AVOIDING BURNOUT:
SELF-CARE AND WELLNESS
Maja Bajac-Carter, Communication Studies
Tanesha Walker, Counselor Education and Supervision
Objectives:
• Provide an overview of the scope of the graduate student
roles and responsibilities
• Increase students’ knowledge of the importance of selfcare in navigating through graduate school
• Inform graduate students of existing resources and how
to utilize them
• Demonstrate a breathing exercise that students can do
on their own
Quick Definitions
• “Burn-out”- Exhaustion of physical or
emotional strength or motivation usually
as a result of prolonged stress or
frustration (Merriam-Webster, 2015)
• Self-care- “Includes any intentional
actions you take to care for your physical,
mental and emotional health.”
Role: Student
Responsibilities:
• Attending Classes
• Weekly Readings
• Individual and
Group Projects
• Blackboard Blogs and
Forums
• Deadlines
Role: Scholar
Responsibilities:
• Conducting research
• Writing papers
• Running experiments
• Finding publishing
opportunities
• Co-authoring
• Meeting publication
deadlines
• Preparing for the job
market
Role: Graduate Assistant (GA)
Responsibilities may include:
• Administrative duties
– Answering phones and emails
– Clerical work
– Filing
• Scheduling
• Assisting with office work
Role: Teaching Assistant (TA)
Responsibilities:
• Class Preparation
• Syllabus
• Teaching
• Weekly Lesson
Planning
• Grading
• Office Hours
Role: Research Assistant (RA)
Responsibilities:
• Working on research
for your professor
• Helping develop
research methodology
• Literature review
• Doing research in the
lab
• Experiments
Role: A Person With a Life!
Single/Married
Children
Pets
Hobbies
Part-time/full-time
job
• Expenses
• Non-academic
responsibilities
• Etc.
•
•
•
•
•
What is Wellness?
• "...a state of complete physical, mental,
and social well-being, and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity." - The
World Health Organization.
• "a conscious, self-directed and evolving
process of achieving full potential." - The
National Wellness Institute
A Holistic Approach to Wellness
• The National
Wellness Institute
proposes a holistic
wellness model:
– Six Dimensions of
Wellness
Self-Care
• Physical Wellness • Emotional Wellness
– Sleep, exercise,
and nutrition
– Calming the body
– Healing through
movement and
music
– Tuning into your
emotion
– Expressing emotion
in a healthy way
– Self-reflection and
self-awareness
Self-Care
• Intellectual/Cognitive • Spiritual Wellness
Wellness
– Religious practices
– Curiosity in ones work
– Collaborating with
those from other
professions
– Getting involved
– Connecting with
nature
– Meditating
Self-Care
• Social Wellness
• Occupational
– Friends and family
Wellness
– Peer relationships
with colleagues
– Attending social
gatherings
– Job interest and
value
– Using your own
talents and skills
– Job satisfaction
Useful campus resources
Student Support Services
– Counseling and Human Development Center
– University Health Services
– Psychological Services
Recreation Options at Kent State
Student Organizations:
– Center for Student Involvement
– Graduate Student Senate – Gradfest
– Graduate Studies – Graduate Student Social
Fitness and Wellness:
– Recreation and Wellness Center
Recreation in/and around Kent
Restaurants, bars, live music, hike & bike trails, the
Esplanade etc.
– Downtown Kent
Yoga in Kent:
– One Love Yoga Studio
– Kent Yoga
National Parks:
– Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Museums:
– Cleveland Museum of Art
– Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Let’s try an exercise!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnHlB8aQp3Y
References
• Counseling and Human Development Services.
(2014). Self-care. [PowerPoint slides].
• Merriam-Webster. (2015). Retrieved from
http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/burnout on August 10,
2015.
• National Wellness Institute:
http://www.nationalwellness.org
• World Health Organization:
http://www.who.int/en/
Thank you for attending GSO!
Feel free to contact us with any questions:
Maja Bajac-Carter– mbajacca@kent.edu
Tanesha Walker – twalke30@kent.edu