Stress Management, Life Balance Workshop

The right dose of stress does more good than harm!

An icy cold Monday morning, and a 9.00 am workshop could make the day stressful for anyone, but there couldn’t have been any better day to talk about how managing and coping with stress.

Stress is something that we deal with every day, and it is how our bodies respond to any demanding situation that we encounter. Stress could be beneficial for us to a certain degree as it helps us to achieve our highest potentials. However too much stress can make us fatigued and overwhelmed. Therefore, it is important to understand how to effectively cope with stress and to manage it.

The stress management and life balance workshop explained two different mindsets we can use to approach stress. We can either identify stress as a harmful response and avoid the stressor for self defense, or identify it as a positive response and accept the stressor as a challenge, which primes us for success. During the workshop, we learned a few different methods we can use to shift our mindset of stress from being a threat to a challenge. The workshop also explained how to be mindful, and aware of what is happening around us, without judging. Lastly we discussed on life balance, and were given the opportunity to figure out how balanced our lives are with regards to education/work, family, wellness etc. The workshop was wrapped up by explaining how prioritizing, having self-compassion, and being organized could lead to a better life balance—which ultimately reduces stress. We also got the opportunity practice meditation. Meditation can aid in being mindful and compassionate, and I thought was very calming and relaxing.

This workshop gave us valuable lessons, and tools we can apply to our day to day life to become more successful in any endeavour. We are very thankful to Alex Klassen for sharing his knowledge and experiences with us.