Academic Life: Stress and Self-Care

This week my little terror of a cat decided to completely destroy one of the living room curtains.  Granted, she looked absolutely adorable enjoying her handiwork and the chaos.  But, replacing curtains wasn't really on my already long to-do list for this week.  I don't even have the energy to switch it with another curtain to hide the open gash behind the sofa.  Yep, energy levels are low.  This is completely expected for this time of the semester, though.  But, it got me thinking - how much of our to-do list actually needs to get done? This week, take a look at your list.  Divide it up into 3 categories - Must do, Should do, and Would like to do.  The must do's are things that you absolutely can't avoid.  The should's are things that you're expected to do and feel like you need to do, but it's not a life or death situation if they don't get done.  And, the would like to do's are things that you regularly let slip but would really like ...

Three weeks left in the semester, and I know I’m not the only one counting it down. With the end in sight, it’s easy to feel even more pressure to finish strong and simultaneously overwhelmed with more and more work coming due. This can lead us into routine patterns where our only escape is some comfort media. Watching the same tv show or following the same routine every day can be reassuring and relaxing, but it can also create the feeling of being in a “rut”. And, it tends to crush creativity and divergent thinking at a time when these are most needed. Last week I kidnapped my partner for a surprise trip to an undisclosed location. We were both really stressed out, and simply needed a change from our normal evening routine of binge watching another Marvel series on Netflix. So, after work we hopped in the car and drove to Norfolk beach. It was pretty cold, so we only walked around the beach for a little while. And, then we grabbed some dinner on a patio while were there befor...

It looks like the weather is finally changing over to Spring.   We have a few showers in the forecast, but otherwise this week is a great opportunity to get outside.   With the gyms either closed or at limited capacity, many of us haven’t kept up our exercise routines.   Yes, there are always things to do inside to keep in shape; but, fresh air and warmer temperatures demand our attention and encourage even the most sedentary of people to go outside for a walk.   So, now is the perfect time to refresh your existing workout routine, create one, or breathe fresh life into one that may have fallen by the wayside during the cold, grey winter days.       Exercise can be a tremendous help to dealing with stress as well as helping you stay physically healthy. It provides endorphins, vitamin D, and can improve your mood. And, if you’ve ever seen the movie “Legally Blonde”… "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't sho...

With just about a month left in the semester, most of us are feeling exhausted and ready for a break.   And, it’s very likely that very few (if any) of us are performing at our best.   So, what can do to help relieve some of the stress that comes from wanting to do our best when we simply don’t have the energy level or focus that we need?   I was talking to one of my nieces a few weeks ago, and she shared an amazing idea from her Citizen 410 class at Longwood University this semester. Each week the professor has everyone write down something that they will each give themselves permission to do for the week. These can be shared with the class, but they are usually just personal reminders to take a break and realize that every week in a pandemic can be a challenge. Some of the ones my niece has used are things like: “I give myself permission to not be so hard on myself”, “to have a self-care night”, “or to take a break from school for the rest of the day”. The idea is that ...

Sleep and stress… or is it stress and sleep? The two are often intertwined. When we’re stressed, it’s much harder to fall asleep. Our minds twirl and twirl and replay every interaction we’ve had during the day. And, once we’re asleep we’re more likely to have our sleep disrupted by dreams and restlessness. On the other hand, not getting enough sleep can also make us feel more stressed. It also can make it more difficult to deal with everyday situations which, in turn, can stress us out even more. It can feel like a never-ending cycle. We all know that most people need about 7-9 hours of sleep a night to be at their peak. But, did you know that having less than 6 hours of sleep on a regular basis means that your brain is working as if you’ve been up for 48 hours in a row (Doyle, Zakrajsek, & Gabriel, 2019)? Tests have actually shown that your cognitive processing, memory, and even reaction times are all severely impacted, just as if you’ve been up for two days straight! Now…. Think ...

Welcome to another exciting stress relief tip!  😉  This week is all about meditation and mindfulness. As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, mindfulness is about being in the present moment. We often feel this when we’re “in the zone”.  But, the formal practice of mindfulness is the act of meditation. Ideally, meditation helps train our brain to be more mindful. Meditation is where we develop the muscle memory that translates into mindfulness throughout our day. It is a practice – not a perfect. There’s no such thing as a bad meditation or a perfect meditation. There are times where we will struggle to quiet our minds in a formal practice; but, going through the motion is still training our brain. Think of it like this – if you go to the gym, you may not like the experience or may feel sluggish. However, every day you do it you are still training your muscles to get stronger or faster. Meditation is just gym training for the mind. There are a ton of different types ...

I don’t know about you, but one of my biggest sources of stress is lack of time. I often feel like there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it all in. And, forget about even finding time to enjoy life! That makes for a very grumpy Dr. M. So, for this week we’re going to talk about time management. Often the easiest way to relieve stress is to find a way to plan out or week and manage our to do lists. So, I’m going to share with you my system for how I manage my schedule. And, hopefully some of these tricks will help you as well. Supplies: (alternately you can use electronic versions of these) · Paper · A calendar · Something to write with First, I make a list of everything I have to do for the week. That means everything! (ie. Assignments, readings, laundry, vacuuming, planning out next week, etc.) Yes, the list is going to be really long. Try not to get intimated or overwhelmed looking at the long list. Next, I use a calendar to make a schedule for the wee...

Happy Sunday, scholars! This week’s tip will focus on getting connected. If you’re like me, the daily grind is starting to wear thin. It seems like my entire day is filled with things I have to do and is a monotonous routine. To be frank – it’s a rut. One way to cope with this is to get connected to other people. But, being in a pandemic means there’s a few challenges to this, especially when the weather outside isn’t cooperative to outdoor gatherings. To help, here are some ideas you can use to safely connect with others and the world around you. 1) Go virtual! Zoom and Skype have free options for setting up video calls with multiple people. I’ve used Zoom and Facetime more than Skype. Facetime is limited to Apple users and requires someone to call each participant. Zoom is easier. You can have a free session of up to 40 minutes with 100 participants. And, people can use their phone to voice-call or video-call in. They don’t need to be on a computer, have wifi, or use data to con...

We are now approaching the dreaded midterm season. 😬 This is the time during the semester when a lot of classes have major assignments like papers, midterm exams, or projects due. And, while this is always a stressful time for students and faculty, this year will probably feel more intense without a scheduled Spring Break and with a pandemic to still deal with. So, what can we do to get through this? In the last few weeks, you’ve gotten tips on how to be mindful. These same tools (along with several others) can help us all survive the next few stressful weeks. First, let’s talk about what it means to be mindful. Mindfulness is simply defined as bringing one’s attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way (Kabat-Zinn, 2016). This notion has been around for centuries; however, only recently has science decided to take a closer look at the practice of mindfulness. This includes a number of studies showing that mindfulness can be helpful in reducing perceived stress, anxiety, ...

This week we’ll continue our forage into specific tricks to help relieve stress.   Specifically, this trick is all about managing your breath.   We all know that breathing is essential to life, but did you know that it actually does a lot more than that?   Different types of breathing have been connected to cardiovascular health, memory, focus, and psychological health.   There are several different types of pranayama, methods of controlling the breath.   These can include practices such as ujjayi breath that is used in yoga to invigorate and energize you, breath awareness as is used in meditation, or even a simple regulation of breaths to a certain number per minute.   Today’s tip is often referred to as the “2-in-1 breathing technique” and is my personal absolute fave, go-to method for dealing with a stressful situation and finding my own calm within the storm.   Again – it can be done anywhere you are and without anyone being aware of what you’re do...

This week we’re going to work on a trick to help you feel immediately calmer and more centered. I call this the 5-4-3-2-1 trick, but it’s also called a 5 senses meditation or mindfulness exercise. Mindfulness is all about being in the present moment. This allows us to distance ourselves from any emotional stress we may have in the past or in our upcoming future. Simply keeping our minds focused on the here and now can cut down on the anxieties associated with thinking about “what if” and “should I have” scenarios that are often a waste of mental energy. In uncertain times, like those of a pandemic, being able to pause this “what if” thinking can be a huge relief and help us to appreciate the moment around us. You can do this with your eyes opened or closed – whatever you’re most comfortable with or can safely do where you are. The best part about this exercise is that you can do it anywhere and at any time. In fact, I actually did this exercise sitting in the lobby of McNeer waiting f...

Welcome to our 2 nd   weekly tip in this series!     This week we’re going to explore ways to get “unstuck”.   If you’re like me, these blah grey days make getting anything done feel like swimming through peanut butter.  (Ok, I don’t actually know what that feels like, but I’m pretty sure we all can imagine it.) And, despite a lack of any sort of motivation, my to-do list just seems to keep growing. In fact, it’s getting to the point where just thinking about what I need to do feels overwhelming and makes me want to shut down completely. So, what’s the trick to finding your motivation again? That’s a good question!  There are several ways to overcome this feeling of stagnation and to start making progress again.     1)       Work smarter – not harder. If you’re stuck in a rut, then whatever got you there isn’t going to help you get out of it. So, it’s time to try something different. Yes, social norms say things ...

This week launches our first in a set of weekly tips on managing your mental health and self-care. This week’s topic is journaling…. I know, I know. Your first thought is probably “Ewww. Ick” and thoughts of “Dear Diary…..” But, journaling is a lot more than that. Journaling is a technique used throughout history by great scholars to capture their ideas, process their thoughts, and to record their experiences. Some of them include Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo, and Emilie’ Davies. It’s even been used by modern celebrities such as Lady Gaga, John Batiste, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Journaling doesn’t have to take a long time or require any specific notebook. You can do something as short as five minutes a day in a Google doc or on a plain piece of paper. It’s all about taking the time to connect and check in with yourself and what’s on your mind. It lets us to clear the static and open up the full processing power of our minds. It can increase focus, memo...