“Why do we plateau? Why aren’t we able to accomplish anything?” said the adjunct counselor Daisy Cook, at one of the six workshops being held this October to raise awareness on the importance of mental health.
The first workshop was hosted on Wednesday via Zoom where more than a dozen students showed up to find ways to cope with their mental health issues.
Briana Reyes, a licensed marriage and family therapist, facilitated the workshop Monday.
Reyes lectured students on multiple ways to identify signs of burnout which may include headaches, muscle tensions and trouble sleeping. Other symptoms include feeling overwhelmed and cynical, frustrated and unfulfilled or feeling depleted after work.
“Identifying the cause of the problem is the key… It is the only way to find a solution for it,” said Reyes.
To overcome those issues, Reyes stressed the importance of writing them down. “A lot of times what happens is those thoughts stay in our head and they proceed in the wrong way.”
If writing things down isn’t a preferred option for students, there are other leisure activities you can try to reduce the stress.
“You can grab an enjoyable cup of coffee or tea, learn an instrument, do gardening, or be with someone you enjoy,” said Reyes.
The second workshop, hosted on Friday through Zoom was presented by Cook, focusing on how to strengthen our mental fitness by setting goals.
“Goal setting is a simple and practical tool you can use to maintain a high level of motivation of performance,” said Cook.
Cook then extended on ways to get the most out of goal settings through a technique called S.M.A.R.T.E.R, which stands for specific, measurable, accepted, realistic, time limited, exciting, and recorded.
“Think of it as practicing your basketball skills,” Cook explained with an analogy, “My goal, not your parents goal, is to improve my free throw shooting technique by 70 – 80 percent by 11/1/2021.”
And again, Cook mentioned the importance of writing things down.
“You are more likely to stay committed to the pursuit of your goal when you write them down than if you just think about them,” said Cook.
The first two workshops were proven very successful. Students, such as LBCC student and workshop attendee Ashley Prez, said the workshop was very helpful.
“It is almost like a therapy session, talking to someone in counseling psychology,” said Prez. “I like this event. You can tell they care and it’s very personal.”
A survey done by the Student Senate for California Community College (SSCCC) showed that out of 1,690 students from 64 community colleges who responded to the survey, 1,140 of them said they are facing higher levels of anxiety, stress, depression, or other mental distress.
Many of those students experiencing mental health issues have also faced a loss of income, inability to pay their rent, and other financial difficulties, according to SSCCC.
LBCC, home of nearly 35,000 students, hosts mental health workshops annually in the month of October to address the issues of mental health and promote stress management.
More workshop information can be found on the school calendar and this flyer. All of them will be hosted online through Zoom and accessible to all LBCC students.