| October 16, 2019 | Samantha Petty | reporter |
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Between school, jobs and outside obligations, many students struggle to find a balance in their lives as self-care and overall well-being can often be put on the back burner.
NE counselor Masika Smith and NE alumna Jennie Lambert addressed prioritizing self-care in their workshop “Well-being and Self-care” Oct. 9 on NE Campus.
Smith defined self-care as “a way of life in which we intentionally engage in caring, nurturing, protecting and empowering our well-being.”
“I’m not an expert of self-care,” Smith said. “I’m a student of self-care. It’s a journey.”
Smith said she hadn’t heard the phrase self-care until she was working on her master’s degree in counseling at the University of North Texas. Now she hopes to empower students sooner and prevent burnout.
Lambert began seeing Smith in her last year at TCC when her life was at a big turning point. Smith helped her to prioritize herself and make positive changes to her life.
“I had been so concentrated on everybody else around me, I didn’t think of myself,” Lambert said. “Once I graduated, I was on my own. I had to think of myself and what I’m going to do. I guess that is how I kind of threw myself into self-care. I’m realizing my boundaries of what I can and can’t do. I think it is important that each individual set up their own boundaries because each individual is different.”
Smith emphasized how getting good sleep and walking before work can be her best form of self-care in her busy schedule.
She talked about how small changes to students’ days can help fill up their cup and in turn, help them to be more productive and the best versions of themselves.
“For me, my self-care tactic is positive thinking,” Lambert said.
Smith and Lambert helped students do a Wheel of Life worksheet from MindTools.com that aided in showing where each of them needed more balance and self-care in their life.
“It was very informative and insightful,” NE student Cameron Grist said. “They introduced me to resources that I did not know were out there. Also, how important self-care is and how sometimes we put it off. With proper self-care and well-being, you can be a better person, to yourself and those around you.”
