by: Lindsay Cox
March 25 is Anxiety Awareness Day and is an annual event held by Parkland College and Champaign County Mental Health Board. From 12–1:30 p.m. in room D244, there will be a movie playing, a PowerPoint with facts on anxiety, and various resources available such as Rosecrance, The Pavilion Behavioral Health System, National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), iConnect mentors, and the Center for Academic Success.
There event will include free giveaways, free food, and a station for anxiety screening from Mental Health America. For students who won’t be able to attend Anxiety Awareness Day, students can still get a free screening by making an appointment with counseling services.
Every Monday there is a Managing Stress Anxiety workshop from 1-2 p.m. located in the counseling services conference room. Students don’t have to attend the workshop every week; students can come and go as they please.
Each week, the workshop covers a different topic related to stress and anxiety, so students can continue to learn. Topics range from mindfulness to self–compassion to yoga. The meetings are fluid, so if a student comes in with a specific need in mind, then the topic will change to meet their need. Students are even encouraged to bring a friend. Anyone can share, but it is not a requirement to attend the workshop.
“Our counselors genuinely want to help students in whatever capacity that they feel like help is most needed…”
A lot of students aren’t aware that Parkland offers free counseling. Counselors are available Monday–Friday from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. for 50-minute sessions. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the free services.
“Our counselors genuinely want to help students in whatever capacity that they feel like help is most needed. It’s confidential. Nothing is shared with professors or parents. It’s as easy as making an appointment. You don’t even have to say that you are there for counseling. Just let them know you have an appointment,” said Katie Schacht, one of Parkland’s counselors and advisors.
During the semester, when things start to get stressful, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the list of things to get done instead of staying present and only thinking about one thing at a time. “Anxiety is mostly caused by thinking too much about the future and all of the ‘what ifs’ and not being focused on the present,” Schacht said.
Schacht does a lot of journaling and said that she actively searches for and appreciates joy. “I turn on music and dance around in my dining room because it has better acoustics,” Schacht said, laughingly. “I try to laugh as much as possible and have a lot of self-compassion. When your anxiety spikes, get centered and focus on the moment. Make sure you stay aware of how you are talking to yourself and how you are trying to motivate yourself, because a lot of us do it in a very negative way.”
“Anxiety is mostly caused by thinking too much about the future and all of the ‘what ifs’ and not being focused on the present”
Schacht said that, during the times when she is super hypercritical, makes a mistake, or does something that makes her anxiety increase, she accepts herself and tries to move towards growth.
“Beating yourself up mentally does not ever accomplish anything at all ever. But when you say yep, I did that and I don’t want to do it again, what can I do differently moving forward? There is so much power and motivation in that question. It helps me to feel better and to focus on what I can do instead of being like I wish I hadn’t of done that. It is so helpful when you are feeling stressed out,” Schact said.
To learn more about the counseling services that Parkland College offers, or to book an appointment with a counselor, visit their office in U267, call 217/351-2219, or head to the Counseling and Advising website.
