Mental Health & Self Care |
By: Let’s Go
The holiday season is upon us! While this can be a time of celebration with family and friends, this can also be a stressful time for college students and their families. A lot of money and time goes into these celebrations that not everyone has the means for. In addition, for vulnerable students like low-income, houseless, and queer students this can be a time of stress and uncertainty.
However, in times like these, we can depend on community and mutual aid because we have each other’s back. Below we have listed different resources college students and their families can hopefully benefit from.
Food Banks: Offers free food such as non-perishables, fruits, and vegetables.
Find a Food Bank
California Food Banks
Shelters: If you are seeking emergency shelter or a safe place to stay during the holiday/ winter season, here is CA’s shelter directory:
Emergency and Homeless Shelters – United Way 211
California Homeless Shelters – California
COVENANT HOUSE CALIFORNIA – Serving homeless youth in Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay area
Queer Resources: For some queer students, college is the perfect escape to find and embrace who they are without the fear of rejection. This can sometimes make going back home difficult. Below are LGBTQ resources like CSU centers, self-care guide, and county and statewide resources you can access.
LGBTQIA Centers | CSU
County Resources
Statewide Resources
Holiday Gifts- Have a young child in your life? Here are some centers and organizations that host toy drives:
Get FREE Christmas Gifts & Food In California!
Free Christmas and holiday assistance Los Angeles County
Mental Health & Self Care |
By: Let’s Go
The holidays can be a stressful time for some and may even bring up feelings of sadness. It is normal to have these feelings and let them be felt. Knowing a couple of coping skills can help you keep grounded when anxious feelings come up.
Disclaimer: These are just tips and not actual advice from a health professional. This is not to replace a form of therapy.
Setting Boundaries
If you are spending time with your family members this holiday season, you may know the feeling of being uncomfortable with some of the things they say or because of the way they act. This is normal. We do not have perfect families. Do yourself a favor and set boundaries with them. Although this can be a bit difficult, it is very well worth it.
- Recognize your triggers and predict them. A “trigger” is considered a difficult situation or event. Always try to be one step ahead of your triggers by:
- Knowing what they are
- Recognizing the emotions that are brought up
- How you can best take care of yourself
- How you plan to respond to it
- Know that “No” is not enough
- Some were taught that saying “no” is not polite or safe. However, “no” should always be enough. Other alternatives are “I feel uncomfortable,” “no, this is inappropriate,” “no, I am leaving,” or “I don’t want to have that conversation.” These alternatives are a better approach to saying “no” and clearly state your needs.
- Be clear about your needs and communicate them
- Identify your needs and boundaries in advance with others. We all have different limits and we have every right to set them. Once you have identified your limits, communicate them clearly and kindly.
Coping Skills
Once you have established your boundaries, you should begin to learn to cope with them. Keeping a list of coping skills can help you stay calm when certain triggers appear. Here is a list of a few coping skills that may help you:
- Deep breaths and count to 10 slowly:
- Take a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly. When you are ready, count to 10 slowly. If you prefer, count to 20.
- Write down your thoughts
- Have a journal where you can write down what is making you feel anxious, angry or upset. Writing down these thoughts gets them out of your head and can make it less daunting.
- Practice mindfulness
- Mindfulness can help ground yourself in the reality of what’s around you. Anxiety attacks can cause a feeling of detachment or separation from reality, practicing mindfulness can combat these anxious feelings as they approach or actually happen. Focus on physical sensations, such as digging your feet into the ground or feeling objects near you. These sensations ground you firmly in reality and give you an object to focus on.
- Engage in light exercise
- Walking and moving your body can remove you from a stressful environment and moving can help regulate your breathing. Moving around, whether it be by running, taking a nice stroll, or lifting weights, releases endorphins that relax the body and improve mood. Regularly exercising can help reduce anxiety over time.
- The 5-4-3-2-1 method
- The 5-4-3-2-1 method is a grounding technique and a type of mindfulness. It helps to direct your focus away from the source of stress. To use this method, you should complete the following steps slowly and thoroughly:
- Look for 5 different objects: think about them for a short while, are the colors bright? Is the object round or a different shape?
- Listen for 4 different sounds: think about where they came from and how they are different from each other
- Touch 3 different objects: consider if the object is hot or cold, how does the texture feel and what are they are used for
- Identify 2 different smells: it can be any smell, your coffee/tea, your soap, or your laundry detergent
- Look for 1 thing you can taste: notice the taste in your mouth, is it sour or sweet? How does the texture feel?
Sources:
https://www.bustle.com/p/how-to-set-boundaries-with-your-family-according-to-a-life-coach-16980926
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pain-explained/201912/how-set-boundaries-family
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321510#methods
Mental Health & Self Care |
Setting Goals Being SMART
It’s the beginning of the new year! After 2022 feeling like an eternity, we all carry with us a sense of optimism that 2023 will bring positive change. Although there are external forces beyond our control, as students we can and should still continue planning for the future and setting goals.
You can set goals for anything! Your goals may regard academics, health, or other personal matters. Regardless of what your goals are, however, you can use a SMART approach to achieve them. Read below for tips on how to set and complete your objectives!
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. Thinking through each of these encourages us to think about the aspects of our goals.
Specific
Be as specific as possible with your goal. What exactly do you want to be done? The clearer your objective is, the easier it will be to identify what you need to do.
Let’s say my goal is to be “be healthier,” this year. Health encompasses many aspects! With a goal like this, it may be hard to know where to begin. If I narrow my goal to sleeping more, it may seem more plausible than just “being healthier.”
Measurable
Keep track of your goal. Find a way to measure or quantify your progress so you know whether or not you are moving forward. Remember that everyone and every goal will vary! How much I can achieve and how much I should achieve will depend on my personal capacity and target.
Going back to sleeping more as a goal, I can start by assessing where I am currently at. If I find that I only sleep 5 hours a night, what are the measurable steps I can take towards sleeping more. Can I start sleeping 6 hours next week, 7 hours the week after that, and then 8 hours after that? My timeline may end up differing, but I know I will have achieved my goal when I finally consistently sleep 8 hours a night.
Achievable
Be realistic with what can be achieved. Is your goal something that is plausible given your constraints and resources? Of course, always shoot for the stars but take small and possible steps while you get there.
If I have poor sleeping habits, it may very well be impossible to change the way I sleep in a matter of a few days. I simply cannot go from sleeping 5 hours to a full 8 hours in a span of two days. I need to assess and change habits, get rid of obstacles, and more; therefore, I should step back and think about what actually can be done.
Relevant
Make sure your goal matters to you. Are you trying to reach your goal because others want you to, or because you feel pressured to do so? As long as you deem your goal important, it is.
When speaking to a friend, I may find that they don’t think of sleeping more as a goal. Remember, it is your life, and you can do with your time what you think is worthwhile.
Timely
Set a timeline. Think about how long you would like to take to achieve your goal. Some timelines may be more flexible than others. Personal goals can be met whenever you want, but other goals like academics may be more restrictive. Whatever it is, make sure you are aware of the time you have available.
Being SMART helps you think of various aspects of your goals. As you think about goals this year and beyond, use these questions as guidance:
- What exactly do I want?
- How will I know I am achieving it?
- Is my goal within my reach?
- Does this goal matter to me?
- When do I want or need this goal accomplished?
penidabet
sydney night
Mental Health & Self Care |
2021 is here! Although it is a new year, 2020 left behind a lot of stress, anxiety, and anguish. If you could use some self-care and grounding tips, stick around because we got you covered! Immigrants Rising has come up with a grounding and self-care toolkit to get you started on your healing journey!
Practical Ways to Decrease Stress & Anxiety in Any Situation:
Mindfulness & Meditation
Meditation reduces stress and anxiety, develops awareness of the breath and body, and helps the mind focus on the present moment.
Grounding
Grounding is a quick and effective way to reduce the intensity of emotions and anxiety. Use your five senses to soothe and reset your nervous system: Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch.
Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of physical and emotional calmness/soothness. Check out Breathing Bubble, a guided breathing exercise.
In the mood for writing? Learn about your triggers and write down what they look and feel like. Next, begin journaling and thinking about what you need right now.
For the full PDF toolkit, click here.
Mental Health & Self Care |
By
MONICA AGUILERA
Boba-drinking, Zelda-playing, Horror-watching brown girl from Oaxacalifornia.
A lot of our daily routines have halted like driving to work or school, meeting up with friends, and working out. While some of these are still not yet safe to do, there are ways to shift these activities into our new reality. Gyms will most likely be one of the last public spaces in California to open but we have gathered some tips for you to stay fit at home!
Tips:
- Youtube workouts: There’s plenty of workout videos on Youtube that you can follow along to. Try searching for what fits your environment! For example workouts in small spaces, backyard workouts, low impact workouts, no equipment workout, etc.
- Outdoor Workouts: While gyms are not open, outdoor activities are still open for you to safely participate in. This includes going for a walk, running, hiking at your local trails. Just make sure to follow the CDC guidelines of staying 6 feet away from others and wearing a mask. Find your local open state park here: State Parks COVID-19 Resource Center
- Working out with others: Feeling lonely? Don´t feel too down, you can still work out with others without having to leave your home. Set up a time for you and your friends to work out together via facetime, zoom, etc. Follow an online video or influencer, or switch it up and have someone in your group lead!
- Daily routine: Little activities like dancing, cleaning, taking your pet for a walk all count as a fitness activity, add fitness into your daily routine and you’ll forget you’re even working out.
Staying fit is not only good for your body but your mental health as well. It allows you to destress and get away from the overwhelming amount of news that is currently happening. But at the same time, we also understand that what’s going on in the world might make it difficult to do things like getting up and being active. Remember to be patient with yourself, you are doing the best you can. Taking a break and just staying in bed, is taking care of yourself and your body just as much.
