Surviving the Holiday Hustle: Tips for Stress Relief and Self-Preservation

“An important thing to remember during this season of gifting and thanks is to continue prioritizing yourself. Don’t burn yourself out going to holiday parties every week if you don’t want to! Sometimes it’s okay to take a break from the festivities for self-care or even just to spend some time alone. Still, try to keep yourself in the forefront of your mind and remember to do check-ins - “How am I feeling?”, “Am I excited to be doing this or am I tired?” Keeping up and checking in with yourself is a great way to make sure that you are prioritizing your own mental health during a season that is hectic and stressful.”

Read More
From Retreat to Routine: Keeping Your Relaxation Alive at Home

"The first important objective in maintaining your zen is acknowledging the 'post-retreat glow', where you are at the height of your relaxation and have a profound sense of peace. Acknowledging this glow and understanding that you are now back in your everyday life helps you better understand how important it is to make this peace and relaxation stick with you even as you go back into your normal routine. This is the first step in maintaining the retreat zen and continuing your wellness journey even once you are finished with the retreat."

Read More
Fight the Stigma: How Are You Really?

“Mental health is stigmatized as something that is embarrassing. Oftentimes people would rather not talk about mental health because they don't want anyone to know it exists. If mental health is not discussed somehow, it would miraculously go away or maybe not even exist. This is a very dangerous way to handle mental health because the person who is suffering mentally may very well harm himself/herself or someone else.”

Read More
Balancing Act: Nurturing Mental Health in Work and Life

While this is easier said than done, taking care of yourself and being preventative when it comes to your mental health is crucial to seeing success in your personal and professional life. If you do not take the time now to disconnect and engage in non-work-related activities that you enjoy, you have the potential to experience burnout, anxiety, insomnia, and many other complications. 

Read More
College Students and Mental Health: What Are They Saying? Featuring Biology Major, Brent

“A big mental health moment for him was, ‘When I was going through a breakup at the beginning of college and in a completely new environment I had to make a point to take time for myself and step away from certain activities to ensure my mental health was okay. This impacted how much I valued mental health and made me realize prioritizing it is very important and necessary, especially during times of high stress.’”

Read More
College Students & Mental Health: What Are They Saying? Featuring Finance Major, Anthony

“Anthony does believe that there are things that are not already implemented on campus that would better the mental health of the students attending. He thinks that “they should implement a system which allows for no more than two exams in a week, and allows for students to spread out their workload more efficiently, no matter what classes they are taking," to help students relieve stress and school-related anxiety.”

Read More
Over and Over Again (YOH10)

“I was a bit embarrassed that Ms. Linda had to literally come over to my side of the table and really talk me through how to do the process. My hands were sweaty, and I was nervous. I kept apologizing for my sweaty hands, and she told me not to worry. She tried to help me adjust my stiff fingers, but my uncoordinated hands were not trying to listen. After a few more attempts, she began to cheer as I had finally gotten the hang of it. She happily exclaimed: ‘Yes, you have got it!’ Her African accent was gentle and genuine. I felt like a child again being praised for finally figuring out a problem. I almost called myself dumb for not getting it, yet she cut me off very quickly there.”

Read More
College Students & Mental Health: What Are They Saying? Featuring Business Administration Major, Keshon

“Another was when a fraternity brother of mine committed suicide. It opened my eyes to the fact that no matter what it appears to be on the outside. Many people struggle with what is going on on the inside, and in order to be yourself and do all that you do, your mental, physical, and emotional health need to be in necessary alignment.”

Read More
Mistakes Make it Real: Life in Improv (YOH8)

“The best way to describe my first improv experience was like unzipping myself for a moment, airing out my soul and putting it back into my body. My soul has so many parts. All of these parts matter and they have a place in the world. My whole self matters. My whole self is valuable. Improv reminded me that proverbial humanity is funny. We are naturally hilarious as people, and we are all awkward beings, combing our way through society. I played with a bunch of strangers. They said some wild things. We laughed. We got lost.”

Read More
College Men & Mental Health: What Are They Saying? Featuring Economics Graduate, Harrison

“For others seeking mental health resources other than therapy, Harrison believes that those resources can seem unattainable due to poor structure. ‘When even campus-sponsored mental health programs can be alienating or too slow to respond, it really makes people feel like they're left to their own devices,’ Harrison later adds.”

Read More
Pilates, Pretty Please (YOH7)

“I focused in on my body as the session got increasingly difficult. I focused in on my breath. I reminded myself over and over: ‘Sabriya, you are capable of this.’ Most times, at home, when things get too hard in a workout, it is easy for me to quit and lose form. In this studio, women of all body types are there, giving it their all with the instructor’s watchful eye, and accountability as well. I was determined not to give up.”

Read More
College Students & Mental Health: What Are They Saying? Featuring, Business Administration Major, Ashika

“She believes that when professors still continue to give assignments or exams on or around the wellness day, the day loses its purpose, and students are forced to use this wellness day for school-related work. She would like to see more regulations around the mental health practices and resources put into place to ensure that they are properly implemented on all levels for the students.”

Read More
Floating into Nothingness (YOH6)

I began to talk to God. I began to think. I prayed for some divine ideas. I reflected on my life. So much had happened in the last few years. Huge moves, marriage, growth, change. Maybe this was the space where I could think of what was next for my life. Weirdly enough, I kept finding my mind go back blank. I began to feel this feeling inside that I needed to surrender to the nothingness. I began to just allow my body to become limp and my mind to deactivate and for just a few minutes, there was a nirvana approaching. The nirvana of surrender.”

Read More