Tamasha

I decided to compose a Zine for the creative component of this assignment. The Zine is ten pages long with the first page covering the introduction and table of contents. This zine collection is a mixture of my stressors in life both from the past and present, and some of the creative problem-solving techniques that I have exercised in the past to help in adversity. A few pages of the Zine contain UBC resources that are readily available to support me during a physical and emotional challenge and some self-care tips from some influential psychologist in the field. I wrote down each support system and ways in which I can access it including the phone number and location, for instance, you can see from the pictures that I have resources such as Empower Me, SASC and the UBC Centre for accessibility. 

My primary stressor is being distant from my family, I am currently in my third year, but I haven’t gone home within the years due to immigration  concerns. Hence, whenever I feel home-sick I call my family, and this is depicted in the Zine where I have a picture of my family and each of their contact information, I also included the UBC wellness centre as a resource that I can utilize on campus to help me when I am feeling homesick.

In my first attempt to deal with my stressors, I followed the wrong approach. I detached myself from the community, which I realized was doing extra harm to my wellbeing. I had the impression that if I had persevered living in a refugee camp for 16 years, which is shown in the Zine through pictures, then I could endure the stressors that I was encountering in my stay at UBC. However, later on, it occurred to me that in the refugee camp, I had my family and community providing me with social support as I was navigating through daily stressors. Therefore, I started going to the wellness centre for social support, I excised regularly, I started attending social events, and I decided to be open to new experiences. Also, I am currently exercising a new approach for this assignment. It involves connecting with nature through practicing mindful yoga and meditating for twenty minutes early in the morning and over the weekend meditating in nature, for instance, at the park, beach and forest.

My other stressor is PTSD, and I seldom feel like I am reliving a war trauma from my childhood through upsetting thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks, or having powerful mental and physical reactions if something reminds me of the tragedy. In the Zine, I included resources such as “Empower Me” and UBC Health Centre to support me when I feel  PTSD-like symptoms.

My story was featured on CBC News last summer.

I have also been featured in student podcasts at UBC, but I currently do not have the links to those. I like sharing my story with people because it helps in highlighting the resilience that exists in refugee camps and allows people to know ways in which they can get engaged to support refugees around the world.

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