Lynn and Vicki were joined in this episode by Dr. Eric Loucks author of The Mindful College Student: How to Succeed, Boost Well-Being and Build the Life You Want at University and Beyond to talk about the impact that mindfulness can have on student success. Dr. Loucks helped us understand what mindfulness is and how it can help students deal with stress, attention and focus, self-awareness, emotional-regulation and even career choice. This information is not only helpful for college students but for parents as well.
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We were pleased to have Dr. Eric Loucks with us for this episode to talk about mindfulness in college students. Dr. Loucks teaches mindfulness and researches how mindfulness can help all of us.
We asked Dr. Loucks to define mindfulness and he helped us think about being “in the moment” and being non-judgmental. He also explained how mindfulness and meditation can actually rewire our brains to help us focus and be present in the moment.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected things we learned is that mindfulness can help students with career exploration and finding their purpose in life. Dr. Loucks’ book contains contemplations that will help students think about what is meaningful to them.
Dr. Loucks shared several resources for more information and audio recordings to go along with his book. We also learned more about good stress and bad stress. Helping your student understand that some stress can actually be a good, meaningful thing. Explaining that “stress is energy” can help students think about how to use that energy to move forward.
Mindfulness may not be for everyone, or it may not be a good time for you, but if you’re interested – or you think your student might be, Dr. Loucks also suggests possibly exploring this as a family.
Finally, Dr. Loucks reminded us that students’ brains are not yet fully formed at the time when they are in college. If your student is struggling, know that they are still growing – and this might be an ideal time for students to lay the foundation for a happy, healthy life and a successful career.
If you want to share Dr. Loucks book with your student (or read it yourself!) follow check out The Mindful College Student: How to Succeed, Boost Well-Being, and Build the Life You Want at University and Beyond.
Here is a link to the audiobook, as well as Kindle edition on Amazon.
Another resource is a self-paced digital course, The Mindful College Student, hosted by the Omega Institute.
Free mindfulness practice sessions with a community collaborator, The Mindfulness and Health Institute.
Mindfulness teacher training programs at Brown’s School of Professional Studies.
Mindfulness Center at Brown: brown.edu/mindfulnesscenter
Dr. Loucks also suggested headspace.com as a possible app to explore mindfulness.
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