The Career Insights Club of Mahidol University International College (MUIC) organized and hosted a stress management workshop entitled, “CIC and Stress Management Workshop by Empathy Sauce Bangkok,” held on November 8, 2024 at Room A451, Aditayathorn Building in order to provide MUIC students with insightful knowledge about the various aspects of stress.

The guest speaker, Khun Papitchaya Kannaleka, a dramatherapist from Empathy Sauce Bangkok, began by discussing the nature and impact of stress, sharing key facts including the high risks of depression, severe stress, and suicidal thoughts that are prevalent in the current population. She also shared that stress can disrupt our personal lives, relationships, and creativity, often leading to anxiety, irritability, impatience, and social isolation. Khun Papitchaya also went on to talk about the two types of stress, stress which can be motivating (eustress), and stress that can be harmful (distress) which leads to exhaustion and burnout through three stages: alarm (fight-or-flight response), resistance, and exhaustion.

The 53 students who participated in the workshop learned to recognize the signs of stress, such as mental fog, overthinking, and emotional instability. The workshop also featured practical stress management techniques and participants had the opportunity to participate in numerous creative exercises like “Draw My Feelings” and “Hello My Stress”. Finally, Khun Papitchaya explained the common causes of stress in our daily lives, such as academic pressure, lifestyle demands, and personality traits like workaholism, low self-esteem and negative self-talk.

At the end of the interactive workshop, procrastination was the primary topic of discussion during the Q&A, along with other questions that participants were very eager to ask.