Active Minds Peer Health Educators are teaching Sacramento State students how to manage their stress. Workshops held in The Cove at The Well every Tuesday and Thursday offer techniques that will help students live a healthier lifestyle and handle tough semesters better.

One such workshop was the Physical Relaxation workshop offered on Friday. This workshop focused on teaching students how to familiarize themselves with relaxing, and organizers taught techniques to quickly diffuse a stressful situation.

The workshop started out with an ice-breaker so students felt comfortable with their peers.

Tracia Rochelle, an Active Minds member, led the workshop.

Assessing priorities, commitments and self-awareness were all topics Rochelle discussed. She said knowing how to think positively is helpful in reducing stress.

“The more you think negatively, the more you’re going to attract negative thoughts,” said Rochelle, “if you think positive, you’re going to be more positive.”

Rochelle went on to explain that a persons’ body physically reacts to stress, and likewise; it physically reacts to relaxation.

Students who are continually stressed may be feeling mentally drained, finding it hard to concentrate in class or produce adequate work. Such students would benefit from relaxation practices.

“I learned how to relax and fall asleep better because sometimes I have problems with that,” said Logan Hall an 18-year-old freshman and business marketing major. “The upcoming workshops also look really interesting.”

Humor, self-talk, meditation, familial support and exercise are all ways to relieve stress.

“I wanted to take this class because it’s my first semester at Sac State and I wanted to see what advice they give new students,” said Melissa Alvarez, a 25-year-old junior and gerontology major.

Many students, whether freshmen or seniors, struggle with stress levels especially as the semester progresses.

“Sac State offers a lot of free activities to help students so I took advantage of it,” said Fabian Zavala, 31, a senior psychology major. “I would recommend this class to people who need assistance managing stress or for people looking to meet other students.”

Upcoming workshops include Breathing Techniques on Oct. 7, Healthy Eating on Oct. 16, Games and Hobbies on Oct. 28 and Self Love on Nov. 13, though there are many more available.

Sac State also offers students a Mind-Body Pass that allows access to most classes offered at The Well such as yoga, pilates, or cycling.

Students would usually have to pay $3 per class, but the pass allows for unlimited sessions throughout the entire semester.

Both yoga and pilates have been found to reduce stress, though there is no evidence that one exercise is more effective than another.