According to a National College Health Assessment done at IUPUI, stress affects 40% of students overall. In terms of academic stress, about 86% of students rate their stress moderate to high. By providing a space where students can come and engage in different events with peers, Stress Busters Week has informally proven to assist in the decrease of finals week stress.
"Seeing the amount of students we positively impact through the programs and the attendance we get makes it totally worth it," Assistant Program Director of Health and Wellness Promotion Ryan Anderson said. "Our goal is to continue to make Stress Busters Week into a campus tradition."
Students can look forward to 20 different activities April 25–29 to celebrate the end of the school year. Featured this semester are returning activities like Dog Therapy, Mugs Not Drugs, Mindfulness Meditation, Wellness Wednesday and more.
The importance of Stress Busters Week in the spring resides in celebrating not just the end of the semester, but the end of the school year. With some students graduating, some moving on in their academic career and some finishing up internships, it's important to be compensated for the success gained throughout the year.
"A lot of times during this point in the semester students don’t give themselves the credit for what they have accomplished and the fact that they have made it this far," Anderson said. "Through Stress Busters Week, students actually give themselves the time to celebrate the victories that they have earned or done."
The full week of events can be found on the Division of Student Affairs calendar.
Stress Busters Week was originally established in 2015 and featured just a few events during the week. It has grown exponentially over the last seven years and is something the campus community looks forward to. It is coordinated and sponsored by Health and Wellness Promotion within the Division of Student Affairs.