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Stress Management via Mindfulness

It’s true, I’ve written a lot about stress.  However, over the past six weeks I’ve been involved in a Mindfulness Skills group/class-thing through Counselling Services in Brock Hall, and since doing that I’ve learned a lot of valuable skills for managing stress.

First of all, I’d like to talk a little bit about the group itself: everyone there is open minded, non-judgmental, and there for the same reason you are: to learn to deal with stress better.  Confidentiality is expected from everyone, so I will be talking just from my own perspective and share with you some of the things I’ve learned. They’ve helped me a lot!

We all have our coping strategies, whether it’s to distract ourselves with TV or video games, taking time for ourselves by taking a walk or exercising, or chowing down on some comfort food. At some point, all of these things have made us feel better and less stressed out. But sometimes, those strategies don’t work; this is where mindfulness can be very handy.

What is mindfulness? Well, I can’t exactly condense six weekly of sessions into a blog post, but this is the gist of it: you pay attention to where your thoughts and emotions are, be present in the moment, and suspend judgment.

So for example, try holding a random object that has no particular meaning to you. Notice all of the details you can see and touch, focusing all your attention on that object. Your mind will wander; it was built to think after all. Just notice those thoughts and allow them to pass, and return your attention to your object, without judging yourself (berating yourself) for your mind wandering.  Congratulations! You’ve just practiced mindfulness. By being totally present in just paying attention to details in your external surroundings, you can ground yourself when you start to feel overwhelmed and think with a clear head.

You can also focus on internal sensations. Imagine a circle of light is around the top of your head. Now pay attention to all the feelings in that part of your body, and as you imagine the band of light moving down towards your toes, focus just on the parts of your body that are in the range of the light. Notice any tightness in your muscles or anything your skin is touching. Or, you can focus on your breath, and how your ribcage will expand and contract as you breathe in and out.

These are two great ways of calming your mind when you start to feel your stress spinning your thoughts out of control. Another one following these principals that really helps calm me down when I start feeling stressed out or upset is called “5 4 3 2 1.” Basically, you name five things you can see, five things you can hear, and five things you can touch. Then four things you can see, four things you can hear, and four things you can touch. And so on until you reach one.  If you’re feeling upset, it brings your attention away from  that emotion what was causing the distress. When I’m done, I usually find that I can think a lot more clearly and the tension that builds in my chest releases.

Mindfulness can really be applied to anything.  Basically it’s about being in the present, paying attention to details and your thoughts, and not judging.  So let’s say you start stressing out because you got a bad grade on a test. First, you notice that your thoughts are starting to obsess over this grade. You think, huh, I’m pretty disappointed by that grade. My thoughts seem to really be thinking about that a lot. Maybe I’ll pay really close attention to my surroundings so I can calm down. Okay. Now I’ll look at it objectively: This is the mark that I got. I can’t change the past, but I can change how I react in the present so I can shape the future. I’ll accept this grade, and try to identify how I can do better for the next test.

Granted, this is all easier said than done. You have to practice at it. And to be honest, I’m not sure if I’m getting my point across! I am by no means an expert in this. If you are interested in mindfulness and/or want to get a handle on dealing with your stress, I strongly recommend checking out the Mindfulness Skills Group at Counselling Services in Brock Hall. There are way more aspects to this that I can’t really get to and way more exercises that they can give you.

Since attending the class, I’ve been able to deal with stressful situations a lot better: when I’m upset with someone, I can calm myself down. If I make a mistake at orchestra rehearsal, I can be objective about it and practice more for the next time rather than beating myself up for it. If I start getting overwhelmed and exaggerating the situation, I can bring myself back. This class was probably the best thing I did for myself this year.

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An Ode to Yoga

This post is not actually going to be an ode, because I am not a poet and I don’t really know what an ode is (I’m sure I will by the end of term though; I’m taking second-year poetry at the moment). I am, however, going to tell you why I love yoga so much:

  1. Building strength. Depending on what type of class you choose, some yoga classes can be really intense and build all sorts of muscles you didn’t you you had! And in a more relaxed environment instead of a a loud, bustling environment of a gym or sport.  If you want an intense muscle workout try vinyasa or power yoga!
  2. Increasing flexibility. We tend to ignore our bodies. But really, do you think that hours hunched over a desk are good for you? Stretching and opening your body makes you feel good, less stressed out, and in less pain from sore muscles. (This part is especially good for me since I have chronic muscle pain in various areas.) If you want even more stretching, try a yin class! They hold stretching poses for 3-7 minutes.
  3. Time to focus on the present. Yoga incorporates a lot of elements of a technique called mindfulness (which I’m also learning about in my stress management class with Counselling Services – post on that to come).  Basically, you get to set aside an hour and just focus on the present moment. Concentrate on your breath, on your muscles as they hold a pose.  Stress can get us overwhelmed, but if you take some time to focus on the here and now, it can really calm you down and ground you. Not to mention, our lives can be pretty darn hectic and taking a moment to slow things down can really help your mental health.

Interested in trying yoga? I’d suggest starting out with a hatha class, as it’s more gentle and is a good way to start out. On campus, you can take a class with UBC REC, or try the UBC Yoga Club. REC classes average $80-$100 for one term for UBC students. The UBC Yoga Club charges $10 for a membership, and then all classes are drop-in and cost $2. I’ve done both, but this term I joined the Yoga Club and I like it way more because it costs less, there are more types of classes at more times, and if I have to miss one it’s no big deal since I haven’t already paid for it.

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A Story of Loving Rain

As many of you probably know, the Student Recreation Centre here at UBC does this wonderful thing at the beginning of every term called Shopping Week.  You can go try out any class for free to see if it’s something you want to sign up for.

Originally, I had looked at the schedule and said, “Aw man, none of the yoga classes are at good times for me!” And I thought I’d try going to a place off campus. And on Sunday, that is, yesterday, I was going to go check it out, but I discovered that because of awkward bus changes it would take me nearly an hour to get there, and back. This is despite the fact that it would take a car less than ten minutes to get there.

So I took another look at the Shopping Week Calendar. Sunday Night Vinyasa. Sounds good, what time does it start? 7:30 PM. Time on the clock: 6:45. I quickly signed up for the class (they want you to do that now; you didn’t have to last year) and then dashed out the door in the pouring rain toting my yoga mat and bag filled with water bottle, wallet, cell phone, etc.

In fact, I had to dash to catch the bus coming up the road behind me, but made it sort of dry to REC Centre. I walk inside, and what’s this? Oh, the lights are off inside the studio. I take a closer look at a poster for Shopping Week. It starts on Monday. That is, today. My class won’t be starting until next Sunday.

Initially, I felt disappointed. It hadn’t been a great day, and now this. But then, I just sort of didn’t care; I found myself feeling positive. Oh well, I thought to myself. Now I have a whole hour that I didn’t think I’d have before! The only logical thing to do now is to go home, drop off my stuff, and take a walk in the rain to Menchie’s and buy some delicious, delicious, fro-yo.

I walked to Wesbrook Village with my hood down, the rain soaking my hair. Now, I am not normally a person who likes rain. I rather dislike it, in fact. In Winnipeg, when it rains, it rains hard, each drop cold and stinging, painful even. But as I walked to Menchie’s, I just thought of the delight that was ahead of me, and noticed how the rain was soft on my head. I liked it, and welcomed being soaked. The clouds were dark, and I appreciated that. None of this nonsense where it’s raining hard but still bright out, with white clouds. That, to me, is just silliness.

The cheerful bight pink and green of the frozen yogurt shop welcomed me inside, and I picked my flavours – they always have new ones and the choices are so exciting! – pineapple and green apple tart, and then put maraschino cherries on top. Oh, happiness in my mouth. I had a peaceful walk back as the rain dripped down my face and clung to my glasses. When I got home, it occurred to me that without even realizing it, all the stress I’d been feeling earlier that day had just melted away.

I’m trying to describe to you how peaceful I felt in that moment, but it’s hard. I guess what I want you to take away from this is that you’ve just gotta roll with the punches sometimes. Sometimes, it’s just gonna be a hard day, but when something else goes wrong, just laugh and say, Of course! Just go with it. God knows the sunshine isn’t going to last forever and sometimes, you’ve just got to learn to love the rain.

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Beat the Stress

Even though school doesn’t even start for 5 days, I’m already feeling the stress that comes every September. Between auditions, moving in, catch-up assignments, renting a harp, and cooking and paying for everything myself for the first time, things are a little bit crazy. So I thought it’d be a good time to share how I beat my stress and then probably take my own advice, too.

1. Breathe.  Take a minute. Slow down. Take a few deeeeeep, long breaths. If you’re stressed, you may actually be holding your breath or taking shallow breaths, making you even more tense.  By just breathing deeply, your brain will function a little better with more air, and your heart rate will slow down, and that stress will ebb away a little bit. I find that just focusing on one thing, your breath, it’s easier to put everything else you have to do into perspective and it’s easer to deal with.

2. Time Management.  If you can sort out everything you need to do  and when, you can start to see that you actually can handle what’s on your plate and that you’re going to get it done. I always find that once I’ve got a plan of attack, I feel way better.

3. Take Action. Okay, you’ve got your plan, now do it. I always find that if I’m stressed about a test coming up, studying for it will make me feel better. The more prepared and confident I feel, the less I need to stress. And once you’ve taken steps to do something about what’s stressing you out, you’ve got one less thing on your to-do list. Breathe that sigh of relief.

4.  Find something that de-stresses you.  For me, it’s yoga – I get to take an hour each week just to breath, and focus on feeling my body in the moment, and just step away from everything that tenses me up.  For you, it could be making art, playing a sport or running, taking up a craft like knitting, talking with friends, the list goes on. Just find what works for you. It’s important to take time for yourself, or you’ll get burnt out.

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