2018 Grads Pass On Tips for Self-Care Activities in New York
As a social worker, you’ll be tempted to make your clients and their needs your top priority in life. But as seasoned social workers will tell you, you can’t care for others properly if you don’t take care of yourself. And, as the students who attended the recent event Supreme Indignity, about the trauma experienced in the wake of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, attested, caring for yourself becomes an even greater challenge when there is a daily bombardment of news about sexual violence or other abhorrent practices. As the New York Times put it in a recent article, the news itself is a form of trauma.
The School’s Communications Office often canvasses students about what they do for self-care. Many of them tell us it entails eating nutritious foods, staying hydrated, moving your body, and getting plenty of rest. It also includes staying in touch with the people who make you feel most relaxed and authentic—even if they’re far away. And, if you take it to the next level, self-care can enrich your life with moments of beauty or magic in the form of art, music, a healing touch, or a deeper connection with the natural world.
In this video, shot last May, graduates from the Class of 2018 shared some tips about places they go in the city when they need a little moment for themselves. Whether you fancy a quiet oasis, or prefer to lose yourself in the bright lights, or seek a reminder of home, you’ll find some good advice. Even watching the video made us smile—and smiling, of course, is a mechanism for lowering stress, boosting immune function and lowering your heart rate.
Ready to treat yourself? We’ve rounded up a few of the suggestions made in the above video and added links:
- Enjoy free concerts, films, lectures and other events at Columbia.
- Have a picnic with food from Columbia’s food trucks or campus dining concessions.
- Root for the Lions (go, Roaree!) at a campus athletic event.
- Taste-test the best restaurants near campus.
- Peruse the menu at El Cocotero in Chelsea.
- Save with your student discount at Appletree and Subsconscious.
- Host a movie night or film festival at home.
- Work off some stress at the Dodge Fitness Center.
- Explore Riverside Park, Morningside Park, or Central Park.
- Try indoor or outdoor rock climbing.
- Check out Venom, the Columbia University step team.
- Visit a museum free with your Columbia ID.
- Plan a visit to Times Square, the Crossroads of the World.