National Stress Awareness Day is Nov. 7 and this year’s theme is, “Does Hi-Tech cause Hi-Stress?”

There have been many studies on what causes stress. One of the most famous studies being the 1967 Homes and Rahe study which listed the 43 most stressful situations of life and, according to this study, the most stressful life events are due to close family death or other major life changes.

Our Hi-Tech world is much less responsible for accumulative stress than we might expect and perhaps we may find relief from being involved in social media. 

Dr. Brian King, author of The Laughing Cure, acknowledges that “social media…provide(s) worry for a lot of people” but “there are so many good positive messages being shared on a regular basis. Just learn how to filter the nuggets from the dirt.”

Perhaps, make a bookmark of consistently humorous or encouraging websites or social media pages of your own for when you need support.

In the meantime, what are you going to do about managing your stress?

Whatever it be that we do to find relaxation, it will take time and money to find what lightens our load.

With the amount of stress, we experience, each society has ways incorporated to counteracted the weight of stress, but as a general rule, humans tend to relax in the company of others, or away from social settings.

If you find it more enjoyable to relax in the company of others, then you may enjoy the interaction of game night, crafting groups, comedy clubs or cinema therapy. 

If your rejuvenation comes from solitude, you may do well to book a massage, a facial, practice yoga, or go for a nature walk.

The Truax campus has some options that generally require a minimum of a OneCard. Such things as the Wolf Pack Den, where there are a variety of activities including group video gaming, ping pong, and pool tables.

The Creative Studio in Room B3211 is open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and is an area designated for crafting projects that include, but are not limited to, making birthday cards by hand, painting, and puzzle projects.

You can also the Truax fitnes center and pool, or find out more about free meditation and yoga at madisoncollege.edu/mindfulness. The Madison College massage Therapy program offers massages by students for a low cost which can be booked by calling (608) 258-2367.

Lastly, if you find relaxation is your thing, you may consider booking a hair or nail appointment with the Truax TruStyle Salon at (608) 246-6068.

Whatever it takes to get your mind off the stress, be it fidget spinners or squishy stress balls, may National Stress Awareness Day leave you ready to reboot your mental computer to have a more relaxing day and a better life.