MAE Wellness

MAE is committed to the success and wellbeing of all our faculty, staff, and students. We seek to create a connected community that learns, works, and celebrates together.

Our goal is to encourage our MAE community members’ personal and professional productivity, physical and mental well-being, and to foster a culture that supports everyone’s desire to make healthy lifestyle choices.

We seek to:

1. Encourage habits of wellness.
2. Increase awareness of factors and resources contributing to well-being.
3. Inspire and empower individuals to take responsibility for their own health.
4. Support a sense of community.

On this page is a collection of resources to assist our community members in supporting their own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of our community.

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. please call 919.515.2423. For after-hours mental health emergencies, call 919.515.2423 and select option #2 to speak with an on-call counselor. In the case of a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

NC State has resources to help. Visit the Counseling Center website for more information.

The Effects of Stress on College Students

Check out other available resources at Pack Essentials.

Defining some important topics

Stress

Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain. Stress is your body’s response to anything that requires attention or action. Everyone experiences stress to some degree.

Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Burnout is characterized by one or all of three major symptoms. It is categorized by:

Exhaustion: profound physical, cognitive, and emotional fatigue that undermines people’s ability to work effectively and feel positive about what they’re doing.
Cynicism: an erosion of engagement.
Inefficacy: feelings of incompetence and a lack of achievement and productivity.

Tips for recovering from stress and burnout

Identify your stressors– Determine what triggers your stress and look into strategies for reducing or mediating those stressors.

Try journaling- whether you choose to recount your day, make note of triggers and emotions, or just make note of something good or bad from your day, journaling has been proven to be an excellent decompressor.

Build a support network– Find others you have similarities with. While we all have different social needs, most people greatly benefit from having some type of social group. This may be personal or professional.

Meetup

Student Organizations

Drop-In Spaces

Resources

Get some exercise– Moving your body will release the tension it holds while producing feel-good hormones like endorphins. You don’t have to devote significant amounts of time to exercise to see results. A 5 minute walk or a few basic stretches can be enough to release some of the tension in your body.

Under 10 minute yoga practices

Beginner interval running- Try the C25K trainer

Tai Chi 24 Form Slow Motion with Instructions

Practice mindfulness and meditation– Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing.

Meditation for Beginners (10 minutes)

Forest Therapy

Speak up for yourself– Don’t be afraid to let your supervisor know when you are feeling overwhelmed. They may have tips, know of resources, or may be able to reduce your workload to reduce your stress.

Create a work-life balance– One of the many causes of burnout is an imbalanced relationship with work. Having a proper work-life balance not only prevents burnout, but also improves your relationships, improves your physical and mental health, and allows you to be more productive.

Organize your time–

Try time blocking

12 Time Management Strategies of Highly Effective People

8 Essential Time Management Strategies

Do something you enjoy– Having fun is a good place to start when it comes to recovering from mental exhaustion. It allows your to reconnect with yourself and reduces stress levels.

Get some sleep– While it may feel necessary to forgo sleep in order to complete tasks, not getting enough sleep due to stress poses significant threats to physical health, mental focus, and emotional stamina.

Sleep hygiene

Follow a healthy diet–

Nutrition and Stress: A Two-way Street

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