Stressed students should seek help
By: Ashley Marshall
Issue date: 5/2/07 Section: Opinion
We can all be stubborn. Sometimes we're too stubborn to admit that we need help.
So semester after semester we struggle through our stress without taking advantage of something that is right before our eyes.
We power through the rest of the semester, coming out of it looking like we've come out of a tornado. Emotionally and physically exhausted. Just to do it all over again next semester.
All because we are too stubborn to admit we need help. And far too proud to use the resources on campus to make our lives a little bit easier.
The Wellness Center is one of these resources that students tend to let go unused, which is a shame because it offers lectures and workshops to help students deal with test stress and managing school with everything else in our lives.
Stress is an important topic to address
for students because it's more than just an annoyance in our lives. It's more than just worrying about a test. It affects our eating, sleeping and study habits. And it's not a positive effect.
Fliers can be found around campus encouraging students to take advantage of these stress-relieving tools.
Stress management workshops are available for students to learn useful tips for test taking and managing the stress that comes along with it.
They also offer "de-stress" sessions, one of which is going on today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Bell Memorial Union lobby. Massage therapists, free water, healthy snacks and helpful tips on meditation and relaxation for upcoming finals will be available for students, program director Jenny Merrill said.
If you miss out on these activities, you can always visit the Wellness Center in the breezeway under the Meriam Library through the doors of Records and Registration.
Through the doors stands a "tree" layered with worksheets on a variety of issues including stress management, Merrill said.
"They include feasible tips that are easy for college students to incorporate in everyday life," she said. "I use them myself."
Merrill is optimistic that more students are learning about the Wellness Center and what they have to offer, proudly stating that 45 students attended its last stress management workshop. But of the more than 15,000 students that attend Chico State, 45 seems like an awfully low number.
With all of this help just around the corner, it's hard to believe that the majority of Chico State students don't take advantage of these opportunities.
I guess too many people think that they don't need help managing their stress because they eventually get through it. But the measure of managing stress has much less to do with getting through it than it does with how you handle it. Handling it in a healthy way is much better for you than just struggling through school and coming out depleted in the end.
The next time you're feeling stressed and your usual stress relievers aren't working, put your ego aside, and take a trip to the Wellness Center and get some tips from the pros. It won't hurt, and it just might help.
Ashley Marshall can be reached at amarshall@theorion.com
So semester after semester we struggle through our stress without taking advantage of something that is right before our eyes.
We power through the rest of the semester, coming out of it looking like we've come out of a tornado. Emotionally and physically exhausted. Just to do it all over again next semester.
All because we are too stubborn to admit we need help. And far too proud to use the resources on campus to make our lives a little bit easier.
The Wellness Center is one of these resources that students tend to let go unused, which is a shame because it offers lectures and workshops to help students deal with test stress and managing school with everything else in our lives.
Stress is an important topic to address
for students because it's more than just an annoyance in our lives. It's more than just worrying about a test. It affects our eating, sleeping and study habits. And it's not a positive effect.
Fliers can be found around campus encouraging students to take advantage of these stress-relieving tools.
Stress management workshops are available for students to learn useful tips for test taking and managing the stress that comes along with it.
They also offer "de-stress" sessions, one of which is going on today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Bell Memorial Union lobby. Massage therapists, free water, healthy snacks and helpful tips on meditation and relaxation for upcoming finals will be available for students, program director Jenny Merrill said.
If you miss out on these activities, you can always visit the Wellness Center in the breezeway under the Meriam Library through the doors of Records and Registration.
Through the doors stands a "tree" layered with worksheets on a variety of issues including stress management, Merrill said.
"They include feasible tips that are easy for college students to incorporate in everyday life," she said. "I use them myself."
Merrill is optimistic that more students are learning about the Wellness Center and what they have to offer, proudly stating that 45 students attended its last stress management workshop. But of the more than 15,000 students that attend Chico State, 45 seems like an awfully low number.
With all of this help just around the corner, it's hard to believe that the majority of Chico State students don't take advantage of these opportunities.
I guess too many people think that they don't need help managing their stress because they eventually get through it. But the measure of managing stress has much less to do with getting through it than it does with how you handle it. Handling it in a healthy way is much better for you than just struggling through school and coming out depleted in the end.
The next time you're feeling stressed and your usual stress relievers aren't working, put your ego aside, and take a trip to the Wellness Center and get some tips from the pros. It won't hurt, and it just might help.
Ashley Marshall can be reached at amarshall@theorion.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Amanda Cassidy
posted 5/01/07 @ 11:19 PM PST
I agree... the Wellness Center is a great resource that we as students should take advantage of. Especially at this point of the semester when stress levels are at an extreme high. (Continued…)
Unhappy Student
posted 5/03/07 @ 11:20 AM PST
I am very disappointed in the Wellness Center. I am aware of a student who has recently attempted suicide-is still depressed-and is hiding the scars on her wrists from our teachers. (Continued…)
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