For those of us attending any sort of Higher Education Institution (HEI), it is the beginning of a new year. This bears many different implications and evokes a variety of emotions within different individuals. It is important to remember that HEI’s were not built with everyone in mind. In fact, there may be ways in which we are disadvantaged by engaging in this grandiose opportunity to learn and work with our peers. There are definitely ways in which HEI’s are actually designed to silence and erase these individual voices and their needs. Demanding these needs, using our voices, and opening dialogue is never really an easy thing to do. It may not always produce the outcomes that we want, but it does initiate the conversation about what we need to be successful or to get the most out of the many privileges and advantages that higher education can give us. With this in mind, here are three things that I recommend to help students stay sane this semester:
Back to School Mindfulness: Guide to Self-Care & Radical Self-Help
Image courtesy of Keep Kind Project
1. Accommodations
Reach out to The Office of Student Accessibility Services and to your professors and/or deans to ensure that you are receiving the appropriate accommodations on campus. If this becomes more of a barrier (in terms of paperwork, medical records, resources, etc.) for you rather than a bridge, then have conversations with people that are more directly involved in the situation about how they can best help or accommodate you.
2. Seek Support
Although I cannot personally attest to all of the resources available on campus because I have yet to attend/assess them, F&M has a variety of resources to help support you. These resources include:
- Invisible Illness Group: Wednesday, 9/13 from 11-12 @ Student Wellness in Group Room #3 (Hashimoto’s fam clap your hands!)
- Mindful U: Mindfulness & Meditation Workshop @ The Wellness Center for stress management
- Group Therapy and Women’s Group Therapy: e-mail Susan Schultheis at sschulth@fandm.edu for info
3. Learn & Practice Radical Self-Care
It’s radical because you do it. No one knows you like you know you. We learn to be adaptive, to know what we need, and to articulate what we need when we need it. There are some things that the groups, the hotlines, the state, and the school just will never get. But we can take care of ourselves and there should be no punishment or stigma involved. For instance:
- If you experiencing dysmenorrhea for whatever reason (PCOS, endometriosis, undiagnosed SOMETHING), don’t try to trudge through your pain because it won’t help you focus. It does nothing but gets your attendance checked marked. Whatever obligations you have (class, work, meeting) let them know you are not well and take a day for yourself. It is important to communicate with your professors and to be honest with them about what you are going through. Professors are human – don’t forget that. They will understand that you need this time to recover and prioritize yourself.
- If you haven’t slept in 48 hours and you have obligations…please call them off and go to bed. Your health is more important (to me, anyway) than whatever the heck the purpose in staying up longer is. Make sure that your basic nutrition, sleep, and hygienic needs are met.
Here is a comic that serves as a great way to discover self-care beyond baths, scrubs, and massages: http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/10/self-care-in-stress-culture/