Resources
Touch of Care
The WHO Depression Self-Assessment Tool helps individuals assess symptoms of depression. It asks about previous depression diagnoses and treatment, along with common symptoms such as sadness, loss of interest, low energy, appetite changes, and sleep problems. Responses are scored to provide an overall assessment of depressive symptoms.
Mental Health Safety Disclaimer: This self-assessment is for informational and awareness purposes only and is not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional medical or mental health care. If you are experiencing severe emotional distress, thoughts of self-harm, or thoughts of suicide, please seek immediate help from a qualified professional or emergency/crisis service.
Empathy/Compassion
Helpful Resources
Participate Donation/Volunteer Opportunities
| Environment wellbeing |
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| http://www.foe.org/ |
| About the Sierra Club |
| WWF – Endangered Species Conservation | World Wildlife Fund |
| Earth First! Worldwide |
| https://consciousplanet.org/en/cp |
| Clean Water |
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| Water Charity Redefining Generosity | Generosity.org |
| Pure Water for the World |
| Blood: Water |
| Water for Good – Clean and Lasting Water for the Central African Republic |
Videos
Books
| Reference Detail |
|---|
| Barking Up The Wrong Tree by Erik Barker |
| The Compassionate Achiever by Christopher Kukk |
| REAL LOVE by Sharon Salzberg |
| Into the Magic Shop By James R Doty |
| The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith |
| Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant |
| Awakening Compassion at Work by Jane Dutton and Monica Worline |
| The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success by Emma Seppala |
| The Dalai Lama’s Book of Love and Compassion Book by 14th Dalai Lama |
| The Seed of Compassion: Lessons from the Life and Teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama |
| An Open Heart Book by 14th Dalai Lama |
| How to Be Compassionate Book by 14th Dalai Lama |
| The Power of Compassion Book by 14th Dalai Lama |
| The Compassionate Life Book by 14th Dalai Lama |
| The Wisdom of Compassion: Stories of Remarkable Encounters and Timeless Insights Book by 14th Dalai Lama |
| The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Compassion |
| Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself – Kristin Neff |
| How to Be Nice to Yourself: The Everyday Guide to Self-Compassion – Laura Silberstein-Tirch, PsyD |
| Achieving Self-Compassion: Giving Yourself the Gifts of Happiness and Inner Peace – Nate Terrell |
| Parent Yourself Again: Love Yourself the Way You Have Always Wanted to Be Loved (Self-Compassion) – Yong Kang Chan |
| The Self-Compassion Skills Workbook: A 14-Day Plan to Transform Your Relationship with Yourself – Tim Desmond, LMFT |
| The Compassionate Mind Workbook: A step-by-step guide to developing your compassionate self – Dr. Chris Irons and Elaine Beaumont |
| The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens4. The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens: Mindfulness and Compassion Skills to Overcome Self-Criticism and Embrace Who You Are – Karen Bluth, Ph.D., and Kristin Neff, PhD |
| True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart. Book by Thich Nhat Hanh |
Positivity
Helpful Resources
| Websites |
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| Wellbeing and Positive Thinking by Mental Health Foundation podcast | Free Listening on SoundCloud |
Stillness
| Reference No | Reference Detail |
|---|---|
| 69 | What Mindfulness Does to Your Brain: The … – Real Simpl |
| 70 | 23 Amazing Health Benefits of Mindfulness for Body and Brain |
| 71 | How to Practice Mindfulness: 11 Practical Steps and Tips |
| 72 | Mindfulness meditation: A research-proven way to reduce stress |
| 73 | Mindfulness meditation: A research-proven way to reduce stress |
| 74 | The History and Origin of Meditation |
| 75 | The Science of Meditation – Mindfu |
| 76 | Benefits of Meditation |
| 77 | 7 Ways Meditation Can Actually Change The Brain |
| 78 | Science of Stillness | Joe Namath’s Game Changing Medical Treatment | Mega Food Distribution |
| 79 | Meditation Therapy |
| 80 | Mindfulness meditation |
| 81 | 5 Science-Backed Reasons Mindfulness Meditation Is Good for Your Health |
| 82 | How to Practice Mindfulness |
| 83 | History of Meditation |
Videos
| Reference Detail |
|---|
| Debunking the 5 Most Common Meditation Myths – TEDxVeniceBeach |
| How Mindfulness Meditation Redefines Pain, Happiness & Satisfaction – TEDxSFU |
| Taming Your Wandering Mind – TEDxCoconutGrove |
| Body Scan Exercise with Jon Kabat-Zinn |
| Guided Meditation for Detachment from Overthinking |
| 3-Minute Mindful Breathing Meditation (to Relieve Stress) with Stop, Breathe & Think |
| Guided Meditation with Kelsang Jampa – TEDxSarasota |
| Two Minute Guided Meditation – The School of Lif |
Books
Websites
| Yoga |
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| https://www.yogaalliance.org/Directory |
| https://cmhc.utexas.edu/mindbodylab.html |
| https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/mindfulness/ |
| https://www.headspace.com/ |
| https://buddhify.com/ |
| Centering prayers |
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| https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/ |
| Hypnosis |
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| http://www.healingwithhypnosis.com/ |
| http://www.asch.net/Public/MemberReferralSearch.aspx |
| Music therapy |
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| https://www.musictherapy.org/about/find/ |
| Progressive Muscle relaxation |
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| https://caps.byu.edu/audio-files</td> |
| https://students.dartmouth.edu/wellness-center/wellnessmindfulness/relaxation-downloads |
| https://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/notfound.html |
| Tai Chi |
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| https://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/notfound.html |
History
| 5,000 BC – 3,500 BC | Early development | The oldest documented evidence of the practice of meditation is wall art in India | India |
| 1500 BC | Hindu Meditation | The Vedas, a large body of religious texts, contains the oldest written mention of meditation. | India |
| 6th – 5th century BC | Early development | Development of other forms of meditation in Taoist China and Buddhist India. | China,India |
| 6th century BC | 6Buddhist Meditation | Siddhartha Gautama sets out to reach Enlightenment, learning meditation in the process. | India |
| 8th century BC | Buddhist Meditation | The expansion of Japanese Buddhism meditation practices spreads into Japan. | Japan |
| 10th – 14th century | Christian Meditation | Hesychasm, a tradition of contemplative prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church and involves the repetition of the Jesus prayer. | Greece |
| 11th – 12th century AD | Islamic Meditation | The Islamic concept of Dhikr is interpreted by various meditative techniques and becomes one of the essential elements of Sufism. | |
| 18th century | Buddhist Meditation | The study of Buddhism in the West remains a topic mainly focused upon by intellectuals. | Europe,America |
| 1936 | Western Research | An early piece of scientific research on meditation is published. | America |
| 1950s | Buddhist Meditation | The Vipassana movement, or insight meditation, start in Burma | Burma |
| 1950s | Transcendental Meditation | Maharishi Mahesh Yogi promotes transcendental meditation | America |
| 1955 | Western Research | The first piece of scientific research on meditation using EEGs is published. | |
| 1960s | Transcendental Meditation | Swami Rama becomes one of the first yogis to be studied by Western scientists | America |
| 1970s | Western Research | Jon Kabat-Zinn begins developing a mindfulness program for adults in clinical settings. He calls it mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). |
America |
| 1970s | Western Research | Herbert Benson shows the effectiveness of meditation through his research. | America |
| 1977 | Western Research | James Funderburk publishes an early collection of scientific studies on meditation. | America |
| 1979 | Medical Application | Jon Kabat-Zinn opens the Center for Mindfulness and teaches mindfulness-based stress reduction to treat chronic conditions. | America |
| 1981 | Vipassana Meditation | The first Vipassana meditation centers outside India and Myanmar are established in Massachusetts and Australia. | America, Australia |
| 1996 | Modern Meditation | The Chopra Center for Wellbeing is founded by Deepak Chopra and David Simon | America |
| 2000 | Medical Application | The first major clinical trial of mindfulness with cancer patients is conducted, with results indicating beneficial outcomes for the mindfulness-based stress reduction programs. | America |