Managing Stress and Uncertainty in 2021
Explore resources to support your mental and emotional wellbeing during times of stress, anxiety and uncertainty.
The UC San Diego Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) team recognizes that 2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges, and also a few unprecedented victories.
Honestly, most of us were happy to see the year end. Most of us were anxiously awaiting the turn of the page, for 2021 to appear on the horizon with new promise and encouragement. Indeed, there are some wonderful things happening. The vaccine is being delivered to millions of healthcare workers and the elderly; and we are witnessing medical history, social movements towards justice and learning more about our family members than we ever dreamed we would.
However, there are also many frightening events taking place in our nation that have sent many of us into a state of shock, feeling as traumatized and uncertain as we did last spring at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Layers and layers of fear, doubt, and continued isolation feel particularly heavy right now. That injection of energy and hope we were looking for feels elusive. We have some ideas of how to get your feet solidly on the ground again. We need every UC San Diego stakeholder to bring the promise of 2021 to fruition!
We want to remind our campus employees that as individuals, we all manage stress and uncertainty differently. Some of us are talkers, while others retreat. Some of us gather, while others prefer solitude.
Whatever your reaction, your need or your preference, FSAP is here for you. We are a caring, principled community at UC San Diego. Each employee is offered an array of well-being benefits.
We hope you will connect with us through one of our monthly groups, individual tele-health appointments or management consultations. We also would like to highlight other resources available to employees throughout the year such as monthly support groups, meditation apps, podcasts and more.
Resources
- 10 Good Things to do for a Healthy Life (PDF), a daily checklist
- 54 Proven Stress Reducers (PDF)
- Meditation and Mindfulness Apps
- Insight Timer
- Headspace (free for employees)
- Calm
- Mindshift, interactive cognitive-based tools to relieve anxiety
- Liberate, meditations and talks designed for the Black experience
- MyStrength, mental health app supported by UC San Diego's medical insurance programs
- UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness
- Mindfulness Daily at Work: Free 40-Day Course
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- The Greater Good Podcast, from Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center
- Free Expression at UC San Diego
Counseling and Campus Support Groups
- Individual counseling appointments are available to UC San Diego campus employees at no cost through FSAP. Schedule an appointment with an FSAP counselor »
- FSAP counselors can also help with referrals to external behavioral health providers through University-provided health programs (Optum, Anthem, MHN) and other service options in the community.
Upcoming Support Groups and Events
- Remote Working Moms Support Group, facilitated by Izabel Caetano Francy, LCSW, PMH-C
- Fourth Wednesday of the month from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
- Join the UC San Diego Moms listserv to receive meeting details each month »
- Fourth Wednesday of the month from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
- Remote Working Parents Support Group, facilitated by Izabel Caetano Francy, LCSW, PMH-C
- First Wednesday of the month at 12 p.m.
- All parents are invited to join the UC San Diego Moms listserv to receive meeting details each month »
- Caregivers and Eldercare Support Group
- First Tuesday of the month from 12 - 1 p.m.
- To receive the Zoom meeting invitation, contact Crystal Green at cegreen@ucsd.edu.
- Explore our Caregiver and Eldercare Resources
- Tritons Flourish, facilitated by William Youngblood, LMFT
- Third Thursday of the month at 12 p.m.
- This monthly program is open to any UC San Diego campus employee interested in connecting with others who are committed to flourishing in their personal and professional lives. Learn more »
Workplace Transition Support Group
Transitioning the Workplace
Weekly Support Group for Campus Employees
Tuesdays at 11 a.m.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a shockwave for many last year. By March 2020 most of us at UC San Diego had fled the workplace for the safety of social distancing at home. We were uncertain of what continuous work from home would look like, and whether or not we could be successful at it. We learned a lot, invented new strategies and cultivated new relationships. Even if we eventually adapted to and liked the “new normal”, we all experienced some degree of stress and discomfort.
Now, 14 months later, with vaccinations going well for our campus and our county, we are planning a phased transition back to our on-site work spaces. For those UC San Diego employees who never left the physical workplace because their contributions could not be made remotely, the transition will be a different one, but will require adaptability all the same.
Whether you are returning to your work space for the first time, or you have been on campus (or on and off campus intermittently) since March 2020, the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) invites you to join a weekly discussion group to support a healthy return to public life and work together on-site and in hybrid forms. Each week, an experienced FSAP counselor will host a discussion of a topic relevant to the times.
Registration is required using your ucsd.edu email and Zoom account. For questions, please contact FSAP Director Dr. Crystal Green at cegreen@ucsd.edu.