‘Our Brains and Change’ is topic of upcoming Healthy Boiler workshop

An upcoming Healthy Boiler workshop will address the effects the brain plays in adjusting to change. “Our Brains and Change” will take place virtually from noon to 1 p.m. Aug. 27 and supports the behavioral health pillar of the Healthy Boiler Program.

Led by Amanda Hathcock, behavioral health counselor at the Center for Healthy Living on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, the workshop will include discussion about the brain’s natural resistance to change as well as effective strategies to facilitate adjustments to change.

“The amygdala, which is a part of the brain, interprets change as a threat and releases the hormones that we know as fight or flight, but also fear,” Hathcock says. “It’s the body’s way of protecting you from change. And in our current environment – where we are experiencing change at a rapid pace – it’s important to learn and understand why we tend to struggle so much mentally during times like these.”

See WebMD’s article – What to Know About How to Deal With Change – for more information on how change affects mental health. 

Those interested in attending the “Our Brains and Change” workshop should register in advance by Aug. 26.

Healthy Boiler workshops are free to all benefits-eligible faculty and staff and dependents covered on a Purdue medical plan.