SUNY Oswego’s counseling services held a workshop on Oct. 9 entitled, “Calm Your Body and Mind: A Grounding Techniques Workshop,” helping students learn to deal with the stress of midterms in a safe environment. 

With projects, papers, exams and more hitting college students in the middle of the semester, stress and work begin to pile up. More than 45% of American college students undergo above average stress, and 12.7% deal with extremely high levels of stress, according to Research.com.

SUNY Oswego offers several different services in the counseling department. From individual counseling to group counseling, SUNY Oswego has many outstanding counselors who care for students and offer exceptional services. 

The counseling center has many other options besides the typical therapy route. “Let’s Talk” is an informal counseling session that allows students to drop in and discuss issues without having a permanent counseling process. Counseling Outreach Peer Educators (COPE), is a group of students who hold events, drop-in spots and are willing to talk to students about any issues they may be having. 

The counseling groups at SUNY Oswego allow students to feel a sense of connection while also receiving help on how to handle their problems. Support groups are by drop-in and happen frequently. Members can join at any time which prevents students from feeling too overwhelmed with the idea of speaking to new people. Therapy groups, on the other hand, are held for specific members who must speak to a counselor before joining. 

At the event, members from COPE talked to students on how to ground themselves through body awareness and mental exercises. 

Breathing exercises like 4-4-4 allow for one to really center back into one’s body and slow down heart rate if it beats too fast. The 4-4-4 technique is a breathing technique that requires one to inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds and then exhale for four seconds. 

Another grounding technique that was mentioned at the workshop was the “5-4-3-2-1” technique. This exercise’s purpose is to ground oneself in the present by observing their surroundings. It starts with finding five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste. Grounding back into the present is so important especially when students get caught up in assignments and are not thinking about their well-being. 

Students experience a lot of stress and feelings of being overwhelmed due to schoolwork, so it is key to focus on oneself to maintain balance in life. 

To contact the counseling service office or make an appointment, call (315) 312-4416. 

The counseling service hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.to 4:30 p.m. If you would like to receive after hour support call (315) 312-4416 (option 2). 

The counseling services are located at 150 Mary Walker Building where the reception desk and counseling appointments are held. 

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