Academic Life: Stress and Self-Care

  Have you ever heard the phrase "You can't pour from an empty cup"? It's a favorite of mine.  It's also one that I frequently need to remind myself of.  For me, it's really easy to put everyone and everything else first - classes, emailed questions, family, and all of the other demands on my time. Of course, that inevitably leads me to be burned out, stressed, and tired; and, that makes me useless for everything and everyone that I'm trying to take care of. To combat this, my husband and I started setting up something fun to do each month.  It would give us one day/weekend to set aside time for ourselves.  During this time, we'd do whatever we wanted to do.  In February, we drove down to Virginia Beach and enjoyed the view in the off season when it's much quieter.  In March, we visited Washington DC so that he could see the James Bond exhibit at the Spy Museum and I could see the Japanese cherry blossoms in full bloom around the National Mall.  S...

  Source:  Seluk, N. (2023). The Awkward Yeti [Comic  Heart and Brain ]. In  Instagram . https://www.instagram.com/theawkwardyeti/p/CpNsTw7rMZI/?img_index=1 Avoiding emergencies?  If only that were possible.  Well, in some cases it actually is.  Sometimes we create our own emergencies by how we manage our time and structure our lives. By simply planning ahead and spending some time thinking through issues, we can often keep a problem from turning into something much worse. Think of it this way:  You're almost out of gas in your car, but it's been a really long day.  You just want to go home and decide to deal with putting gas in your car on the way to work/class tomorrow.  But.... now it's the next morning.  There's a traffic jam, you're late, your car is about to run out of gas stuck in traffic on the highway, and your boss is calling you asking why you're not at work yet. Your paper is due, but you've decided to work on it over th...

  It's another semester and another school year.  Welcome back! For me, we're now in week 3 of the semester, and I am still behind.  I am desperately looking forward to finally settling into the pattern of life for the term.  That usually happens around this week, so fingers crossed!  Sometimes change can be overwhelming.  In fact major changes in schedules, sleeping habits, and eating patterns are all major stressors according to the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory.  If this is your first year at college and/or you moved into the dorms in the last few weeks, then you're scoring even more points on the scale.  The more points you have on the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, the more prone you are to issues with your physical health as well as your mental health.  And, it makes you "primed" to be overly reactive to other everyday stressors. So, if that's the case, here are a few tips to get you settled back in: Take a few deep breaths. ...

  Welcome back from Spring Break! If you're like me, it was way too short.  About the time I started finding my center and remembering to breathe, it was ending.  But, just because break is ending doesn't mean our perspectives should shift.  What perspective were you able to find during break?  I remembered that it's better for me (and my students) if I put self-care first.   How long did that perspective last?  About 5 minutes.  Actually, it would have lasted about that long, but I ended up scheduling an early lunch with a friend that I've been out of touch with during the pandemic.  Normally I dive head first into work and knock out as much as possible on Mondays.  But, with an early lunch planned, I only got a few things done before having to leave to make the date. And, it was the best thing that could have happened.  I had a leisurely lunch for about 2 hours and then returned fresh to deal with my to do list.  I'm now very...

  Today I rediscovered my yoga practice after more than 6 months off the mat.  Was it what I wanted it to be? No. My body doesn't want to move into the positions it previously found easily.  My butt was in the air for child's pose rather than resting on my heels.  And, rather than being a long energetic practice filled with heat and movement, I chose to do a brief yin practice filled with slow floor poses and gentle stretches.  As I laid in savasana (resting pose) at the end of my practice, a thought entered my head - Acceptance.  Today was all about letting go of control and accepting where I am now, right in this moment.   Accepting the present moment can be challenging.  I find this to be especially true when I'm super-stressed or simply in a competitive mode.  At these times I'm reminded of what one of my favorite yoga teachers used to say in class whenever he saw us pushing too hard: "Yoga is not a competition - not even with yourself." ...

  Yesterday was the first day of meteorological Spring.  Today's weather is expected to be 67 degrees, and there's an 80 degree day in the forecast for the weekend.  Spring fever has set in!  I'm counting down the days until Spring Break and readying my porch and garden for their Summer look.  This is about the time that many people start thinking about doing some major cleaning out and cleaning up.  But, sometimes that can be a bit daunting.  There's always too much to do and not enough time. So, if you want to start decluttering and doing a little Spring cleaning but don't know where to start, here are some tips: 1) Start small.  Clean off one counter in the kitchen.  Clean out your school/work bag.  Anything is progress. 2) Crank up the tunes!  Music makes everything better.  Put on something that makes you smile and dance your way to a cleaner space. 3) Recruit help.  See if you can talk a friend into helping or keepin...

How well do you deal with change and ambiguity? Some people are blessed with the skillset to go with the flow and readily adapt as needed.  If you're like me, though, you prefer structure, clear directions, and to know what to expect in any given situation.  Unfortunately, life doesn't always offer us the consistency and clarity that we might want.  Change happens.  What's that old adage...The only constant in life is that everything changes?  As we continue through the pandemic and deal with changing expectations at work, in class, and out in the world, it's important to have some skills to help us cope with the unknown.  So, here are a few things that I hope you'll find helpful: Will it matter in 5 years?  If it won't matter in 5 years, don't waste energy railing and fighting against the tide. Are you practicing self-care?  Taking care of yourself can help you take care of others when dealing with change.  It also can help to keep you from ...