Peer Mentor Presents: Managing Stress During Remote Learning Through Self-Compassion (written by students for students)
Thank you to Melanie Mooangprang for sharing today's Peer Mentor Presents with us. Read below for great tips, strategies, and encouragement!
Peer Mentor Presents:
Managing Stress During Remote Learning through Self-Compassion:
Be Kind to Yourselves
As a college student experiencing
remote learning, I can admit that it has been challenging to adjust and manage
multiple responsibilities under an overwhelming amount of stress. Whether these
stressors are from unexpected living circumstances, trying to upkeep your
mental health, or struggling to find your right path, it is still important to
take care of yourselves even when it may seem difficult. I can also attest to having days where it was
difficult for me to stay focused and I felt “burnt out” in many realms of my
life, including school. Although this is the case not only for me but for many
students alike, I find it important to find some time for yourself to explore
the best ways that you can attend to your own needs that are tailored to you.
Listening to your body and your mind on a daily basis is key when knowing it is
time to take a break.
Feeling a sense of “burn out” is not an easy hurdle to jump over all the time, especially during the pandemic, as many of us are constantly trying to adjust and keep up with what’s next. There are many ways to de-stress like reading a book, exercising, cooking a meal, and so on. Amid this, though, it is sometimes difficult to practice self-compassion as we are continuously stressed and hard on ourselves. Celebrate and validate yourself, even when the accomplishments are small (and yes, an accomplishment could even be to get out of bed!). Asserting yourself that you are progressing through such a rough time is impactful, and sometimes all the nurturing support you need is from within, even on the most hard days.
Be kind to yourselves and listen to your inner
voice: What is it telling you? Is it dampening your accomplishments? Is it
commending you for all the hard work you have done?. Whatever your answer may
be, know that you have the ability to reshape your inner voice to a more
supportive one and hopefully this would help or inspire you to practice a form
of self-compassion more often/as needed. With that being said, I have provided
some links to activities and practices below that I personally take part in
that hones me in on self-compassion when I need some time to think about how I
am treating both my body and mind when undergoing an overwhelming amount of
stress.
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Exercise 7: Identifying what we really want
○ https://self-compassion.org/exercise-7-identifying-really-want/
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Exercise 4: Supportive Touch
○ https://self-compassion.org/exercise-4-supportive-touch/
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Exercise 1: How would you treat a friend?
○ https://self-compassion.org/exercise-1-treat-friend/
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Exercise 5: Changing your critical self-talk
○ https://self-compassion.org/exercise-5-changing-critical-self-talk/