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Grades and Exam Stress

Posted on 01/10/2019 in Anxiety, Stress Management, Students

Most people agree that university and post-secondary studies are vastly different from work done in grade school. For starters, your class size may have risen from about 30 to well over 100! The ability to have one-on-one time with the Professor or Instructor (or even the Teaching Assistant) can be very limited or maybe even in some cases – non-existent. How you’re taught The style of teaching has changed as well. Mostly lecture-style versus experiential learning may be a difficult adjustment for you. The sheer amount of work expected from you can be staggering. If you are also employed or… Read More Here!

The Emotional Importance of Dreaming

Posted on 30/09/2019 in Stress Management

Can you remember your dreams? Many people think they don’t dream but researchers have shown that our brains experience dreams every time we sleep - we just don’t always remember them. If you’ve ever wondered what amnesia feels like, it’s just like waking up and thinking you didn’t have any dreams. If that sounds like a familiar experience to you, that might be a sign that you aren’t getting enough sleep at night and are missing out on some of the powerful benefits that dreams provide. REM Sleep As we sleep, our brains go through several stages including rapid eye… Read More Here!

Adjusting to a New Identity

Posted on 15/09/2019 in Anxiety, Depression, Students

Of course, you are still the same person as you were before you started post-secondary studies but it may feel like you have a different identity because the way your peers knew you in grade school may be different from how you are now. You may have been labelled or identified as: An athlete Perhaps you played on all the school teams or you excelled in a sport or athletics as a whole but have decided not to play varsity sports – or maybe you tried to but were unsuccessful. It can be tough to go from practices every day,… Read More Here!

Adjusting to a New Place to Live

Posted on 01/09/2019 in Anxiety, Depression, Students

Attending post-secondary school for the first time often means a change of address if you don’t live in the same city as the school. Perhaps you’re living away from home for the first time. Maybe you’ve moved from a rural to an urban setting. Or maybe you’re adjusting to life in a dorm or living with one or more roommates. All these changes can be stressful. Leaving home Getting your own place can be very exciting or daunting…or both! Being in university is a bit of an in-between situation though as you have technically left home but move back-in, between… Read More Here!

The Joys of the Holiday Season – Coping with Holiday Stress

Posted on 06/11/2018 in Family Issues, Parenting, Stress Management

As Christmas approaches, we look forward to spending time with family and loved ones, giving and receiving gifts, having some “holiday cheer” and enjoying the plentiful amount of food and beverages. Unfortunately, not all of these activities are enjoyable for everyone, especially if you have some unhealthy family members, family conflict, misbehaving children, or that “interesting” uncle/aunt that everyone wants to avoid. Coping with holiday stress becomes an important skill, as it may be the buffer between surviving these few months versus having to clean up the physical, social or emotional messes that follow. The American Psychological Association did a… Read More Here!