Holidays are around the corner and many students will be consumed with not only finals to study for and festivities to attend.
Automotive major Esteban Sanchez admits he is guilty of procrastinating when it comes to doing school work.
“I don’t take advantage of the free time I have, ” Sanchez admits, but he is not alone of committing the foul action of procrastinating.
Student Health Services and the Wellness Center put together a workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 24 to help students like, Sanchez, cope with stress that comes from school and the approaching holidays.
Anna Lonatti, a counselor in the Health Center at Cerritos College was the main speaker and gave many students advice on the dealing with stress that comes with the holidays.
Stress increases around the holiday times and it’s also known for holidays to create sadness or depression.
Semester is nearing the end so finals and final projects will be due so that adds more stress and anxiety to students.
“I think Fall semester is more stressful than Spring because the holidays,” Lonatti said.
Lonatti made it a point for students to never forget to breathe and just learn to prioritize what is important from what’s not.
Although there was only two students in attendance she was informational and interactive with the students that showed.
Stress is unavoidable so Lonatti recommended to stay in the moment and not worry about the future so much and take stress day by day, “You have no control of the future and should take one day at a time.”
Another individual that gave insight at the workshop was Hillary Mennella who is the Associate Dean of Health and Student Wellness at Cerritos College.
“Anxiety is the most common mental disorder in America,” Mennella said.
Most anxiety comes from worry and is almost inevitable to avoid and every individual deals with it differently.
Anxiety is normal amongst college students so the workshop encourage students just to stay mindful.
Also expressed was the importance of self care; getting enough sleep, eating properly and even encouraged students to socialize.
“A lot of students forget to take care of themselves,” Mennella stated.
Students were also taught that they need to learn to say no to certain activities especially when they should be studying or working on assignments, and it’s important to create realistic expectations.
Time management is key to avoiding stress, and the workshop also suggested a few activities to deal with stress such as exercising, taking a nap or even reading.
