Real Woman

The Health Initiative is pleased to announce its January 2009 Real Woman, Sagan Lain, English Lit student at Agnes Scott College. To learn more about Sagan, click here.

New Year's Resolutions

Did you make them? Have you kept them so far? Or have you sworn off of New Year's resolutions for one reason or another? Social science has produced valuable information about behavior change you can use to help you understand how to make your resolutions stick. We go through several stages of thinking and doing in order to make a successful change:

1. Precontemplation - Either you do not think your behavior is a problem, or you are resigned to the behavior because you don't believe you can change.
2. Contemplation - You start to think about the change - what the positive and negative aspects of the change are, and how you might go about making the change.
3. Preparation - You begin to visualize yourself making the change, planning what you will do, and preparing to overcome any obstacles you can anticipate. You may experiment with a small change to see what it is like.
4. Action - You make the change. Your behavior is different, and you think differently as a result. You may experience mourning for the way things were before you made the change.
5. Maintenance - Despite the difficulties of change, you continue.
6. Relapse - You fall back into the old behavior. This can be demoralizing and often results in the abandonment of your resolution. BUT - It doesn't mean you have failed unless you give up! As soon as you can, get back to the process of contemplating, preparing, and making the change.

When it comes to behavior change, people often have to make multiple attempts to change their behaviors. The secret to successful change is to work back through the process even after a relapse. The more attempts you make, the greater your odds of success. So regardless of what you are trying to change, be it weight loss, quitting smoking, exercise, or anything else, keep trying, and you will ultimately achieve your goal.
 

Researcher Seeks Survey Participants

Researchers at Georgia State University would like to invite you to participate in a research study. The only requirement for participation is that you identify as a member of the lesbian community.

This study is designed to examine lesbian attitudes regarding lesbian intimate partner violence. Some experts say that lesbians experience as much violence in their intimate relationships as straight women. Others would say that two women fighting is just a 'Cat Fight.' Researchers at Georgia State University want to know what the 'real'experts, YOU, have to say about violence in lesbian relationships. In order to get your opinion, we have designed an anonymous online survey.
The survey will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete. If you would like to participate and tell us what you think, please click on the survey monkey link.
 

If you have any further questions please feel free to call us at 404-966-1244 or email us at lesbiancommunitysurvey@gmail.com. Thank you for your participation.