A circle of people, of many different ages and backgrounds, filled the conference room in SSB 48271 as they sought to learn ways of relieving stress.
Dr. Roxana Rabadi from the Pierce College Student Health Center hosted a free guided meditation workshop on April 10 in the International Student Services office.
One of the attendees, Alexis Godinez, has experience with meditation and came to the workshop to address some of the stress in her life.
“I thought it was really insightful,” Godinez said. “I feel like it was really helpful and allowed me to clear my mind from the stress of school.”
Meditation has been practiced for centuries beginning with the Hindus around 1500 BCE, according to positivepschology, and is widely used today as a way to relieve stress and anxiety.
Rabadi, a clinical psychologist, organized this event at the request of the International Student Office.
“I wanted to incorporate information about stress and anxiety, ways to identify, recognize and manage it,” Rabadi said.
The 10 attendees sat in a circle, some on chairs and some on the floor, and focused on the soothing audio of a guided meditation.
The speaker directed the students to sit comfortably, focus on their posture and breathing and concentrate on the rise and fall of their abdomen.
Meditation can provide many benefits that a typical college student is in search of. Some of those benefits are “stress reduction, anxiety reduction, better focus and attention and emotional intelligence and awareness,” according to aurahealth.
Student Health Center Director Houry Tanashian attended the workshop and helped organize this event, also hoping to help students’ overall health.
“Meditation helps students of all ages relax and helps with anxiety and depression,” Tanashian said.
Tanahsian added that if students are less anxious and depressed, that can help with their academic performance.
Tanashian also stressed that some international students may benefit from meditation since they experience more stress from being alone, away from home and in a different country.
According to Harvard Health, “63 percent of college students in the US felt overwhelming anxiety in the past year. In the same survey, 23 percent reported being diagnosed or treated by a mental health professional for anxiety in the past year.”
Rabadi recognized the need for increased mental health awareness.
“Students deal with anxiety on a daily basis,” Rabadi said. “Finding a better skill set and more effective ways to manage it is important to becoming healthier individuals.”
