Transcript:

Episode 4 – College and Mental Health

Gabriela Reyes: Hey guys, welcome back to The Counseling Corner. If this is your first time, welcome. I’m Gabi.

You guys met me a few weeks ago, I think. Don’t even know what time it is right now. But today we have Lisa here and she’s part of the Coral Gables Counseling Center family.

She’s going to tell you a little bit about herself.

Lisa Jimenez: Okay, hi guys. This is Lisa Jimenez.

I am a licensed mental health counselor here at the Coral Gables Counseling Center. I work with a good variety of children, adults, teens, men and women. One of my biggest passions and areas where I specialize is working with eating disorders.

And that’s pretty much it. I’m a Miami native and happy to be here.

Awesome. Thank you. Thank you for being here with us today. Um, so today we’re going to be talking about, uh, college.

Lisa Jimenez: Yikes.

Gabriela Reyes: College and college stress and anxiety. Yikes is correct. I think, um.

Lisa Jimenez: Yikes or yay.

Gabriela Reyes: Yikes or yay.

Lisa Jimenez: Right.

Gabriela Reyes: A little bit of both. I think college includes a lot of yikes and yay. The two Ys.

Um, so we’re going to talk about it. I think, uh, the reason Lisa and I are doing this is because I’m pretty sure we’re the two youngest in the, in the CGCC – Coral Gables Counseling Center family. So we actually like recently got out of college.

Lisa Jimenez: No, no, it’s been,

Gabriela Reyes: It’s been years

Lisa Jimenez: But, but the most recent ones with the freshest memory.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly. The freshest memories.

I still have a twitch from, from my college days. Um, so we’ll start off talking about, uh, what kind of stressors, what happens, what happens when we are super stressed and anxious in college? I know I remember a ton of stuff that I went through.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: So, you know, I mean, at least for me and some friends of mine who I was in college with, man, we experienced everything. Sleepless nights. Uh, my friends broke out into hives when they were extra stressed.

Yeah. I’ve broken out into hives when I was stressed and I thought it was an allergy and I ended up going to the doctor freaking out. Like my throat’s going to close.

Mom, I gotta go. Like, I think I’m dying. You know, like you Google it and Google tells you you’re going to die in 24 hours.

So rushing to the urgent care and they’re like, this is stress. I’m like, what do you mean that my body has broken out into hives?

Lisa Jimenez: I can’t even count the numerous times I’ve been to the doctor when I was younger for several things.

And they’re like, um, go to yoga. Bye.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly.

Lisa Jimenez: Okay, bye now.

Gabriela Reyes: Do some breathing exercises.

Lisa Jimenez: So yeah, no colleges. It’s a funny time when you think back on it, because on the one hand you, I feel like, well, what did I have so much to be stressed about?

And then on the other hand is one of the most stressful times for me,

Gabriela Reyes: Right?

Lisa Jimenez: Because the stressors are so real at that point. I think because you’re not fully equipped to handle them yet.

So I was really like a little ball of anxiety in college. Like, honestly, not breaking out into hives. I wasn’t the hives type.

I’ll leave that to you, Gabi. But more so like the irritable kind of a feisty type, honestly. Always kind of high, strong, like ready to go.

What’s next? Check my to-do list.

Gabriela Reyes: I had like seven to-do lists.

Lisa Jimenez: Oh my gosh.

Gabriela Reyes: Once I recognized and accepted, you know, first step to overcoming a problem is accepting you have a problem. Once I recognized and accepted that my memory was awful, I had like two agendas, wrote everything down in my phone, had like reminder set, three reminders for every quiz and assignment.

And it honestly like was the only way I made it through college.

Lisa Jimenez: Oh, for sure.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah.

I mean, man, it’s tough. You have like, this is the first time I think you’re kind of like thrown to the wolves here. Like I remember in high school, it was so much easier.

Like you talk to your teachers, you knew all your teachers and they’d tell you when you were doing badly. Right? Like they would give you a little pat on the back, hold your hand through things.

And in college, it’s like you’re in a class with 200 other students in an auditorium and you’re like ID number four, five, six, seven. And

Lisa Jimenez: oh my gosh, my C number. I wonder if I can still remember it.

Gabriela Reyes: I definitely can’t.

Lisa Jimenez: As we already discussed.

Gabriela Reyes: You guys. So yeah, those stressors are like tenfold when you’re like in this completely new environment, especially if you go away for college. I know you experienced that, right?

Lisa Jimenez: No, I actually, I, you know, I’m actually proud of myself for recognizing at a young age that I was not fully ready for that. Maybe I can thank my parents for that. So I stayed in Miami.

I lived, I lived out of the house and I lived on campus. I got the whole college experience because I think, fortunately, my family and this is something that is funny. I talk with a lot of families about being realistic about whether that that child will not child teenager at that point.

They’re usually like 17 at least or 18 is ready to go to college because I remember being like freshman, sophomore year and talking about not being fully equipped.

Gabriela Reyes: Right.

Lisa Jimenez: I mean, I had loving parents who taught me well, but you’re not totally ready for like laundry, schoolwork, fun and like how to balance it all.

And it’s one of those things that it’s like there were good problems to have, but I think I was always so stressed because I didn’t know how to plan accordingly and plan it well and like and prioritize like maybe laundry is not important today. If you have a test tomorrow, maybe you can wake up early on Wednesday. I don’t know.

Like things like that. As you get older, you’re like, let me not do that to myself.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah. Yeah. And I think a lot of people don’t recognize that. You know, I had a lot of friends, especially my friends with very, very, very strict parents.

You know, like extremely you can’t go out. You’ve you have a like the ones with the earliest curfews are always the ones like really wanting to leave for college to get some freedom, you know, because they’ve been so they haven’t been able to really do anything for themselves this whole time. So I have a really funny story about that, actually, where I had a friend.

Well, she wasn’t a friend. She was an acquaintance that I went to high school with. And she was that like really, really, really good girl in high school.

And her parents were super strict. Like she was never at any parties, never was allowed to do anything. And I remember I stayed here.

I went to I went to Florida International University, but she left. She went to Tallahassee, which is a very, very good school academically, but it’s also known to be a big party school, right? Like you you go to FSU for a weekend and like it’s crazy.

So I did go to FSU for a weekend and I and I ran into her and I was in complete and total shock. And that’s the first time that I was like, well, dang, you know, that’s what happens when you’re uber strict. You know, you feel like this intense need to get some freedom.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah. Yeah. It’s funny because that’s something that I talk with parents about, especially with high schoolers, obviously, like juniors and seniors of like letting them start to assert some of that freedom and playing with those privileges before completely letting go and letting letting kids off to college, you know, sending them off, because then sometimes we don’t know what to do with those freedoms.

And and people get a little excited and go a little wild. And, you know, that’s when we’re we come in sometimes as therapists about let’s rein it in. You know, you want to have some fun.

We all want to have fun. That’s fun is allowed. Fun is good.

Yeah. But safe.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly.

And it can get dangerous when you don’t know, you know,

Lisa Jimenez: the binge drinking in college is a serious thing. Talking about stress.

Gabriela Reyes: It’s insane.

I mean, I think those two are pretty connected, right?

Lisa Jimenez: I don’t know if a lot of people are self-medicating or just like we were talking about not knowing how to handle the the freedoms of being and the peer pressure.

Gabriela Reyes: Like, think about all the drinking games that are known as college drinking games.

They’re literally all binge drinking.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah. Yeah, they really are.

Gabriela Reyes: Keg stands, beer pong, you know, that baseball game, flip cup. It’s like you’re literally it’s it’s all games to binge drink.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: So it’s terrifying. You know, it’s hard to be like, hey, no, I’m not going to do that when you’ve never done it before. You know, like this is your chance to be free.

Lisa Jimenez: So everybody’s curious.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly. So it’s so important to give your children enough freedom and give them.

And it’s not just the freedom, but the the confidence like I knew in college I could talk to my mom about anything and she wouldn’t flip out and punish me or or, you know, like make me feel terrible about it. So I did go to her for a lot of these things. And I knew the answer because I mean, otherwise you’re learning from your peers who are also doing keg stands and passing out, you know, that’s not

Lisa Jimenez: Like the blind leading the blind.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah, no, that’s where hopefully we can encourage and parents talk about, you know, like knowing the limits and like, yes, have fun. Go out, you know, be cool with your friends.

I get that. But to a certain extent, you know, exactly, exactly.

Gabriela Reyes: So I figured we could take a turn here.

I was talking earlier about the hives that I broke into because I had no idea that I was stressed or anxious. I didn’t know what anxiety was at the time. So I think maybe we can talk about ways that anxiety and stress will show up in your body without you recognizing that it’s anxiety and stress.

Lisa Jimenez: Oh, yes, yes. Stomach aches. Sorry, that’s what came up for me.

I’m like, oh, my gosh, stomach aches.

Gabriela Reyes: No, absolutely.

Like what? Right before an exam? Oh, like you feel like you you can’t breathe from how bad your stomach hurts and changing – changes in weight.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: You know, when I first started in college, I lost a ton of weight from the stress and anxiety and I had no idea. And then towards the end, like when I was in grad school, I gained a ton of weight from the stress eating and staying up until four in the morning to study. So, you know, some people would would have hair loss.

Lisa Jimenez: I think that was something that we had talked about just in passing. And, yeah, that that was that can be a very real thing for people is the stress getting, you know, so high that they start to lose hair. It’s funny because, you know, I was thinking about like sometimes the stress isn’t so, so in your face.

But like one way that I remember being always really stressed is constantly ruminating.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah.

Lisa Jimenez: Or like you’d be having a conversation or or at work and you’re doing one thing, but then thinking about the exam and thinking about your to do list and thinking about all these different things. So it’s like you’re you’re in one place, but your mind is really like in three.

Gabriela Reyes: Having lunch with a friend and your heart’s like beating out of your chest, thinking about the exam you have in two days.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah,

Gabriela Reyes: it’s terrifying and so unhealthy, like not to deal with that and not to recognize what it is. And, you know, you talked about being irritable. That’s such a big one.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: My mom would be like, what is wrong with you? And it was just stress that I couldn’t recognize. And, you know, having difficulty sleeping.

Lisa Jimenez: Oh, my gosh. I have so many memories of freshman year because it was a dorm room and I had I had a roommate from California. She was awesome.

We would we got along really well. But I remember so many nights going back to that poor planning, you know, just as young. You’re learning.

You’re learning. It was poor planning. Sounds harsh, but I mean, it’s essentially what it was, what I was learning.

Um, and I remember that I would I couldn’t fall asleep thinking about all the things I had to do. And then I would like tiptoe out of my bed because I didn’t want to wake up my roommate to go take a shower to see if that kind of helped me and then get back in bed and then feel like I couldn’t toss and turn because I didn’t want to wake her up. And then I was like, oh, is this what college is?

Gabriela Reyes: Yes, it was terrible. It was awful. And it’s you said it earlier and you’re so right.

It feels so real at the time.

Lisa Jimenez: Because it is so real.

Gabriela Reyes: It is.

It’s like the first time you’re experiencing this stress where, like, mom and dad can’t fix everything.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: You know, it’s like terrifying.

Lisa Jimenez: But they can help.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah. Like I can.

Lisa Jimenez: I use my parents. I used I would call them. I would come over and be like, I want some good food.

Gabriela Reyes: One hundred percent.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah, you’re you’re you are responsible for all your stuff at that point.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly.

Lisa Jimenez: Like the balls in your court.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly.

Lisa Jimenez: And it’s the first time usually for a lot of us.

Gabriela Reyes: Especially with school.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: You know, like I feel like I mean, we both went to a private school and I feel like we were kind of, you know, you know, they do.

They lead you like they hold your hand through things. And when you have none of that. And I remember teachers used to say, like, this isn’t going to happen when you get to college, you know, like we’re not in college.

They’re not going to be giving you like these these little reviews before an exam. You know, all these all these things that you really never know.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: You know, and they don’t get to know you. They don’t care if you’re really passionate about the subject. If you miss doing a paper, you’re kind of screwed.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah. You got to assert your place more in college. And that’s something that I think a lot of like young young adults can struggle with.

It’s hard for you to speak up, to use your voice. Like in college, if you want a relationship with your professor, you need to get up and go talk to your professor and say, hi, I’m so and so. It’s a little bit scarier than in high school when there’s 20 people in the class.

They know you because they knew your sister and your brother and they have a roster with your name and they know your family. You know, in college, you’ve got to put yourself out there. And I remember so many days thinking, like, I want to talk to this professor and then being scared.

What if they think this? What if they think this is a silly question? And you just you got to do it.

Gabriela Reyes: Yep. You got to do it. And that’s actually it’s so funny you mentioned that, because that’s one thing I always tell my younger clients that are in college, even in high school, talk to your professor from the get go.

Like, you don’t want to be a suck up. You don’t want to be a teacher’s pet. And I get that.

It’s not cool. But email your professor from day one and let them ask them a question. Like, let them get to know you.

So in the future, if you’re struggling in the middle of the semester, they’ll know, hey, that was Lisa who emailed me in the beginning of the semester. Like, she cares. You know, she’s not doing this scrambling at the last minute.

And that’s so important. And it takes two seconds. Send an email, man.

Like, do it.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah. I think there’s ways to show you care also, even if it’s like sitting more towards the front and like, you know, putting your phone away, being attentive, like people and professors notice those things.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly.

It’s should I tell them the little story that I was just telling you?

Gabriela Reyes: Tell them the little story.

Lisa Jimenez: Speaking of having a relationship with your professor, I was telling Gabi a little while ago how I remember vividly in college one day I had waited to last minute to write a paper.

Gabriela Reyes: We’ve all done it.

Lisa Jimenez: Oh my gosh. The all-nighters at this age, they’re just not even an option.

Gabriela Reyes: No, no.

But back then it was like, well, I’m just gonna have to pull an all-nighter. Yeah. So it was one of those nights and I was like, okay, I’m gonna write this paper and I’m gonna study for this exam.

Long story short, the computers at UM had like a time cut off. So they would kick you out of the library. And it cut off on me before I had the whole paper saved.

And I lost it, like lost it at 12 o’clock at night, crying in the library, calling my mom hysterical, like I lost my paper. And she was, oh my God, it was such a drama at the time. I was, I mean, it, it was.

It feels terrible. It’s funny now, but at the moment I was not happy. I think everyone has a, I didn’t save my paper story.

Oh my gosh. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have that, that story at one point or another.

Lisa Jimenez: Right.

Gabriela Reyes: You’re like halfway through, maybe not that dramatic where it’s like midnight and it’s all gone. But like you’re halfway through, you realize that you didn’t save it and then the computer crashes and you’re like, what? No, no, no.

It was so bad. But the good part was that the professor knew I cared. So I emailed them right away, like at 12 o’clock at night, like this happened.

And then the next day I spoke to my professor and they were like, you know, just get it done within the next two days and get it back to us.

Lisa Jimenez: They didn’t count anything against me.

Gabriela Reyes: And it was like all good. They knew I was genuine. Yeah.

So that’s, that’s when it’s important. That’s when it’s important to, you know, reach out from the get go. Exactly.

Yeah. So in talking about this, I think like one of the biggest things that we can, I mean, tell me if you agree, which I’m sure you do. One of the biggest things that the best thing you can do when you’re starting college is to be mindful, right?

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: Of everything that’s happening within your body, you know, see how your face is looking how your skin is looking, see how you’re feeling during the day, see what you’re eating, like take note of these things. You know, if you’re feeling tension in your back, if you see that you’re drinking excessively, you know, you’re having stomach problems, sleep difficulties, like this can be stress and anxiety. Yeah.

You’re obsessing, you’re ruminating.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: All of those things that I mentioned, you know, yeah. So take notice of them. And once you take notice of them, you can do something about it.

Once you recognize, just recognizing that you’re stressed and anxious will make you want to do something about it. You know, you’ll take that, recognize that, okay, all of this is happening and I’m feeling kind of crappy and it’s because I’m anxious and I’m stressed and I need to do something to fix that. So I think it’s super important to take notice of that and be mindful of all these little things that are happening, right?

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah. And on that same note, I think it’s always important to have and if you don’t have, you know, maybe talking with a therapist and identifying who can be somebody in your life who can point some of these things out to you. Because sometimes it’s not so obvious, like what we were saying.

And sometimes it might take a friend to say, hey, you’ve been getting a little wild. What’s up? Or mom to be like, I love you, but you’re a little, why are you being such a little bee?

Never – you know, or a sister, anybody to kind of, um, to kind of bring things to light so that you can get a little more push to go and find a therapist or do whatever you got to do.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly. And a lot of these colleges, at least mine and I think yours as well, offers free counseling for students.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: There’s so many resources and free tutoring. There’s so many little resources that you can use that you just have to kind of figure out and try to look for. Right.

So, uh, with that being said, actually, why don’t we talk about Lisa? I want to hear what your advice is, uh, for these college students that are freaking out like we did.

Lisa Jimenez: Advice for college students.

Um, well, that’s a loaded one, but some of the main things that stand out to me based off some, what we’re talking about is right. Like having a support system.

Gabriela Reyes: Absolutely.

Lisa Jimenez: Um, and for some people that’s family or friends or a treatment team, even professors can be part of the support system. Animals, pets.

Gabriela Reyes: Absolutely.

Lisa Jimenez: Well, I know that can be hard when you’re in college, but not if you’re living at home.

Gabriela Reyes: Right.

Lisa Jimenez: So making sure you have those people to back you up because nobody should have to do these things by themselves.

And everybody’s learning at that age. Um, one that can sound so silly, but it’s, I think it’s really important is making sure you sleep.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah.

Lisa Jimenez: Like a lot of college kids don’t sleep enough. I was one of those.

Gabriela Reyes: Yep.

I think everyone loses sleep in college, right?

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah. And I think at that age, you don’t realize how important your sleep actually is.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah.

Lisa Jimenez: I sound like an old woman, don’t I? Oh my gosh.

Gabriela Reyes: No, no, I totally agree.

Lisa Jimenez: But it’s true.

Gabriela Reyes: Like, don’t you wish you could go back to kindergarten and get nap time back?

No. those little kids don’t need that. They don’t need that. They have the energy.

They don’t need nap time. We need nap time.

Lisa Jimenez: I agree.

I agree completely. And even like another tip I’m thinking and going back to like the being mindful, right? Is being smart about your schedule and what you have on there.

Um, one suggestion, once that I got from like a, I don’t know if it was like a, an academic advisor, somebody in the university system that helped me was like spacing out some art classes into things so that I can have like a class throughout the week that was just fun. And, and in that I would actually practice a lot of mindfulness because you’re there for like three hours, just painting. You were allowed to put music and it was just a good time to disconnect.

And I was getting college credit.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah. and that’s an awesome idea.

Lisa Jimenez: You know,

Space out the workload. So it wasn’t like bio with, I don’t know, abnormal psych and something really tough. Ridiculous.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah. Yeah. I completely agree.

And in saying that, uh, outside of just like scheduling things correctly is, I know I mentioned this earlier, but, um, use your agenda.

Lisa Jimenez: Oh my gosh. Yes.

Gabriela Reyes: Write everything down and kind of take advantage of, uh, the time that you have. I mean, I know it’s so hard in the beginning. You’re always going to last minute it, uh, because everybody does, right?

Like so many people just wait till the last minute to do everything. And I think it’s so important to know, hey, for this, after you take that first exam, you know, in a class, you kind of get a feel for how the professor tests you and you’ll know like, okay, I need way more time or I need a lot less time. And even if you kind of like, you know, you got to see on the first exam, you can still pass the class with an A.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: So it’s always important to kind of keep that in mind and, and look into, uh, how long you’re actually going to need for the rest of the semester. And then you can see and kind of prioritize in that way. You have three classes, one of them, the exams are insanely difficult, essay answers nonstop and the questions are confusing.

And then in another one, it’s all multiple choice. You know, it’s pretty straightforward and you know the amount of studying you have to do for each one.

Lisa Jimenez: For sure.

And maybe you don’t know, that’s the thing too. Like there’s, there’s no shame in asking for help or asking people to look over even your agenda with you. It’s funny because I have that even come up in sessions now with, with young adults or people that are graduating from college and still figuring it out because some of us still are figuring it out at that point.

And that’s okay.

Gabriela Reyes: I’m still figuring it out. Don’t tell anyone.

Lisa Jimenez: Um, but it’s funny because people, when you ask them, like, do you want to do a little bit of like that life skills piece of kind of like planning, structuring and, and having healthy habits and things like that. I think a lot of people get a little ashamed and you can kind of see people’s reactions. Like what?

Thinking that they’re the only person that you’ve suggested this to, like, I must be so ill-equipped if you think you need to look at my planner with me. But no, that’s actually a really important skill that I think a lot of us can look at of how do we prioritize and make time for fun or make time for self care.

Gabriela Reyes: And they don’t teach you that.

Lisa Jimenez: Nobody teaches you that.

Gabriela Reyes: Nobody teaches you that. Like, I know, I know.

It’s like, it’s such an important, like, I wish there was a class on teaching you how to organize everything.

Lisa Jimenez: There should be a high school life skills class.

Gabriela Reyes: There should, there really, really should.

I mean, suggestion, put it out into the universe, right? Manifested. There should definitely be that class.

It would make life so much easier once you’re out on your own.

Lisa Jimenez: Even like packing snacks, like the tiniest little things that make such a big difference. So you’re not hangry.

Gabriela Reyes: Exactly.

Lisa Jimenez: In between classes.

Gabriela Reyes: Hangar is real.

Lisa Jimenez: Hangar is so real.

Gabriela Reyes: Hangar is a real thing.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah, let’s not go down that road.

Gabriela Reyes: It’s terrible. Terrible. I might be hangry right now.

No, I’m joking. But so yeah, healthy outlets. Don’t overpack your schedule.

Be realistic about what you can do. Have fun, but you know, don’t binge drink before an exam. Don’t binge drink at all, right?

But since we know that’s probably not realistic when you just got into college, avoid it when you’re gonna have a huge exam, when you have to study for things, when you have to, a paper to write, you know, it’s kind of common sense. But you’d be surprised, you know, all the best parties always happen right before you’re about to have to take an exam.

Lisa Jimenez: That’s how it feels, right?

To be honest with yourself, I think it’s important to, you know, as you’re finding yourself and figuring out, you know, how you want to live your life and how you want to structure your time is just being real, like, where is this coming from? And maybe journaling about it or talking to a friend about it.

Gabriela Reyes: Journaling.

I’m so glad you mentioned that.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah, journaling is such a good tool.

Gabriela Reyes: It really helps you get it out of your system.

Lisa Jimenez: Age, race, gender. I feel like everybody can benefit from just sitting down, reflecting and journaling. And that was something that helped me at that age, too.

So I strongly encourage that one.

Gabriela Reyes: Agreed, agreed. And you know, a lot of people, at least for me, I was like, oh, I didn’t write in my journal for a week.

Whatever. I guess I’m bad at it. Sometimes you can write in your journal once a month, once every two months, whenever you’re feeling overly stressed.

Like, don’t feel like it needs to be this, like, every night thing, you know, I mean, that was an issue for me. I remember I used to think like, oh, I haven’t written it in a week. Maybe I’m just not not good at this.

No, it’s for you. It’s not something that you have to be good at. Yeah, there’s no rules to your journal.

Lisa Jimenez: You make the rules. Exactly. I know I had an issue with that.

So I want to throw it out there. Journal however you like to journal. But do it because it’s so helpful in these situations.

Lisa Jimenez: For sure.

Gabriela Reyes: So yeah, Lisa, thank you so much. No, that was fun thinking back on college. Right, right.

I’m getting like secondhand anxiety in my stomach. I’m totally kidding.

Lisa Jimenez: I’m getting nostalgia.

Gabriela Reyes: Right.

Like, oh, I want to go back now. I love working with college age students because I think it’s such a cool time.

Lisa Jimenez: Same, same.

Gabriela Reyes: I like to remind them, like, have fun. I know, be smart. Enjoy this.

Yeah, be smart. Have smart fun.

Lisa Jimenez: Because then you can look back.

Gabriela Reyes: Oh my gosh, we sound so old. We do sound old. Dang it.

But I think if you met us, you know what I mean. Exactly, like actual fun, but be smart about your fun. You know, like time your fun in the right place.

Lisa Jimenez: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Gabriela Reyes: Don’t overdo it. We still sound old. We still sound old.

We’re trying to save ourselves right now and backtrack, but it’s not working. We’re done.

Lisa Jimenez: Okay, I think we’re goners.

Gabriela Reyes: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I hope those tips helped you guys out a little bit. Send us some questions if you have any, some suggestions.

What do you want to hear about? Tell us about your college stories, how the stress and anxiety affected you. We’d love to hear from you.

And thank you again, Lisa. It’s a wrap.

Lisa Jimenez: Thank you, guys.