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.

For my self-care assignment, I experimented with using art as a coping strategy. I just used sharpie and watercolours to create the image. I chose the words “patience, consistency, and balance” as these represent my aspirations for the new year and always help to centre my mindset. I really enjoyed creating this drawing/painting and found it to be very relaxing. It allowed me to express my thoughts and creativity without being bound to strict criteria. I definitely plan on incorporating more art into my schedule as self-care but also just as a way to spend time and express myself!

Hello everyone,

For my creative component of this assignment, I created 15 meditation/reflection/prayer prompts. My new activity I decided to try out was collaborating prayer/meditation and eco-therapy. Majority of my stress stems from anxious thoughts of the future and “being still” allows me to organize my thoughts. After the eco-therapy project presented in class it inspired me to try practicing being still in an outdoors environment and away from an urban setting. Perhaps some of these prompts will conjure some reflection for some of you, especially during this time of social-distancing.

Take care,  Matthea

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! Sending lots of virtual hugs and positivity 🙂

Thank you in advance, for taking the time to read! I have attached screenshots of what I did for my self-care activities.

The first screenshot is simply a cover page which summarizes how I deal with daily life stressors: nature and my parents. I also chose this design cover because I could somehow sense a hope of radiation through the bubbles during difficult times, my creativity has been acting in my favour these days!

In the second screenshot, you see many pictures from our beautiful campus. Due to severe mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety, I am thankful that as a part of the course, I engaged in a new self-care practice- walking more around campus since I live here because I completely isolated myself last year. The pictures that you see are some snippets from my walks on snowy days, on cloudy and rainy days and also when the sun is out! At times, when I feel stressed I also just look back at these pictures to calm myself down. Breathing in the fresh air and experiencing greenery has been so refreshing and it has helped me feel energized both mentally and physically! I wish to continue with this in the future since it has played a positive impact on my overall well-being.

I am an international student from India, and I am also a first-generation immigrant from my family, this means I am the first to ever move abroad to pursue my undergraduate degree and build a career. It has been a very overwhelming journey and over the past three years, I have faced innumerable challenges, but I am also grateful for the lessons I have learnt and the progress I have made. I am also grateful that I have two most important people with me who continue to support and care for me. In the third screenshot, those are pictures of my mom and dad in India, almost two years ago. I have also attached pictures of my mom (she loves taking pictures, my dad hates it) and just looking at them helps me feel peaceful, I miss them a lot. In the pictures, where you see a little baby in both my parents’ arms, that is me right there. Almost two years ago when I went back home, I took those pictures (and I do plan to take more from my ‘baby album’) which I treasure it with me on my phone. My parents are both working and at times calling each other face-to-face is very hard. So, I save all these pictures including the ones we take back home and when I feel sad and isolated, I look back into these pictures and it always helps me feel a sense of calmness and peace within myself.

Students in the NURS 180 W19 course submitted the things that bring them joy. Here, they are combined in a class booklet.

NURS Winter class 2020 booklet