Ways to Flourish

Apr 24 2024 2
Ways to Flourish Podcast artwork

Ways to Flourish is the podcast of W&M Health and Wellness that addresses how to be mentally healthy and flourish through our challenges. Each podcast focuses on a wellness strategy that contributes to our mental health. Featuring wellness experts and the voices of our campus, we focus on strategies that are relevant to our community. Listen to our podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts! Automatic captions are available through our W&M Health & Wellness YouTube channel.

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S8, Ep 11 - Poetry, Addiction, & Recovery

Apr 24 2024 21 mins  
Content warning: This episode contains discussion of drug addiction.Azad Ashim Sharma is a writer and publisher, director of the87press, based in South London. He recently published his latest collection of poems, Boiled Owls, in which he explores drug addiction, mental health, and their relationship to capitalism and personal connection. Azad visited us in the Wellness Center to t

S8, Ep 10 - The Power of Touch

Apr 17 2024 21 mins  
Some of us aren't huge touchy-feely people, and some of us are. No matter what, though, physical touch has proven benefits. Kay Hamlin is our new Massage Therapist at the Wellness Center, and she's excited to be here today to talk about why we all need physical touch in our lives. We talk about what touch can do for us, how COVID has impacted our reactions to touch, and h

S8, E9 - Queer Community in Wellness

Apr 09 2024 20 mins  
Taking the initiative to learn about ways to make our campus more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students is crucial! Wellness Ambassador Audrey Murcko has been building relationships between the Wellness Center and campus organizations Lambda Alliance and the Rainbow Coalition to help queer students on campus access resources. Today, we go over some of their work by talking about what progr

S8, Ep 8 - Sneezes, Coughs, and Colds, Oh My!

Apr 03 2024 18 mins  
As we continue through cold and flu season after the peak of COVID-19, it can be difficult to decide as students when we can still make it to class and when we ought to stay home. Dr. David Dafashy, Medical Director and Staff Physician at the W&M Student Health Center, is here to clear up some misconceptions. We talk about the difference between upper respiratory infections and

S8, Ep 7 - Graduation Anxiety

Mar 20 2024 16 mins  
On Ways to Flourish, we're often talking about transitions. One of our biggest questions as students is what we're doing and where we're going after college, and it can turn into a big source of anxiety. Luckily, we're not alone! W&M seniors Lily Dines and Richie Carr and UVA graduate Kaitlyn Baker join us to chat about what feelings arise with graduation, w

S8, Ep 6 - Music & Wellness: The Case Against Wellness?

Mar 06 2024 18 mins  
So far in our Music & Wellness series, we've been talking to people who consider music to be a huge part of what they perceive as their well-being. Today, Dr. Max Katz, Associate Professor of Music at W&M, helps us turn a critical lens to music as a form of wellness, as well as what music and wellness are in general. We chat about what role music has in his life, how m

S8, Ep 5 - What Even Is Acupuncture?

Feb 29 2024 14 mins  
Acupuncture services are now available at W&M! But, chances are, you haven't experienced it before and you don't know much about it. Luckily, Dr. Haunani Chong Drake, our Licensed Acupuncturist and Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, is here to explain to us how she got into the field, how Acupuncture works, and what positive benefits the practice can have on

S8, Ep 4 - Social Media & (Un)healthy Relationships (Part 2)

Feb 22 2024 20 mins  
Welcome back to Part 2 of our conversation with Candice Fox, Assistant Director of Health Promotion and Sexual Violence Prevention! We are finishing up our conversation about how social media affect relationships, this time with the lens of creating healthy boundaries and knowing what we want in our romantic or sexual relationships. We cover what it takes to start thinking about yo

S8, Ep 3 - Social Media & (Un)healthy Relationships (Part 1)

Feb 14 2024 21 mins  
Ways to Flourish is back with another Valentine's Day special! We sit back down with the Assistant Director of Health Promotion & Sexual Violence Prevention, Candice Fox, to do a little gossiping--what role does social media play in our relationships and the ways we perceive others'? We chat about some examples of couples using their platforms to show off their relati

S8, Ep 2 - Recognizing Mental Health in College Athletics

Feb 07 2024 17 mins  
Balancing mental health with life is a difficult task for anyone, but this topic sometimes gets pushed aside in the world of sports and being a student-athlete. Amy Schwem, a Psychology and Kinesiology major and member of the Tribe Women's Volleyball team, comes in to continue the conversation about how important taking care of mental health is, not only as an athlete, but als