LAHORE: The Government College University’s Women Development Center (GCU WDC) organised a week-long mental health workshops for students of various universities.

GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi on Friday chaired the closing ceremony of the workshops which were addressed by eminent psychologists who called upon students not to be shy in seeking professional or medical help if they suffer any kind of trauma, anxiety or stress. Ms Sumera Khalil, in-charge of the GCU Women Development Centre, was also present.

GCU Clinical Psychology Unit in-charge Dr Mahwesh Arooj Naz explained stress was not only a mental state but it would show up in physical symptoms and sometimes would make people prone to lifelong diseases. She said it was completely normal to experience both negative and positive emotions but it was necessary to take stressful situations not as a threat but as an opportunity to achieve a better outcome.

She also taught different techniques to avoid stress which included meditation, deep breathing and mindfulness.

GCU Campus Counsellor Dr Ayesha Majeed advised that when dealing with intense emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger, etc., it was recommended to calm down by looking for an exit from a situation, taking some downtime, and breathing slowly to get back to a comfortable state.

She advised catharsis via written ventilation, talking to close and trusted persons and holding a positive dialogue with themselves and altering negative thoughts by hammering them with positive ones.

Dr Saadia Dildaar spoke to the students about trauma management while Dr Rabia Iftikhar taught techniques and exercises for anger management.

ADP: The Punjab government, in its Annual Development Plan 2022-23, has approved funds for the GCU Sports Centre of Excellence to be built within the next year at the cricket ground.

Prof Zaidi said the sports centre would offer residences for 150 talented students to nurture them for the future national teams and championships.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2022