Students were able to unwind and learn new wellness strategies to cope with campus stress as midterm season quickly approaches.
The Spirituality and Wellness Centre hosted an emotional regulation and neurodiversity workshop on Feb. 10 to support students as the winter semester picks up.
Between a yogurt bar, an aromatherapy station and a ‘calm kit’ centre, students were able to take a break and enjoy an afternoon of calm.
Students participated in a guided workshop hosted by Joanna Harding-Duggan, an ADHD and wellness coach.
Harding-Duggan said emotional wellness is not about being “happy,” but rather having the tools and strategies to mitigate everyday challenges.
She said the goal of the event was to help students learn practical ways to regulate and manage feelings of overwhelm.
“When you're feeling overwhelmed, it's about recognizing, accepting and managing all of your feelings,” she said.
Harding-Duggan said when emotions are heightened, it creates challenges for our executive skills, such as problem-solving, planning and memory.
She guided students through visualization and body-awareness exercises, allowing students to recognize any tension or fear in their bodies.
“Understanding how to calm yourself down is important for anybody. But for students, when you're feeling really stressed out or anxious, it can affect your ability to problem solve and reason and think,” she said. “When you're really, really stressed out and you're trying to study, your brain's not quite working in the way that you want it to work.”
Harding-Duggan recommended exercise, structured daily schedules and connection to support daily well-being.
Previously working in the field of brain injury and neuropsychology, Harding-Duggan completed her postgraduate degree in wellness coaching at Humber Polytechnic.
She now works with students and adults who experience difficulties with executive skills, whether from ADHD, autism or concussions.
Arshpreet Kaur, a Personal Support Worker student and volunteer at the event, said students need a safe space to share their thoughts and forget about their stresses.
She said attending and organizing these events helped her through her studies.
“I never really knew any other place I could go to when I had a break. I just came [to school], I had a class, I left for home, and it was just burning me out.”
She said having a wellness space where students feel comfortable coming for a break is important for their mental health.
Tejwantie Shiwnath, a first-year Practical Nursing student, attended the event to learn more about being healthy and how she can help others.
For Shiwnath, when things get overwhelming, she relies on personal coping strategies.
“I write it down, I pray about it, and I practice mindfulness and gratitude,” she said.
Harding-Duggan said she hopes to normalize emotional experiences and equip students with the tools they need to regulate themselves.
“I think a normalization of what it means to have emotions, to understand it, ways to recognize how you're being triggered emotionally, and some strategies to help manage it, so that they can be successful at school and not feel overwhelmed all the time,” she said.
The last stretch of the semester is a stressful time for students. The Spirituality and Wellness Centre has introduced mindfulness Monday workshops every week to help students step away from their busy schedules.
Organizers hope events like this will give students practical tools to manage stress before it becomes overwhelming.
