Exhale the Bad and Learn to Deal: Mindfulness Health Workshop

Ok. Inhale. Exhale. And inhale again, wait, now exhale. Phew! Do you ever feel like you can’t breathe because you have so much to do, and you don’t know how to just deal (metaphorically speaking)? SBA is hosting a Mindfulness Health Workshop that aims to help anyone and everyone on campus learn to focus and develop mental ease. The workshop is Friday February 10th, from 12-4pm. Call SBA at 416 967 7322 or email sba@utoronto.ca to register! Hosted by Robyn Gibb, a self-hypnosis instructor, the workshop is put together in a way to create a nurturing environment in which people can talk about what ails them, from mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But, you do not have to identify with any of the above. If you just feel like you get extra anxious around essays and exams, this workshop can be helpful, too. Behavioural techniques will be taught in order for you to get out of the negative mindset. Too often in this mindset it is like a downward spiral of telling oneself that they just can’t cope with things going on in their environment. One example, probably a common one especially around the time period before reading week is when everyone is overloaded with work and feel like they just can't deal. I don’t even have a full course load and I feel stressed myself. Instead of being stressed, sitting home in your pajamas and watching endless YouTube videos procrastinating, you can do something about it. This workshop aims to help you develop positive self-talk through self-hypnosis. No pocket-watches involved here –this is self-hypnosis after all. It’s basically speaking to yourself, literally or in your head, with positivity, which in turn will engender positive change. I like to think of it as this: When I’m sad, sometimes I’ll smile. I smile because the smiling movement actually releases happy chemicals, and therefore I become happier, or at least less sad. If you tell yourself everything will be ok, and that you can accomplish certain tasks even when everything seems hopeless, some change will come. Besides learning to talk yourself into a positive space, another great thing about the workshop is that you don’t feel alone. You can hear other students’ personal battles with negativity, and you can share as well. So, instead of sitting alone, maybe in a dark room or maybe in the Robarts stacks, sit with some positivity. Desiree