Halifax Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society held a campus-wide workshop on the importance of self-care. 

HCC’s new director of counseling and career services, Barbara Plum, facilitated the interactive workshop.

During the student-requested workshop, students learned about the importance of using self-care, mindfulness, and coping skills to excel in school and beyond. 

Plum explained that many students are overwhelmed with many simultaneous responsibilities, including attending school, working, completing chores, participating in extracurricular activities, caregiving, dating, and more. 

Many of the student attendees agreed and expressed that their mental health has become a daily priority.

They shared that they reflect on their mental health as they navigate taking tests, participating in a sport, and working after school, sometimes all in one day.

Plum responded by sharing that it’s important to incorporate self-care in their daily schedules. This can be done by taking meaningful breaks from school work, social media and other technology, and responsibilities at home. These meaningful breaks can be used to do mindful breathing, which Plum illustrated by using a two-minute meditation video.

PTK was also joined by Valerie West, an outreach coordinator with the northeastern North Carolina Nurse-Family Partnership at HCC. 

West, who is also a student, related to the student attendees and shared that it’s OK to reach out to someone, such as a counselor, to express mental health

concerns. 

She also provided each student with a packet of resources that included mindfulness cards and other goodies.

Gary R. Redding and Ellen J. Divens, PTK’s co-advisors, concluded the workshop by thanking everyone for attending and committing to making self-care a daily priority.