Stress Less Week helps students cope with end-of-semester pressure

Melissa Duggan shows off some of the many items that will be available during Stress Less Week. The series of events aims to provide students with resources to reduce stress at this busy time in the school year.

Do you have what feels like a million assignments and obligations and things to do in the last few weeks of school?

Stress Less Week is a week-long series of events aimed at giving students the resources and space to lower their stress and practice self-care.

Melissa Duggan, a child and youth care student completing her practicum with Wellness Services, outlined some of the many events happening throughout the week.

“We’re going to have some games and we wanted them to be… very familiar and [to bring up] those warm, fuzzy feelings from your childhood where you just played with Lego and you built something and there was no pressure, or you created something with Play-Doh or just squeezed the Play-Doh really hard.”

Along with the Lego and Play-Doh, there will be a sensory table with sand, plant kits with your choice of seeds, fidget toys, self-care bingo, massages and more on March 28.

“Recovery on Campus is sponsoring quite a bit of prizes and events. One of them is the free mocktails that we’ll be doing in centre core. We want to encourage students to still have fun with drinks without having alcohol in it.”

To make self-care and lowering stress as accessible as possible, there are workshop times both on Zoom and in person, as well as take-home self-care kits available for those unable to participate.

Stephanie Murray, a general science and arts student, will likely be taking advantage of the increased accessibility.

“I have five classes, three kids and I don’t live in town so I do a lot of travelling. So, if it works into my schedule I’ll definitely look into [the events and workshops],” Murray said.

On a stress scale of one to 10, Murray said she’s sitting around eight.

Duggan hopes people will be able to make time to partake in the events and workshops happening next week.

“I know it’s hard to add one more thing to your plate during this week, but it’s so important to take care of yourself,” Duggan said.

For more information or to register for a free workshop, go to lethbridgecollege.ca/events or contact Wellness Services at lethbridgecollege.ca/wellness.

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Rachel Gelowitz is a second-year Digital Communications and Media student. She's pursuing graphic design but has enjoyed most of the facets of DCM including video editing and marketing. While not doing homework, they can be found playing video games, watching TV, or finding new ways to improve.

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