By Genesis Bu-Chinchilla
Trinity Times Correspondent

Finals week begins today at Trinity Washington University, and last week students were given a chance to decompress before the pressure hit.

Finals are widely known to be one of the most stressful times of the academic year. For Ana Reyes, finding even a moment to unwind felt nearly impossible as she prepared for her nursing exams while balancing motherhood, a job and demanding coursework. That is, until she stumbled into Trinity’s bi-semester Stress Buster Workshop – just when she needed it most.

Held Dec. 3 in the Payden Academic Center, the workshop offered students a wide range of calming activities designed to help them reset before finals. Crafts, relaxation exercises and free snacks created a supportive environment where students were encouraged to pause and take a breath. The event also featured informational booths about stress management techniques and tips for navigating the mental strain of finals.

Angela Anderson, a nurse practitioner and Trinity’s director of Health Services, said it’s essential for women – especially students – to acknowledge their daily pressures. “As a student and just as a woman, and having to face the challenges daily,” Anderson said, “it’s important for us to recognize when we need to de-stress.”

Reyes, a junior nursing major, said she struggles to find time to decompress. She knows the Health and Wellness Center offers resources, but her busy schedule often keeps her from making an appointment.

Her competing responsibilities have pushed mental health aside, she said. “The way that my classes are formed and the way that I’m managing my time – like, I’m a mom. I have my kid. I have another job. I used to have two jobs before the semester, and so [mental health] wasn’t necessarily a priority.”

Reyes is not alone. Students at the event said it was one of the first moments in weeks where they felt able to breathe.

Freshman psychology major Cesia Turcios said the stress of multiple finals, presentations and papers had been weighing heavily on her. The workshop offered a welcome break.

“I feel like it does help because I get to focus on what I’m doing right now and just distract myself from all the stress of the exams and papers,” Turcios said.

For freshman biochemistry major Loren Brown, the workshop was her first interaction with the Health and Wellness Center and an introduction to the resources available year-round. “I didn’t know we had one at first,” Brown said, “but knowing now, I will definitely start using” the resources.

Although the workshop is a recurring event, its purpose remains deliberate. Anderson, clinical social worker Anne Cosimano and the rest of the Health and Wellness staff design each session based on the challenges they see students facing throughout the semester.

Cosimano said it’s vital for students to step away from their workload, even briefly. 

“I think we all have stress, and this is a particularly stressful time of year for students – holidays, end of semester,” she said. “Anything we can do to de-stress makes our lives better. Makes you perform better in school. It makes you enjoy your family and friends more. It makes you sleep better, etc.”

Short breaks can dramatically improve students’ ability to stay focused, Cosimano added.

Anderson said she sees firsthand how chronic stress affects students. 

“When a person is really, really stressed out, they don’t eat well, they don’t sleep well, they don’t hydrate well,”  she said. “And so that leads to a lot of issues, physically.”

She noted an increase in urinary tract infections caused by dehydration, greater susceptibility to viruses and spikes in anxiety and depression.

Whether through creativity, socializing or simple relaxation, the goal of the event is to lower cortisol levels and release endorphins that can carry students through the week, Anderson said. “What we’ve seen and what we recognize as a reason to do a stress buster is just to release the endorphins, reduce stress, and rejuvenate our spirit. Create some type of Zen.”

For Reyes, the workshop offered the perfect moment to grab a hot chocolate and chat with a friend on their way out of Payden. With winter break approaching, she said she is looking forward to going home, relaxing and spending time with her child. Taking things “one step at a time,” she added, is key to getting through stressful periods.

Cosimano said she understands the emotional pressure students feel during finals and hopes they remember they are never alone.

“Take care of yourself, there’s always help out there,” Cosimano said. “Everybody has issues and it’s a sign of strength to ask for help. And we’ve got a lot of resources. There are lots of people who want to help on campus, but there are also off-campus resources that we can help you access if you want to, but just take care of yourself, and don’t forget to breathe and laugh some and play some.”