Taking a Pause - Rethinking Our Lives
A Discussion with Dr. Wafa Hamid and Prof. Rukshana Shroff
With professor Rukshana Shroff's retirement fast approaching, the English department hunkered down with her and Dr Wafa Hamid for a session on 'Taking a Pause - Rethinking Our Lives' on 13th November 2021 . Over two hours, both teachers went over the various ways of coping with stress and anxiety.
Ms. Shroff opened the discussion with an understanding of students she had formed over her many years of teaching. She identified the various ways in which stress shows up in our lives and the tools we have at our disposal to cope with them. Our stressors are not always in our hands. That does not mean managing stress is not in our hands either. She spoke about emotion-oriented, action-oriented and acceptance-oriented ways of handling stress, with suggestions ranging from journalling to changing our perception of the world around us.
Dr Hamid brought up the loss of privacy many of us have experienced with college and internships coming home. Working from home for almost two years has erased our sense of privacy. Through a discussion on the politics of care, and the need to form relationships even as we stay physically distanced, she emphasised the need to stick together as a community.
The session ended with a discussion on sources of stress and anxiety, and the ways in which to cope with them constructively.
Ms. Shroff opened the discussion with an understanding of students she had formed over her many years of teaching. She identified the various ways in which stress shows up in our lives and the tools we have at our disposal to cope with them. Our stressors are not always in our hands. That does not mean managing stress is not in our hands either. She spoke about emotion-oriented, action-oriented and acceptance-oriented ways of handling stress, with suggestions ranging from journalling to changing our perception of the world around us.
Dr Hamid brought up the loss of privacy many of us have experienced with college and internships coming home. Working from home for almost two years has erased our sense of privacy. Through a discussion on the politics of care, and the need to form relationships even as we stay physically distanced, she emphasised the need to stick together as a community.
The session ended with a discussion on sources of stress and anxiety, and the ways in which to cope with them constructively.
Written by Mrittika Maitra