A safe learning environment allows students to take risks, openly express their point of view, and grow both personally and academically. While this can include having a sense of physical safety, a safe learning environment also focuses on students’ psychological safety.
Returning to campus can be challenging, whether your break was two weeks or two months, and it is normal to feel some apprehension. The change in pace, routine, and environment can feel like a lot to handle all at once. The good news is that you can start to prepare for your return to school before you even step foot on campus.
Journaling can encourage self-discovery, exploration, and reflection, depending on the intention that you have before you begin. Additionally, journaling can be used to help you with processing difficult feelings and situations that you are not ready to talk about or are unsure of how to resolve. When you journal, you release emotions and thoughts in order to gain a deeper understanding of yourself or a specific situation. In essence, it’s a safe form of self-expression that allows you to spill out the contents of your heart and mind onto a page, in order to lessen your mental load.
Committing to trying the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique is an investment in your mental health that can help you reduce feelings of stress and increase relaxation.
Experiencing anxiety as a student-athlete can lead to feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, and hopelessness. If you are struggling with these emotions and recognize some warning signs of anxiety within yourself, don’t be disheartened! There are a number of simple strategies that you can try, in order to change your thinking and/or lifestyle to overcome anxiety.
During cognitive restructuring, you work to identify automatic thoughts that occurred right after you recognized an unpleasant shift in your emotions in response to a situation. Then, you evaluate the accuracy of those thoughts, and restructure the thoughts to make them as accurate and valid as possible.
Resiliency is about how you bounce back or recharge after facing adversity. In comparison, grit is one’s ability to persist toward a goal, even when challenges arise along the way. Grit isn’t a trait whereby people either have it or don’t. Everyone can develop and build resilience and grit at any point in their lives. According to Angela Ducksworth, there are four psychological assets to build more grit.
Gratitude is a powerful emotion that can affect your mental health for the better. Numerous studies show the benefits of gratitude and how it can be used to improve general well-being. Gratitude interventions can help you to increase your happiness and satisfaction with life.
Yoga consists of asanas (body postures or poses) with stretches, breathing exercises, and meditation, all combined into one. Yoga has since been studied extensively to uncover its benefits on mental, emotional, and physical health. Many different types of yoga focus on various aspects of the practice.
Each year, millions of college-aged students become pregnant in the United States. Of these pregnancies, some are planned and celebrated, while others are not. Pregnancy may be a welcomed, confusing, unpleasant, or even a traumatic surprise. If you find yourself pregnant or are supporting someone who is, there is help and there are resources to help you navigate this big change.
