Nursing students provide campus wide stress arrest!

Junior nursing majors, Bree Flicek and Ellie Jenny, have been working with the Gustavus Wellbeing center on a stress management initiative at Gustavus: Stress Arrest. This project was developed to assist Gustavus students in managing their stress, recognizing the negative impacts stress can have on our health and wellbeing. In the 2014 National College Health Assessment, approximately 30% of Gustavus students reported stress as negatively impacting their academic performance (American College Health Association, 2014). Additionally, more than 53% of Gustavus students rated their stress as more than average or tremendous within the last 12 months. This number is 10% higher than the national average among college students (ACHA, 2014). Stress Arrest is funded by a Coca-Cola grant that these students received. This project has two components: Stress Busters massage therapy and stress kits. The Stress Busters massage team is made up of junior nursing students. The team was trained by a licensed massage therapist to learn basic techniques of head, neck, shoulder, and hand massage. Stress Busters massage sessions are held twice a month and are open to all Gustavus students. Students can receive a free, 5-minute massage from the team members, listen to soothing music, and take a break to relax. The Stress Busters team also attends events such as Relay for Life to offer massages to students. The other component of Stress Arrest is stress kits that are available for students to check out. These kits contain a yoga mat, acupressure mat, stress balls, coloring books, Play-Doh, a deck of cards, stretching and exercise guides, and more. Students can check these kits out from the Wellbeing center for up to three days at a time. Both components of Stress Arrest, the massages and kits, have already had positive outcomes for Gustavus students. Stress Arrest is a sustainable project that aims to promote wellbeing and healthy stress management for students at Gustavus now and in the future.