Behavioral Health Clinic

  Muscle tension, sleep disturbance, headaches, fatigue… sound familiar? These physiological sensations can indicate stress. We have all been there- everyone has dealt with stress. However, there are different types of stress, including differences in what is tolerable to each  individual   and variations in coping mechanisms. Let’s start by discussing different kinds of stress, and eventually get into benefits of smaller scale, more manageable stress, and building resilience, so we can cope to the best of our ability. Lastly, we will discuss what coping tools research tells us actually help! Acute stress is brief but intense. Short-term stressors, such as being behind on a looming deadline, cause acute stress. Episodic acute stress can be experienced as regular mini-crises where we live in a state of tension (7). This would include taking on too much responsibility. Chronic stress is long-lasting and has significant effects on the body, including financial difficulties o...

  “Bathroom camping” is a newly coined term by Gen Z that describes a long-standing behavior of finding solace in a restroom when everything becomes “too much” to handle. Many individuals online as of late have discussed finding a safe hideaway for themselves to cope with feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or just generally needing a break. This can occur, not only in public restroom stalls, but also in private restrooms at home. Myself and my colleagues at  Behavioral Health Clinic (BHC)   have heard of this style of coping and worked to address it in therapy. Many older adults have expressed extreme discomfort with the concept of “bathroom camping” and consider it to be a normal part of adulthood. People criticize this behavior as being unproductive or taking up space from people who need to use the bathroom for its “intended” purpose. Some folks have shown their irritation online as another way to resent Gen Z for being “fragile” or “snowflakes,” but is that really all the...