• September 25, 2018
• By Homework Help Global
• In Stress Management and Self-Care, The Homework Help Show
• No Comment

Welcome to our second episode of The Homework Help Show! In this episode, we discuss the importance of self care for students. Our Host Cath Anne provides strategies for stress management and self care.

The Homework Help Show is our brand new show where we will teach, assist, and offer valuable insights on different topics related to students’ academic and personal lives. Want your questions answered? Ask your questions on social media using the hashtag #askHHG

TRANSCRIPT:

Cath Anne: [00:00:03] Hi! Let me introduce myself, my name is Cath Anne and I am the host of Homework Help Global’s “The Homework Help Learning Studio”. This is our second week that we’ve been doing this show and so far so good. So I might just wait for a couple more minutes to see if anyone else logs into Facebook but I see we do have a few people joining us on Instagram. So that’s great. It’s a beautiful day here. Can’t believe this weather in September, my goodness.

Cath Anne: [00:01:15] Well maybe I will get started. So as I mentioned my name is Cath Anne. This is a weekly livestream that we are putting on through Homework Help Global. The show is a way to provide value to students as you journey through your adventure as a student. We are really excited to be able to provide you with some valuable content and things that you will be able to take forward that will benefit you as we go along in school. So that is really the intent of this program and we will continue to modify the program as things go on and as people contribute different ideas for what they would like to see on the show. I did introduce myself a little bit last week but I will just kind of give you a little bit more background on myself. So like I said my name is Cath Anne and I’ve been actually writing for Homework Help Global for about three or four years now which I can’t believe it’s a great organization to work for. And I really enjoyed it.

Cath Anne: [00:02:32] And I also have a background in social work so my education is in social work. And so this week I’m really excited to kind of use some of those skills that I gained in my professional social worker to provide some information around stress management and navigating different forms of stress that you encounter as a student. That was a request from last week to do an overview of self care, especially at the beginning of the school year. Things can kind of get a little bit stressful. You starting your workload and things do pile up quickly certainly for students so I think that is a good kind of segway to begin. And I wanted to talk just a little bit about what stress is and some techniques to help you manage stress as you go through. Certainly as I’m talking, feel free to chime in with questions or suggestions for different types of content that you would like to see on the show. You can also use the hash tag #askHHG to submit questions to us on Twitter or on Instagram. And then if you want you can also jump in the comments boxes both on Instagram and on Facebook to ask questions If I don’t know the answer to that question right away then I will get the information and provide it to you hopefully next week or two weeks to come. I can build some content around that. So as I said we want to provide interesting and relevant information to you so please feel free to jump in and contribute to some suggestions.

Cath Anne: [00:04:34] So here we go. Let’s jump into this week’s topic which is stress and stress management. We all know that being a student you can experience moderate levels of stress. Students are constantly under pressure to attain good grades to get a job and navigate financial responsibilities and develop relationships. With the rising cost of tuition that can be kind of an added pressure for students as well.

Instagram Viewer: [00:05:37] @ammanamman: How would you suggest to balance university working and applying to grad school?

Cath Anne: [00:05:44] Oh that’s a good question and that’s something that I experienced as well. So I think that some of this stuff that we’re going to cover today is going to help you with that. I have a whole list of things that I will go over. So hopefully I will address that question as we go on. So let me know if I do help you with that question and if not I’ll try to I’ll try to give you a bit more direction but I think that some of the strategies that I’m going to provide this week will help you out with that.

Cath Anne: [00:06:21] It’s a lot to take on those grad school applications and applying for scholarships can be a process in and of themselves. So good question.

Cath Anne: [00:06:31] OK. So I wanted to just start by giving a little overview of what stress is. I know that we all kind of know what stress is but I think that sometimes it can be confused and it almost gets framed in our society as a negative thing because it can be experienced as a negative thing. But really stress is the body’s natural reaction to a challenge.

Instagram Viewer: [00:07:03] @coachkaur: Yes perceived stress is the worse and not worth it at all.

Cath Anne: [00:07:09] I agree. And there are some strategies that we can use to cope with that kind of stress. So yeah definitely. Stress can snowball if we don’t take care of it and manage it properly so definitely I agree with what you’re saying. So everyone does feel stress to some extent. It’s a natural human emotion. It’s something that it actually helps us become motivated when we do have stress. I know that might sound a little bit contradictory but it’s something that keeps us kind of going and fueled and it also helps us to navigate challenges so pushes us forward. But it’s when we let stress determine what our lives are going to be and become too big in our lives that it becomes a negative thing and it can be become problematic for us. So when we do experience stress it’s our body and our mind’s way of telling us there’s a challenge that we need to address. So there are strategies that we put in place to address that challenge.

Cath Anne: [00:08:17] So for example a very basic example of this is when you are doing exams and you have five exams all lined up and you need to study. And you also have to write two papers. Now that is not a normal thing for the body to experience. I know that professors would have you believe that perhaps that is a normal way to live but that is a lot of stress for someone to take on especially if you’re trying to navigate personal relationships, a job and all of those things that just go along with normal life. So when you in exam period you will experience some stress. The body and the brain they experience this type of situation as a challenge. Our brains and their hormones and indicate to us that there’s a problem and we need to figure out how to deal with it. That is a normal process, but like I said it becomes a problem when we let that stress snowball and kind of consume our lives. And then that has the potential to grow into a mental health problem down the line if we don’t address it properly. Not for everyone but it certainly can have an impact on our physical and mental health. And sometimes we don’t recognize when it’s having an impact. So some common contributors to stress I already mentioned a couple like exams piling up. So of course sleeping habits who are there doesn’t get enough sleep at night.

Cath Anne: [00:10:13] Like you said, Kaur, applying to grad school or, sorry, Amman, on applying to grad school is kind of an added pressure onto your normal routine. Poor eating habits. No one realizes a lot of people don’t realize how much weight you eat and what you put into your body you can impact your mental health and your physical health. Well we tend to focus on physical health but it can also have a bearing on your mental health as well. And sometimes as is natural as human beings we have relationship problems so that can add another layer of stress on top of everything else that’s going on in your life. So there are many types of stress that people experience and especially students you know there are different pressures that students experience as well. Does anyone have any other subjects like thoughts about challenges and things that can cause stress?

Instagram Viewer: [00:11:13] Comment: As a student I have always found that eating chocolate helps me before my exam.

Cath Anne: [00:11:19] Oh that’s a good that’s a good idea. What did you find helped you? Did it help you relax? Yeah I think chocolate can do that. It releases some kind of happy endorphins in your brain and that can help. It can definitely help to relax your oh my goodness you didn’t study one day before. And did you usually do well on the exams? It might be a good test. Maybe I should start eating chocolate before I do these live streams.

Cath Anne: [00:12:20] I know I have memories of sitting in the hallways outside of the exam room and everyone’s cramming and kind of stressing and saying, “Oh my goodness did you study this?” “Did you study that?” That can definitely be stressful. The more questions they ask. The more stressed you get. Yeah that’s for sure because you’re focusing on what you think you should study and then they’re saying oh my goodness did you study this then. I know I know all about that. But the day before you rested, Kaur, you seemed to have your routine down pat: chocolate before the exam, studying a week before, and then resting the day before. That’s a good idea because so many people cram at the very end up until the last second before they walk into that exam room and that can’t that isn’t always healthy because your brain needs that downtime to process all the information it’s taking in. So that’s good advice. OK so I’ll jump into kind of some self care techniques. So I wanted to talk about a little bit about what self care means and I think I wanted to share a personal piece about this just because I did go to social work school so as some of you may know social work is a tough profession and you can experience some really challenging situations so they often talk about the importance of self care when you are in the social work program as well as when you get into the field.

Cath Anne: [00:14:12] But what I often found is that what a lot of pressure on the person to kind of navigate their own their own supports for self care and it took away which was funny because it was social work program so you would think they would provide a little bit more support around that. I think that self care is kind of a more holistic thing and we’re starting as a society to talk a little bit more about the importance of talking about stress and the importance of talking about mental health and kind of getting our own stories out into the public and sharing our stories together which I think is a really beneficial way to think about things because we all experience stress as human beings and we all have the capacity to develop a mental health problem if we’re vulnerable to it. So I think that we need to start thinking about self care in terms of developing a community around it and making sure that we’re having conversations around it and making sure that we are putting things in place as a society to make sure that people are supportive around that and that because especially these days with so much technology and fast paced environments people can feel stressed more often. And so I think it’s very important to start having these conversations around self care and how it’s not that shouldn’t just be an individual thing that we all need to be supporting each other. So there’s my rant for today.

Cath Anne: [00:16:07] I also think there is some value in sharing your own story even if you even if you are struggling. So if you’re having challenges yourself it can be it can be valuable to share your story and make someone else feel a little bit less isolated. If that makes sense. Because I think that sharing in the fact that we all have these similar experiences can be really powerful. But I know what you mean you kind of want to feel like you’re you have something to offer and you definitely have to take care of yourself before you can provide support to someone else. So I think that’s a valuable point to make for sure.

Cath Anne: [00:16:48] So I think the number one technique is to recognize first of all that we all experience stress and that it’s relatively normal but also to recognize those situations where you feel like you are experiencing an added level of stress. So during those times when you have exams maybe taking a step back and saying OK I’m not acting the same way that I normally would, I’m not responding to situations in the way that I would normally. So maybe I’m experiencing some added stress if that makes sense. So the first step is kind of recognizing that you’re experiencing stress and labeling it and articulating it for yourself because then you can take a step back and think about techniques to be able to address it. Does that make sense?

Cath Anne: [00:17:46] So I think it can be after you recognize that you’re experiencing stress which I’m not saying that’s an easy process to do but I think for me personally it’s been helpful to be able to say OK that is stress that I’m feeling. And then what can I do to help myself to navigate it. So the first thing that is important to ask when you think you are experiencing stress is: Are my basic needs being met? So this is going to sound very basic but as some people might be familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. So what are your basic needs? Food, water, shelter, safety. Ask: are those needs being met? Have you had enough water today to drink? Have you eaten a good breakfast? Have you gotten enough sleep? Have you had time to connect with friends? So those are all basic needs that people need to be met before they can excel. And you know if productive student or work in their job productively we all need to make sure that our basic needs are being met before we can progress in life and I really do believe that’s a good way to think about it. So even to the extent of have you stretched have you gotten a little bit of exercise that day. Have you walked around? Did you have a shower? Are you taking care of your personal hygiene? I know that might sound silly but that is a very basic need and it’s something that if we’re not taking care of ourselves it can impact our ability to be a good student and to you know live a productive life.

Cath Anne: [00:19:43] So the second thing I’ve kind of already alluded to this a couple of times making sure you’re getting enough rest.

Cath Anne: [00:19:50] The Sleep Centre recommends that young people, so young adults, get between seven and nine hours of sleep. You know your body best, listen to your body. Are you a person that can maybe sustain on seven hours of sleep a night. Or do you need that nine hours of sleep. Personally I need eight hours of sleep and I know that I will not function properly the next day if I don’t get enough sleep. Also maintaining a sleep hygiene routine so going to bed. I was once told that it’s really important to have your bedroom for sleep and not do any work in the bedroom because that is a place where your brain should be able to power down. And I know that we’re always constantly on our phones and I’m guilty of this as much as the next person by using my smartphone in bed. I really try to be conscious of it not doing that. Because when that bright light is hitting your eyes at 11 o’clock at night and you’re trying to get ready for bed you can really have an impact on your ability to sleep and it can kind of wrap up those stress hormones even if you don’t realize it. So power around your phone.

Instagram Viewer: [00:21:42] @coachkaur, yes. No TV phone. Yes only for sleeping. Yes. So having your bedroom only for sleeping is really important and making sure that you’re aware of what your body needs in terms of sleep length at night.

Cath Anne: [00:21:58] So a third suggestion is to recognize the sources of stress. Something that is recommended is to have a journal or maybe you use your planner and have a little section in the back of your planner or sometimes people use like bullet journals to create a little chart and a schedule of yourself about when you experience stress and what are the causes of stress. Maybe one day you work, then you have to volunteer, and then you have a test that night. Maybe that’s a particularly stressful day. So you write that down and say these are the factors that happened that day. Maybe do a scale from 1 to 10 rating one low stressed 10 high stress maybe that day you are experiencing an eight. So write down an eight and then as you log that going along then you can go back and reflect on OK what are the what are the factors in my life when I experience the most the most stress. And then you can kind of have a good picture of that going forward. What stresses you out and how you address it? What kind of support can you put in place for yourself? Or can you ask other people to help you with that will help you manage your stress. Then that’s kind of a proactive way of addressing your stress before it escalates.

Cath Anne: [00:23:37] Exercise, I know that is a very common one, but I think we often don’t realize the power that exercise can have to release those negative feelings and those stress hormones. They recommend three days of 30 minutes of cardio just to get that energy out. Doing yoga can be really helpful and calming because a lot of us feel tension in our shoulders or in other parts of our bodies especially when our students were sitting in front of the computer all day. Yoga can be great for stretching and getting that tension running going for a walk with a friend. Something like a light exercise even just to get your heart rate up can really help to mitigate stress. And a lot of universities have free access to their gym so making use of that going to the gym on a regular basis and kind of building it into your team maybe you go after class and you bring your clothing to school. Maybe you live on campus so you can run home in-between and grab your dinner and hit the gym in between classes. Partnering up with the gym buddy so that you feel accountable because I know that it’s not always easy to build exercise into our lives especially when we’re really busy. But even just taking that half hour a week can make a difference in managing stress.

Instagram Viewer: [00:25:13] @kaur: Feng shui works well for me energy and my environment really impacts me. I find that as long as I’m volunteering or giving my time less energy to others I always feel good.

Cath Anne: [00:25:27] That’s a really good tip.

Cath Anne: [00:25:30] So you’re giving when you’re giving back to your community you’re also creating positive environments around you then that can really impact your ability to navigate stress and to be productive for sure. I agree with that and you’re giving energy to other people. So I think that’s a really good tip. @kaur thank you for sharing that. So another thing that I wanted to mention too is allowing yourself to have that emotional release. So sometimes we can feel it when we’re bogged down with stress and were overwhelmed with school and really pent up that energy inside of us and we can’t let it affect us. And we hold it on our muscles as I mentioned before we hold it in our brains. We don’t let it go. And I think again that’s a bit of a societal thing. So I think that sometimes we don’t think it’s OK to release our emotions but it’s actually really important for us to do that. And so you know letting those emotions out whether it’s sitting down with a friend or family member and talking about what you’re going through and venting even to someone that you really trust that’s important. Go to the gym and punch a punching bag. Get some of that pent up energy. Or sometimes we just need to cry sometimes it’s not venting. Sometimes we need to cry. We need to let that emotion out.

Cath Anne: [00:27:15] To recognize that that is a natural process and there’s no shame in doing that is really important and really powerful. So you know if you’re feeling overwhelmed maybe seek out an opportunity whether it’s like a safe space with a trusted friend or family member or even a counselor or therapist that you find that you connect with. Maybe it’s time that you need to release some of that energy and that can be done a lot of people do that in the form of exercise. Some people do that in the form of writing, art, or poetry. And some people just need to talk to someone. Find the way that you can release your energy and go from there. @kaur, It sounds like you do that through volunteering and through channeling energy and your and your physical environment. So I think that’s a really beautiful example.

Cath Anne: [00:28:08] Eating a balanced diet is also important. I kind of mentioned this at the beginning but I am a huge proponent of eating a balanced diet. When we’re relying on caffeine and sugar and carbohydrates and sodium to we’re not getting the nutrients and the energy that we need to fuel ourselves and make our brains function properly. So being conscious of what we’re putting into our bodies is really important in managing stress. Foods can actually have an impact on how your brain deals with stress.

Cath Anne: [00:28:57] So if you eat a lot of sugar that can amp up those hormones if you drink a lot of caffeine as we all know that can really add to the stress level and your ability to cope with stress. Because it’s a stimulant so it revs up those hormones in the brain. So eating a balanced diet. Well I’m not saying that you can’t treat yourself if you’re feeling like having an ice cream or feeling like you need a bag of chips. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I’m just saying make sure that you’re balancing that with other things that are good for your body and that you want to that you can feel yourself with because you need the energy to keep going.

Cath Anne: [00:29:37] This next point kind of speaks to what you were saying, @kaur. Create space de-brief and get out with friends. Have fun. So de-brief with with friends. Have fun with volunteering and get out into the community. I think that’s a really important thing and make sure that you’re creating a space for yourself to kind of let loose. And I mean do things mindfully buy it but make sure that your not always so hyper focused on school or are bogged down with work or things like that and we all need this space to kind of rest and rejuvenate and relax and be with people that we care about. So making sure that you’re spending time with people who really fuel your energy and give you some support moving forward and spending time doing things that you enjoy can really kind of act as a reset. So then you can go back and do your work productively. The next point kind of falls into that as well.

Cath Anne: [00:30:49] Be intentional about your time. Do your most difficult work when you have the most energy. And this is something that I’ve figured out too is when are my times of being most productive. I know that I’m not necessarily a morning person. So sometimes I do have to get up early and finish my work. But I know that my most productive and creative times are from 12 to probably about eight. So figure out what your schedule looks like and what your body says so maybe you are a morning person and you get up really early and do all your work then and then you have the afternoon to kind of relax. So figuring out what times work best for you and then do all your difficult work in your and your highest energy times and leave your easier tasks for later on in the day. So making a schedule can really help with that as well. I know personally I tend to overbook myself. So having a schedule and making sure that I’m sticking to that schedule and that routine can really be helpful for students especially when you’re trying to navigate so many different aspects of your life just going to jump to the comments again. @coachkaur, you guys are great always with all the other comments and suggestions. Music helps too. Hobbies definitely make a huge difference. Yes music definitely helps. Any music that there’s love there’s tons of music on YouTube. There’s study music and there’s so much available now. I agree music definitely helps. Hobbies definitely make a huge difference.

Cath Anne: [00:32:31] Yes hobbies having something an activity that you really enjoy can help to reset you for sure.

Instagram Viewer: [00:32:41] Comment from @kaur:I find that waking up earlier gives myself a few hours for me. For me time really helps me not being in a rush keeps me calm I love mornings and right now my schedule is the opposite.

Cath Anne: [00:32:53] Cath Anne Response: That must be tough. That your schedule is the opposite right now. Yes. Waking up early and having that little bit of me time really can maximize your day. So even building in time for like a little meditation or yoga or to find can be helpful and having that space to yourself. I agree. I’m sorry that your schedule is opposite right now.

Cath Anne: [00:33:20] Okay so the other the other thing that I wanted to mention is to carve out and create a little space maybe in your apartment or in your home or maybe it’s outside for resting rejuvenation. So I kind of already mentioned the bedroom but maybe you have a space in your office that you put you know a couple of pillows on the floor with some books and you know that that is kind of your calm space and that is your space that you go to rest and relax. So creating those kinds of spaces can be really helpful because then it’s kind of an intentional area where you know and you can kind of shut off and you’re not doing schoolwork. And sometimes that can be outside. So if you’re an outdoors person maybe you like to go to a specific path in the community to do a walk or a hike get out into the woods. That can be really refreshing as well.

Cath Anne: [00:34:21] I’m sorry if you can hear my neighbor’s dogs in the background. They are barking. So yeah carving out that space and that little nook in your apartment or whether it’s outside can be really helpful to create that intentional area for yourself.

Cath Anne: [00:34:44] This is going to be this is a tough topic, but money can be certainly a stressor for folks. Tuition seems to be always on the rise. You have to pay for rent. Sometimes you have to get a job to kind of supplement your income. It can be tough to rely on student loans. So having a budget and maintaining a budget and making sure that you have enough money to sustain yourself and you don’t have to worry about bills your cell phone bill or your Netflix bill or things like that having a budget and knowing what your income is is every month is not always fun but it certainly can be very helpful. And that way you can also know that if you want to go out on a Friday night for nachos with your friends then maybe you have that money set aside. So building into your budget things for entertainment, rent, bills, groceries, and making sure that you have kind of a balanced budget can be really helpful in the long run and can relieve a lot of stress. It can also relieve stress when you’re finished university and you’re no longer a student and you don’t have as many debts to pay back. So like I said, no budgeting is not always the most fun topic to talk about, but I think it can be a proactive way to address stress for sure.

Cath Anne: [00:36:19] And the next one I kind of mentioned this a little bit already but meditating. It’s not for everyone and it doesn’t always have to be spiritual as well as some people do it for spiritual reasons but meditating is a way to kind of give your brain a little bit of a reset. And there are a lot of resources on YouTube these days and different applications even online that can be downloaded onto your phone for meditation and it’s just a really good way to kind of control that increasing thought process that we all have in our brains and do kind of slow down our thoughts and make sure that we’re not reacting to all the stimuli that are coming in constantly especially with social media and the Internet these days. So I think meditation can be a really valuable asset when you’re trying to address and mitigate stress.

Cath Anne: [00:37:15] Keeping up on your schoolwork is also a really important aspect of managing stress. When you let your schoolwork bottle up and when you are or if you’re not attending classes sometimes you can. That can cause undue stress because you’re feeling behind and you feel like you have to catch up and then it becomes exam time and you have more work to do. So making sure that you’re keeping up in your readings and doing your school work on a regular basis can certainly help you to manage stress over time and then come exam time. You may not have to study as much. You may still have to work. If you’re familiar with the material studying might be a bit easier.

Cath Anne: [00:38:03] @kaur, you said, I feel like for me less is more I have to know what I need versus want in regards to money. Yes, that makes sense for sure. In terms of budgeting you have to know what you need versus what you want because if you’re just buying what you want all the time they are going to quickly run out of money. Unfortunately that’s a good point.

Cath Anne: [00:38:35] So this next top is not necessarily accessible to everyone but it can be good for a little reset. So going to a spa or treat some time. There are opportunities for like a free spa or maybe your school is offering a mini retreat. So some may just look into different options and maybe there’s something within the city that you could go to and it’s relatively cost effective. And there there may be discounts for groups so maybe you go to a retreat some friends and you just need that reset. Sometimes taking a step away from our day to day routines can be helpful in managing stress especially if you’re feeling really bogged down and overwhelmed.

Cath Anne: [00:39:26] So yes this one @kaur, what you’re saying, I see your comment here.

Instagram Viewer: [00:39:32] Comment from @kaur: As for social media I left Facebook four years ago to avoid depression.

Cath Anne: [00:39:35] This certainly that goes along with my next tip. So ditch technology. In this day and age we are always next to our phones were always in front of our computers and that can cause stress especially with some of the news that’s going on in the world right now. Facebook and social media can kind of amplify these issues. We also tend to compare ourselves to others when we’re always on social media.

Cath Anne: [00:40:11] So taking a step back from social media and technology is can be important in managing our mental health for sure and I’ve heard more and more people say that we were inundated with information all the time and social stimulus all the time. It can be very stressful and have a bearing on our mental health. So figure out what works for you maybe take a month break from social media if you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed and you know just to take a break from it. Maybe for you it is more about putting your phone down at nighttime or maybe you set a cutoff time so you don’t go on your phone or your computer anymore. If that’s an option for you. So figure out what works for you. It is also important to know when to take a break. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and you’re feeling bogged down knowing when to stop your work. Even if you are running a tight deadline and you think you need to stay up all night in order to complete it sometimes it’s not worth putting our bodies through that much stress. Knowing when you need to take a break is important because it could mean the difference between being healthy or unhealthy. Knowing when to stop. Maybe you don’t need to stay up until 4:00a.m. to finish that paper maybe you can stay up until 12. Call it a night and do a bit more work on it in the morning.

Cath Anne: [00:42:00] That can certainly fuel into being more intentional about time and using your time and maximizing the time that you need. Being aware of what your most productive times are for sure. There are really high expectations these days around being a student and even just being a person in the world. So just recognize that it’s OK when you’re doing your best. That is all you need to do. And even if you don’t feel like you’re doing your best you don’t have to be perfect. No one is perfect and we all need some space to be able to take care of ourselves in order to contribute in the ways that we want to contribute. So just make sure that you’re taking care of yourself and that you’re being gentle with yourself and that you’re accessing the resources that you need to be healthy. That’s the most important thing. I wanted to mention as well that there are many self care resources out there that you can take advantage of. And if you’re feeling like you are really overwhelmed and you’re feeling like maybe stress maybe this is a little bit more than stress. Maybe it’s evolving into an anxiety problem or maybe I’m starting to feel a bit depressed. I highly encourage you to access support. So most campuses most university campuses nowadays have a student center where there is access to mental health support.

Cath Anne: [00:43:51] So if you feel like you are getting to a point where stress is becoming too much or even if you want some more strategies or some support to be able to manage stress properly I would really encourage you to access those resources because that’s what they’re there for. There’s absolutely no shame in accessing those resources. It’s very important actually to take care of yourself and to be proactive because it’s going to make you more effective student. It is going to help you learn how to navigate the stresses when you graduate and when you move onto your career. Going to therapy or finding counseling can be a really key resource for students and helping them manage stress. There’s also a real strength and power in that. So you’re really taking your life into your own hands and saying you know what I am worth it and I’m valuable and I need some support around this. So make sure that you’re taking advantage of those resources and accessing the support that you need and when you’re feeling overwhelmed or even when you just want to be proactive about managing your stress. There is an app that I’ve come across it’s called Calm and you can just download it on an iPhone or an Android phone, I believe. It is a free app. It’s a meditation app but it also has some sleep stories and different kinds of music and guided meditations. It also helps you track your sleep patterns. So it’s a really interesting app and I’ve used it myself and it can it can really help you to kind of take time out of your day to meditate or just sit in stillness for a moment and that can really help to mitigate the stress.

Cath Anne: [00:45:47] My last point is that I cannot understate the importance of making time for intentional relationships. So whether it’s a really good friend who you go to and say, “My goodness I am very stressed and I need to vent about this” or whether it’s a family member who you trust, developing those solid relationships is key in addressing stress and helping you to get the support you need when you’re experiencing difficult situations.

Cath Anne: [00:46:20] That is it for this week. I hope that was somewhat helpful. And if anyone has any other questions I can just pause here for a moment or suggestions of ways to mitigate and address stress that will be great.

Instagram Viewer: [00:46:47] Comment from @coachkaur: Facebook creates comparisons that don’t exist.

Cath Anne: [00:46:53] Cath Anne response: Yes I agree it does create comparisons that don’t exist and it kind of enhances those comparisons for sure by putting them putting them live on Facebook or up on Facebook. You know we all have our struggles and we all have our challenges and Facebook kind of presents one image one dimensional image of people a lot of the time.

Cath Anne: [00:47:29] So I hope that was somewhat helpful. And I just wanted to go back here for a one moment. Amman, I don’t know if you’re still here but I hope that was somewhat helpful in helping you to balance university with working and applying to grad school. I hope some of those strategies would be helpful for you and if you do need to go back and access the video will be available on YouTube as well as on our Facebook site. And it is available on Spotify I believe as well.

Cath Anne: [00:48:12] So there are a variety of ways that you can get access to this if you didn’t have a chance to write down some of these strategies. Thank you @coachkaur. I appreciate you being here again. So next week I think we will jump into some of the more academic content. We’ve done a couple of weeks on student life. So last week we covered how does it get into the routine of the school year and some strategies around that. This week we covered some strategies for self care. Next week because we’re getting into exam time in paper writing time midterms are coming up and some of your probably are already in the midst of all that. I wanted to go over how to write an amazing thesis statement. So how to begin your essays using a thesis statement and give you some tips for effective research. So hopefully that will be helpful. And if you don’t have any more suggestions please don’t be shy to ask some questions and we will develop the content in accordance to what you guys are looking for. So hopefully we can provide you some great content that’s helpful for you as you navigate your school life. So next week tune in. We will update you with the time for that. But tune into “The Homework Help Learning Studio” with Homework Help Global and Cath Anne. Next week we’ll be covering how to write an amazing thesis statement and giving you some tips for research. So thank you so much to everyone who is able to jump on and join us today.

Cath Anne: [00:50:14] I really enjoyed having a conversation with the guys and listening to some of your suggestions for coping strategies. And I wish you all well enjoy that beautiful weather if it’s beautiful where you are and I will see you next week. Thank you so much. Take care.