Interview with Ashley Evans by Bri Ryerson, Wellness Operations Intern

Ashley Evans is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Mental Health Advocate from Alabama who graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2021. Ashley is currently the CEO and Founder of PsychLife Tee Company, which emphasizes normalizing mental health conversations to break down the stigma surrounding mental health. You can connect with Ashley on LinkedIn or find out more about her story and check out her business here.

It's important to segment thoughts and feelings as much as you possibly can to identify where the bulk of your stress is coming from and begin to manage it. Much of our everyday stress comes from our home life, work life, and/or social life. Ashley emphasizes that we have “buckets” that we can put these stressors in to help us take a step back and see exactly where that stress is coming from. Knowing where our stress comes from and learning how to pinpoint our biggest stressors can help us create a meaningful way to decrease our anxiety and worry intentionally.

Managing Stress in Work, School, and Social Settings

“When looking at work life, you can say ‘How can I be more proactive in ensuring that I get my work done timely so that I don’t create a time crunch for myself that can be prevented?’” Ashley says. Putting yourself in a time crunch can create a negative mindset and lead to anxiety and lower productivity. Ashley emphasizes how important it is to be intentional about our time and set time aside to work ahead of deadlines and learn how to break time up for different tasks. 

Ashley also highlights the importance of social introspection to lower stress and anxiety. “Are there a few friends who create a lot of stress? How can you communicate how that affects you?” Being able to create honest and open dialogue with friends can lower stress and help you reflect on those relationships you truly value. “You want friends that encourage you but also understand your needs, with no toxic positivity, and do not push you too far. You need to create a tribe that supports you no matter what” explains Ashley. 

Now that we have talked about work and friends, how do I manage school-related stress? Ashley believes that it is important to stay ahead of the curve. “I love school. Whenever I take a new class, I get the syllabus and I go and color-coordinate things.” Learning organizational skills along with setting reminders to study for exams and work on big projects help relieve the feeling of being underprepared and anxious. “The best way to break up studying is to create little chunks of time to work for that class,” as smaller chunks make the material more digestible, “which also allows time to do a refresher before the exam to find essential concepts and make sure you understand those concepts.”

Mental Health and Life Success

Good mental health leads to academic and career success. Ashley uses the metaphor of a garden to show the effect of our mental health on our life achievements.

“When you have a garden and you are planting new fruits and vegetables, if you're not giving care to those plants [watering, pruning, and plucking weeds] all sorts of insects and weeds are going to take over your garden… if you are taking care of yourself, which could be as simple as going outside or meditating… this is comparable to taking care of your garden.”

Taking care of our minds and our bodies is very important. If we don't take care of ourselves, the weeds will grow up in our brain and create burn out because we are not giving ourselves the time or attention we need. Giving ourselves love and grace is essential to success within our lives. 

In conclusion, it is vital to take care of your body and mind. Not taking care of yourself can lead to the development of other problems that only make your stress more difficult to manage. Pinpointing your most stressful areas of life at the moment along with giving yourself breaks can help kickstart the management stage of stress. You want your brain to have breaks and feel nurtured which can only be done when you are mindful and intentional. Try to get involved in different activities to give yourself some balance and lessen anxiety naturally. Holistic approaches as well as seeing a licensed therapist can help you feel less overwhelmed and help you take better care of your mind and body.

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Project Passport is a proactive mental wellness company that aims to bring mental wellness retreats, workshops and other services to company teams. We also help individuals create joy in their lives every step of the way. To learn more about our company retreats and services, click here. Our travel retreats will resume in the future as the world reopens.