Stefani Chan knows the affects of stress all too well. After completing a demanding bachelor’s degree she moved to New York to begin a career in hi-tech marketing.
But by her mid-twenties, she was forced to take a step back and re-evaluate the “extremely stressful” life she was leading. “At that point in my life my health wasn’t a concern, my career was a concern,” reflected Chan, “I neglected my health and became really, really sick.”
Leaving marketing behind her, Chan is now a yoga instructor, and meets many people in search of finding balance from the stress in their lives.
Chan recommends post-secondary students focus on good nutrition, physical activity, and cultivating awareness that “our thoughts affect our physical body.”
“Students are moving into a new phase in their life,” encourages Chan, “it’s the perfect time for them to start to pay attention to their own mental and physical well being.”
The demands of university and life will continue, but students can make choices as to how they deal with the stress. Chan points out that it wasn’t her job that made her ill, “It was how I was reacting to the burden of the work and how I was reacting to the stress. I didn’t have the mental or physical tools to help me to deal with it. Looking back, I wish I did, because it would’ve helped so much.”
