color survival, sustainment and political revolt. Radical self-care is the holistic praxis that names the confluence of two distinct but inextricable processes developed in the first two chapters of this thesis. In chapter one, I take up the Generic Ensemble Company’s workshop production of What’s Goin’ On? as a case study in order to theorize the ‘performative of sustenance,’ a mechanism of queer worldmaking and queer world sustainment defined by its erotic and utopian affects. Chapter two, through a discussion of reproductive rights activism at the Texas state capitol, reformulates the concept of ‘parrhesia,’ the Socratic practice of ‘free speech’ taken up by Foucault in discussions of the care of the self, into a performance praxis of speaking truth to power with the potential to interrupt hegemonic systems of oppression. The final chapter explicates the ways in which these two mechanisms converge and operate as a dyad in the holistic process of radical self-care through an analysis of Fat: The Play, a devised work that premiered in Austin by and about fat queer femmes. Ultimately, Radical Self- Care aspires to offer queers of color a methodology of queer world sustainment that is also a program of political intervention, grounded in solidarity politics, into those systems of oppression that too often characterize queer of color existence as a project of survival rather than a project of flourishing.
This "court of mine" : an analysis of Black women athletes media use as a tool for advocacy, self-care, and activism
(2023-08-15) Brown, Haley Marie; Davis, Amira Rose
This paper considers the ways in which Black women athletes have used media to disrupt and challenge dominant narratives and images about themselves. Black women- in and out of sports- have long been scrutinized and subjugated by media narratives and stereotypical images. Yet, in recent years, Black women in sports have found ways to successfully use their platforms and media engagement to offer counter narratives about their athletic participation. This paper uses media discourse analysis and Black feminist thought to examine six contemporary major professional Black women athletes and their personal uses of media. Ultimately, this study reveals how Black women have been able to use new forms of media engagement as tools for advocacy and activism, challenging racialized and gendered stereotypes while simultaneously addressing issues like self-care, mental health and wellness and political protest.
Wajiha Rizvi Interview
(2021-07-22) Institute for Diversity & Civic Life
This interview is with Wajiha Rizvi, an attorney and writer living in Austin, TX. Wajiha tells the story of growing up in a small Shia community just getting its footing in the DFW area. She talks about the Partition of India in 1947, how that event impacted her family, and the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma. She shares details about the book she has written about the Partition and her journey toward becoming a published author. Wajiha also discusses her education and career as an attorney and the social activism she participates in.