Do you remember your first car? Your first kiss? Your first heartbreak? The first sense of accomplishment that you felt really proud of, like high school graduation? First job? Placing at state for a sport or program? Your first failure? The first time you didn’t feel like part of the group? These are all examples of how experiences prompt identity change.

Basic needs go beyond being able to afford food; they’re defined by the Hope Center as including a student’s “access to nutritious and sufficient food; safe, secure, and adequate housing—to sleep, to study, to cook, and to shower; healthcare to promote sustained mental and physical well-being; affordable technology and transportation; resources for personal hygiene; and childcare and related needs.”

The distance between my work and my personal life has become increasingly smaller during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lines between home and work are blurred for me.

We now find ourselves in a collective, global disaster of sorts with COVID-19. Navigating the pandemic has challenged us all, though it has affected some more than others. In many ways, it has shone a spotlight on existing social and economic inequities, as disasters do. Some also have linked COVID-19 to a phenomenon dubbed “the great resignation,” whereby people are voluntarily leaving the workplace in massive numbers. This seems to be a time when people are evaluating their sense of meaning in life, including what work means to them. Given this context, how can we foster a sense of meaning within the workplace and other organizations?

In the midst of the distress many have experienced during the pandemic, it can be understandably difficult to be present with the goodness that is in our lives, however this recognition can play a key role in our own happiness and well-being. The benefits of gratitude are many, including the strengthening of relationships, enhancing empathy, increased patience, improved self-worth and self-esteem, and increased resiliency.

You can practice gratitude to help change your perspective, provide hope, and protect your mental and emotional well-being. Gratitude is a sense of appreciation of what you have and for the goodness that is in your life, both within and outside of yourself. Gratitude is often a reflection of an emotional response from an occurrence that made a difference in your life.

Coined in the late 1970s by Dr. Pauline Chance to describe the feelings of inadequacy and fear everyone can feel in comparison to others we perceive to be more experienced or accomplished, Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is gaining considerable traction in both popular and academic writings. IP is not a diagnosis, but a collection of thoughts and feelings that produce symptoms of anxiety and oftentimes depression.

Grief clusters around shock, disbelief, sadness, fear, guilt, angst, anger, confusion, and numbness. We can also physically experience grief as fatigue, aches and pains, sleeplessness, weight changes, or headaches.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have taken a master class on living with ambiguity. We have had to pivot repeatedly, making many adjustments day after day and week after week. There have been challenges and opportunities during this time.

University of Iowa faculty, staff, and students are navigating the fall 2021 semester in the latest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and are collectively experiencing various influences on mental health.