LibGuides: De-Stress Week: Home

SPCC Counselor Resources

De-Stress Walk-in Hours: Feeling stressed? Stop by the counseling center to speak with one of the counselors about stress management, test anxiety or just to chat.

Counselors will be available to take walk-ins from 10:00am-2:00pm all week (Monday, April 29th - Friday, May 3rd).

Below are some resources recommended by South Piedmont's counseling services:

Websites:

Mobile resources (phone apps): Breath2Relax, Calm, Happify, Personal Zen, 29k

Tips for final exams:

Create a study plan: this can include study groups (don't forget to schedule in breaks!)

Un-plug from social media

Make sure to sleep enough and sleep well

Plan to arrive early for your exams

Take advantage of instructors' office hours

Try to make time for exercise - even if it is a quick ten minute walk

Believe in yourself!

Mental Health Resources

Mental Health is Health
Learn ways to strengthen your emotional health so that you can support yourself and others.
10-Minute Meditation for Stress
Listen to this guided meditation to help you re-center yourself.
10-Minute Meditation for Anxiety
6 Healthy Ways to Reduce Stress during Final Exams
Incorporate these 6 healthy coping mechanisms to help you reduce stress during final exams.

Relaxation Tips

Relaxation Techniques for Stress Relief
To effectively combat stress, you need to activate your body’s natural relaxation response. Techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, meditation, and yoga can help.
12 relaxation ideas to reduce stress and anxiety
In our always-on society, it can sometimes feel impossible to maintain a balanced state of wellbeing. Yet with rising stress levels affecting both our mental health and our bodies, effective self-care practices are essential.

Guided Meditation

Guided Meditation with Saki Santorelli
Saki Santorelli, Executive Director of the UMass Center for Mindfulness, demonstrates a meditation exercise that’s suitable for individuals of all ages and abilities.
4 minutes
Short Mindfulness Meditation with Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield, mindfulness teacher and author, guides you through a short meditation exercise that can be used at work or at home.
7 minutes
Mindfulness Meditation with Jon Kabat-Zinn
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Founding Executive Director of the UMass Center for Mindfulness, leads this 10-minute meditation practice.

Spring 2024 Library Activities

Both LLP and OCH library locations will have craft stations set up throughout the week!

Join us for the following craft activities:

Origami Stars & Frogs
Bracelet Making
Yarn Bird Craft
Bookmark Coloring
Giant Coloring Page (LLP)
Giant Jenga (LLP) and Uno (OCH)

South Piedmont's Massage Therapy students will be offering chair massages on Tuesday, April 30th from 11:30am - 1:00pm.

Drop in to submit your guess for how many Starburst candies are in the glass gar in the Library! The student with the closest guess will win the jar.

Activities will take place from Monday, April 29th - Thursday, May 2nd during regular Library operating hours.

Horne Library (LLP):

Monday-Thursday 7:30am-5:00pm
Friday 7:30am-3:00pm

Library Learning Commons (OCH):

Monday-Thursday 7:30am-7:30pm
Friday 7:30am-3:00pm

Articles on Stress Relief

Use your SPCC credentials to access these scholarly resources from the Library.

Crochet as Art Therapy to Reduce Stress in College Students This research study aimed to explore the need for college students to engage in stress reducing activities, specifically through art therapy, to promote overall wellness. It was hypothesized that after engaging in a series of crochet directives, college students would report a decrease in stress levels, as demonstrated through the use of a pre- and post-directive stress assessment. A total of 9 participants (n = 9) consented to participate in 5 weekly group art therapy sessions to determine the effects of crochet on stress. Participants were asked to complete a demographic form, a textile experience survey, a weekly survey to record time spent crocheting several times, and a modified 14-Item Perceived Stress Scale several times. Results demonstrated a lack of statistical significance between time spent crocheting and stress levels, although participant feedback indicated positive experiences crocheting. Overall, this study highlighted the need for further research on the benefits of crochet as art therapy.
Discovering Restorative Spaces on Campus to Reduce Stress for First-Year College Students This paper discusses the importance of restorative spaces on campuses in helping first-year college students cope more effectively with the various stress factors impacting their daily lives. Using Medgar Evers College as a case study, it explores specific common and uncommon spaces students visited to recuperate from day-to-day stresses, pre and during COVID-19. The results will ultimately identify and promote campus spaces that are healthy means for retreat, destressing, and rejuvenation for first-year students. The findings revealed that the College’s Library—though a place to study—was considered the most restorative space on campus, where students retreated to reduce stress.
Efficacy of the Mindfulness Meditation Mobile App “Calm” to Reduce Stress Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial College students experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness meditation delivered via a mobile app may be an appealing, efficacious way to reduce stress in college students.
Gratitude Cognitive Behavior Therapy (G-CBT) to Reduce College Students’ Academic Stress Stress cannot be separated from student academic life in university. This stressful condition, if not managed properly, can prevent students from successfully completing their studies. This study aimed to examine the effects of Gratitude-Cognitive Behavior Therapy (G-CBT) in reducing academic stress among students. Sixteen students were recruited for this research, all of which were working on their thesis projects. Among these participants, 10 were assigned to the experimental group and six were assigned to the control group. The effect of the intervention was tested using a quasi-experiment with an untreated control group design with pretest and posttest samples. The Academic Stress Scale and the Grateful Scale were used to measure academic stress and gratitude. Analysis using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U Test showed that following the administration of G-CBT treatment, there was a larger reduction of academic stress among participants in the experimental group compared to the control group. The study concluded that G-CBT intervention can reduce academic stress on students.

Advice from Kindergarteners

'Believe in yourself': Free hotline features inspiring pep talks from kindergarteners
For advice from a kindergartener call the free "Peptoc Hotline" at 707-873-7862.

Cute Animal Cam

Explore Live Cams
Enjoy watching animals such as puppies, kittens live on camera. Let the cuteness help you de-stress.

Free Online Relaxing Games

Crazy Games
Despite the name of the website, there are plenty of relaxing games to choose from, including Solitaire, Mahjong, and puzzles.
Little Games
This website has even more relaxing games for you to choose from, including words games and color by numbers.
Bad Cards
In this virtual version of Cards Against Humanity, you can join a group of strangers or invite a group of friends to fill in the blanks on hilarious cards.

Meditative Music, Sounds, & Visual Relaxation

Virtual Calming Room
Step into the virtual calming room and learn strategies to help you when are feeling overwhelmed and challenged.
Relaxing Beats for Sleep and Meditation