David Gonzalez
Staff Writer
Two-time TEDx speaker and mindset effectiveness expert Pina De Rosa left students with a concrete methods to deal with feelings of overwhelm and stress.
She emphasized the importance of taking breaks during the Growing With Her Campus event Nov. 1 in the Campus Center ballroom.
De Rosa asked people to stand up if they felt overwhelmed but still showed up to their responsibilities, wanted to cry but did not and showed up, cried but still showed up, or were dying inside but still showed up.
All 30 people at the event were standing.
The American Psychology Association found that 63 percent of Americans found the future of the U.S. to be the most common cause of stress in its 2017 Stress in America survey.
Other common causes of stress included money, at 62 percent, and work, at 61 percent.
Stress levels have remained consistent over the years, but now people are more likely to report symptoms of stress, according to the study.
“I was part of the culture that glorifies busy and I was just valuing being busy, busy, busy and I burned out,” De Rosa said.
De Rosa said her busy life led to feelings of overwhelm, causing her to coin the term SKS Factor.
The factor calls for the participant to stop doing something, to keep doing something you like, and to start something new.
“Goals are useless unless they challenge us and really inspire you to grow,” De Rosa said. “This is something that will allow us to move in that direction.”
De Rosa said dealing with feelings of overwhelm involves recognizing the problem at hand, reaching out for support, and having the will to do something different.
De Rosa said she kept up with her SKS factor by having an accountability buddy, who made sure she kept up with her goals.
If one person does not finish their goal for the night, the other cannot do theirs the next day.
“The SKS allowed me to lose the first 20 pounds and to rebalance my life,” De Rosa said. “You may not have weight to lose, but apply it to the area of your life that is in constant pain, overwhelm and challenge.”
Mulan Novilla, president of Her Campus and senior communications major, said the main goal of the event was to give people an action plan in the form of De Rosa’s SKS Factor.
“Even though we want to motivate ourselves we actually don’t know where to start,” Novilla said.
Arianna Govea, Her Campus member and freshman psychology major, said she enjoyed learning about how to overcome certain struggles and hopes to apply what she learned to her life.
“I hope to every day focus on my goals and not avoid any challenges I want to overcome and just face it head on,” Govea said.
Alyssa Noriega, senior business administration major said from this she learned to take more time for self-care and that it is okay to say no sometimes.
“I know sometimes the hardest thing to say is ‘no’, but it gets easier as I do it,” Noriega said.
Noriega said she found the SKS Factor helpful, noting the importance of using the buddy system De Rosa mentioned.
“It makes sense because sometimes you do things more for other people a lot more than for yourself,” Noriega said.
De Rosa said it was important to “sharpen the axe” of our minds by taking breaks from work.
“The successful people are the people who do the stuff that the unsuccessful people don’t want to do,” De Rosa said. “Instead of wishing for something to be easier, show up like you did tonight.”
David Gonzalez can be reached at david.gonzalez9@laverne.edu.
David Rafael Gonzalez is a senior journalism major and LV Life editor of the Campus Times. He has been a three-time editor-in-chief and has also served as editorial director, LV Life editor and a staff writer.
