Mental Health, Keep Your Mind Sharp!

Feeling stressed out? Take a walk. Feeling tired? Eat an apple. There are many ways you can boost your mind, body and soul.

Personally, eating healthy and exercising ~3x a week helps me refocus my mind. That is what works for me. Eating fresh fruits, taking a 20 minute walk, doing yoga to start your day… find your niche!

It takes time to train your mind but it can be done!

10 Quick and Easy Ways to Improve your Mental Health!

1. Mind Your Body: exercise and proper diet
2. Volunteer: discover the benefits of giving back
3. Relax More: find time for yourself
4. Associate With Positive People: positive people = positive attitude = positive mind
5. Eliminate Bad Habits: you can achieve a better frame of mind 
6. Ask For Help When Needed: there is nothing wrong with asking for help
7. Do More of What Makes You Happy: commit to doing it more often
8. Set Life Goals: create direction, work towards your goals 
9. Keep a Diary: reflection can help you improve your daily lives 
10. Communicate More: ask for help, ask questions, seek solutions

Try some of these to improve your mental health. This will help you in your daily lives!
Stress the importance of Mental Health to your co-workers, classmates, colleges etc.
Be the best you can be!

Connect with The Career Center: Anne Concepcion

1. What is your role at the Career Center?

As the Graduate Assistant of the Career Center, I find I dabble in a little bit of everything. I mainly manage our social media accounts (Facebook - Instagram - Twitter), provide resume/cover letter critiques during our drop-in Quick Question hours, send out weekly newsletters, and support the External Relations team by helping where I can with career fairs, on-campus recruitment, and answering employer questions!

2. What did you study in school OR what was your favorite class when you were in school?

I am currently enrolled here at Hofstra as a second-year Mental Health Counseling graduate student. My favorite class so far has probably been my Advanced Counseling Skills & Strategies that I took this past summer. I felt that it really integrated a lot of the theories I was learning/have learned about with specific techniques, and I feel a little bit more prepared for my future career!

3. Where is your favorite spot on campus?

I really love the woodsy area behind Spiegel Theatre. When I first started at Hofstra, I walked through that area and fell in love with all the trees and flowers. My favorite tree is the one closest to the entrance of Spiegel Theatre, the one that looks like it's made from the tops of pineapples :)

4. What is your favorite season and why?

I am 100% a Fall baby. I love the colors changing (red is my favorite color), the weather cooling off, Fall fashion (layers and scarves, all the way!), and the over-abundance of pumpkin and apple-flavored everything. 

5. What message do you have for the incoming class of 2019/returning Hofstra students as they begin their new school year?

College is where you'll experience a large amount of growth in a short amount of time. So anything that you have an interest in, find a place at Hofstra where you can foster it. Whether it be a class, club, organization, internship, volunteering experience, conversations with administrators/faculty, etc. there will be a place to further pursue it and learn from, in and out of the classroom!

Anne Concepcion, Graduate Assistant

When the Tough Gets Going...Sometimes You Need a Break!

This time of year can be stressful for a multitude of reasons: approaching midterms, applying for graduate school, starting your search for post-graduation career plans, impeding personal life--the list goes on. And sometimes things pile up, things happen (like ANOTHER snow day...) and it can start to get overwhelming. This is an important time to listen to your body and figure out when you need to take a break.

Self-care is an important topic that often gets neglected when the going gets tough. You'll pull an all-nighter, grab a handful of chips instead of eating a full meal, and your mind will be racing from one thing to the next. It's at this point that you feel yourself getting overwhelmed (or even getting sick) that you should know it's okay and acceptable to take a break.

However, I find there's a line between procrastination and taking a break! Procrastination is "the action of delaying or postponing something" and taking a break is giving yourself the moment to catch up, breathe for a few minutes and re-ground yourself. So be sure to know when you're just putting off that assignment because you don't feel like writing it!

When you feel yourself starting to get to the point of overwhelming levels, take a moment to pause, and do something for yourself. Whether it's grabbing lunch with a friend, meditating, going to the gym, or whatever your re-grounding activity is, it's okay to take a break and it will probably help you in the long run!

Anne Monique Concepcion,
Graduate Assistant