Your physical and mental well-being are both part of your whole health. One important aspect of mental well-being is daily stress management, also known as self-regulation.
Self-regulation is how we deal with stressors, and lays the foundation for everything else we do. It’s the ability to monitor and manage your energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in ways that are acceptable and produce positive results such as well-being, loving relationships, and development.
Continue reading for more information and resources to support you and your family’s mental well-being.
Jump to Resource:
Mental Well-Being Toolkit
It Takes Just 5 Minutes a day practicing self-regulation to improve your physical health, resilience, and ability to face difficult life circumstances.
Learn all about the power of self-regulation for mental well-being by downloading this free toolkit, including a calendar with daily ideas to self-regulate in just 5 minutes.
Your Whole Health Awaits
Download these other resources and thrive!
General Health
Appointment Ready: Your Doctor Visit’s Prep Guide
Cooking & Nutrition
Gut Check: Your Essential Starter Kit
Preventative Care
Screenings by Age Infographic
VEBA Member Resources
Swipe to see what free services are available to you!
VEBA Advocacy Team
Questions about what your VEBA benefits can do for your and your family’s mental well-being? Contact the VEBA Advocacy Team here or by calling 888-276-0250.
Available Monday-Friday, 8 am – 5 pm. Inquiries will receive a response within 24 hours (not including weekends & holidays).
VEBA Resource Center
At the VEBA Resource Center (VRC), you will find many holistic services to support your whole health, both virtually and in person such as: fitness classes, acupuncture, nutrition classes, yoga, on-demand recordings, and more!
Care Navigation
If you’re looking for guidance on stress management or any other areas of health and well-being, schedule an appointment with a VEBA Resource Center Care Navigator. Together, you’ll create a tailored plan designed to create the best version of you.
Optum Consultants
VEBA beneficiaries and dependents 18+ have access to Optum Dedicated Onsite Consultants. Receive assistance quickly for issues such as stress and conflict resolution to communication strategies and beyond. This is a no-cost service.
Appointments are available in person at VRC – Kearny Mesa or by phone/video consultation.
Optum Emotional Wellbeing Solutions (EWS)
Through Optum, you and your dependents can also schedule consultations through Emotional Wellbeing Solutions. Please note: you may experience longer wait times with this option. To schedule an appointment through Optum directly, call 888-625-4809 or visit liveandworkwell.com (access code: VEBA).
Featured Classes
Below are some featured classes that are available to you for free! Visit the class calendar to view all the class offerings and to sign up.
Gratitude Meditation
Virtual
Join us in the morning for a 20-minute Gratitude Meditation class, where you will be guided to focus on the positive in your life and naturally align with a state of receptivity and abundance.
Dance Fitness
Virtual & In-Person
Dance fitness incorporates your favorite dance styles like hip hop and Zumba for a total body workout that is sure to release endorphins to reduce stress and improve your mood!
Sound Healing
Virtual & In-Person
Sound healing is a series of vibrations and tones that will help you enter deep states of meditation and relaxation by slowing down brainwave activity and activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
FEATURED RESOURCE:
Navigating Life Transitions
Virtual & In-Person
Change is an inevitable part of life encompassing both anticipated and unexpected transitions. California School VEBA members are invited to our eight-week Navigating Life Transitions program to gain the confidence and skills needed to change successfully.
Led by licensed therapist Crystal Powers, MA, LMFT, our group provides a supportive, confidential environment where you can embrace change and thrive amidst uncertainty.
Upcoming Session Dates:
Virtual: Wednesdays from 4:00-5:00 pm on Zoom
Weekly sessions January 15-March 5, 2025
In-person: Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 pm (VRC–Kearny Mesa)
Weekly sessions January 16-March 6, 2025
Featured Videos
Check out these videos for self-regulation activities and guided meditations.
Featured Articles
For additional articles on mental health, click here, or explore the blog for more tips and resources to support your overall well-being, from preventative care and healthy eating to movement and healthy aging.
Book Recommendations
Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience
BY CHRISTOPHER WILLARD
Growing Up Mindful helps parents, educators, and counselors learn how to embody and share the skills of mindfulness that will empower our children with resilience throughout their lives.
How to Bullyproof Your Classroom
BY CALTHA CROWE
Stop bullying before it starts. A variety of practical strategies are described in this book to prevent bullying and create a safe, inclusive elementary classroom where kindness and learning flourish.
The Way of Mindful Education: Cultivating Well-Being in Teachers and Students
BY DANIEL RECHTSCHAFFEN
The Way of Mindful Education is a practical guide for cultivating attention, compassion, and well-being not only in these students, but also in teachers themselves.
A Mindful Nation
BY TIM RYAN
A Mindful Nation shows how the benefits of mindfulness apply to the current challenges that affect each of us in our own lives and in our communities.
Mindful Compassion
BY PAUL GILBERT AND CHODEN
In this book, you’ll learn how traditional mindfulness and compassion can work in harmony to offer a new, effective, and practical approach to overcoming everyday emotional and psychological problems.
Living in Gratitude: A Journey That Will Change Your Life
BY ANGELES ARRIEN
What would happen if you made gratitude your focal point for one full year? This book presents a 12-month plan for making gratitude your foundation for daily living.
Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain: How to Retrain Your Brain to Overcome Pessimism and Achieve a More Positive Outlook
BY ELAINE FOX
In Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain, Fox describes a range of techniques that can actually alter our brains’ circuitry.
Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence
BY RICK HANSON
Hardwiring Happiness is super practical, full of easy-to-use methods and guided practices to grow a steady well-being, self-worth, and inner peace.
Healing the Angry Brain: How Understanding the Way Your Brain Works Can Help You Control Anger and Aggression
BY RONALD POTTER-EFRON
Written by anger management expert Ronald Potter-Efron, Healing the Angry Brain can help you short-circuit the anger cycle and learn to calmly handle even the most stressful interactions.
Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age
BY JAMES P. STEYER
In this essential book, Jim Steyer offers a blend of advice and anecdotes that address the major pitfalls relating to kids’ use of media and technology: relationship issues, attention/addiction problems, and the lack of privacy.
The App Generation
BY HOWARD GARDNER AND KATIE DAVIS
The App Generation uncovers both the drawbacks and benefits of apps. The challenge is to venture beyond the ways that apps are designed to be used, Gardner and Davis conclude, and they suggest how the power of apps can be a springboard to greater creativity and higher aspirations.
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain
BY DANIEL SIEGEL
In Brainstorm, Siegel explores how brain development impacts teenagers’ behavior and relationships.
Executive Function & Child Development
BY MARCIE YEAGER AND DANIEL YEAGER
This book explains to professionals and parents how poor executive function (EF) develops in kids, what EF difficulties look like, and what creative and effective interventions can meet their needs.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
BY BESSEL VAN DER KOLK, MD
In The Body Keeps the Score, van der Kolk uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, while also exploring innovative treatments that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity.
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
BY GABOR MATE AND DANIEL MATE
In this book, physician Gabor Maté dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise.
The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Trauma and Adversity
BY NADINE BURKE HARRIS
The Deepest Well explores how our bodies can be imprinted by ACEs—adverse childhood experiences.
Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges
BY AMY CUDDY
Presence is filled with stories of individuals who learned how to flourish during the stressful moments that once terrified them. Readers will learn how to approach their biggest challenges with confidence instead of dread.
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
BY BRENE BROWN
In Braving the Wilderness, Brown explains what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With a mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown changes the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.