Take time to de-stress

by | Jan 4, 2018 | Arts & Life, Uncategorized

The NAIT Students’ Association’s Campus Activities Board (CAB), featured a series of activities at the end of the fall semester to help students de-stress.

The activities included bubble wrap to pop, play-dough to mold and a giant colouring sheet. Students could even make their own snowman Christmas ornament.

CAB handed out free tea and hot chocolate with all the fixings, and spread Christmas cheer across campus. Students were seen crafting and sipping chocolaty goodness while laughing with fellow classmates.

“It was a really nice distraction,” said Sarah Fox. “After being so stressed out about exams, paying tuition and final projects, it was nice to relax with friends.”

Her favourite activity of the week was creating a sparkly snowman ornament for her tree.

A lot of students are still stressed that there is no fall break. Luckily, with Christmas break upon us, students will have a chance to decompress and focus on their health – both mentally and physically.

While CAB provided some quick relief during the studying sessions, here are some more tips to help inspire calm and positivity over the holidays.

● Create a mood playlist. Fill it with songs that embody the mood you’re aiming for and focus on the music as you do calming activities, like painting, reading for fun or baking.

● Explore somewhere new. While the outdoors may be chilly and foreboding, that doesn’t have to mean exploration is off the table. Visit somewhere warm and indoors – like the Art Gallery of Alberta, for an outdoor touch with the current mixed media wilderness exhibit. It has been proven that simply looking at art reduces stress!

● Art Therapy. You don’t have to be Picasso to take a stab at art therapy. This can be as simple as playing a song and moving a crayon or paintbrush to the beat or melody. More confident artists can explore the route of sketching out emotions and drawing how they feel. Getting emotions out on paper draws the negative energy out of the body and onto the page. This can also work with journaling. With the long-awaited break finally here, take this time to spend with friends and family, but also be sure to focus on health and well-being!

– Nikita Eleniak

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