How to Cultivate Self

Being a graduate student at A&M, or any other high-level university takes a lot out of you as a  student. Not only do you have to juggle a heavy coursework from your various classes, you also likely have to carve out time for part-time jobs, graduate organizations, and retain a little bit for  social life too. It can make the overall experience in grad school at times laborious and  demanding. You may feel tired, overwhelmed or even out of whack. There is so much that is requested of you as a student, and at times it can seem unmanageable to get everything that is needed done in a day.

While it would be easy to say this conundrum is irresolvable, and the nature of all graduate degrees is an undue amount of stress, that is not the case. There are a number of things one can do in order to decrease the stress and anxiety during this period of your life. Furthermore these same techniques can be used not only during your time in graduate school, but also beyond post secondary education. I have sent some of these ideas to friends in the working world, and they  have all been grateful for the advice. The key is to determine what self-care means to you.

Self-care can mean a number of things to different people; this is because each person is unique  in the struggles they face to remain in balance. There are the expected academic challenges that  can lead one to be off-balanced in graduate school but there’s also those many that are not specifically tied to the completion of coursework. There are self-care needs for diet, physical exercise, emotions, finances, spirituality and professionalism to name a few. No two people have the same struggles as each other, so it is important to take a reflective look at yourself and the  areas you are struggling with a deficiency/imbalance in.

Once you have determined the areas of greatest impact in your life, the next thing to do is explore potential ways to support yourself. For some people this means listening to an audiobook before bed to stop a cycle of worrying at night. For others journaling can be cathartic to write  down the events of the day for later reflection. Some find it beneficial to read over old emails or  letters from friends and family to rebuild bonds of friendship. And others find fulfillment in  making their bed each day to gain a sense of accomplishment. All these and more can be used to  help realign a person back to total wellness through self-care. I have also created a table below  with some ideas for self-care for the six forms of wellness I mentioned earlier.

Also remember that just because it is called self-care that does not mean that you have to go through it alone. There are a number of suggestions in this table that utilize professional and group  support. Take advantage of whichever works with your comfort level and availability. You do not have to go through anything alone.