As college students with busy schedules, it’s hard to find time to rest. Many students have no chance to even catch a breath. Between a full schedule, mounds of homework and tests, and an ever growing social circle, sleep shifts to the back burner.

BIOLA CCT ADRESSES HEALTH OF STUDENTS 

Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought addressed the spiritual and psychological health of students during the Mind Your Heart Conference on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Professor Alexis Abernethy, a clinical psychologist and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, discussed the importance of self-care.

Self-care has significant and lasting effects on the spiritual, emotional and physical lives of students, as well as their ability to work with and serve others.

“We look at the scriptures as if it’s all about caring for other people, and that God doesn’t care about the temple that we are walking in,” Abernethy said.

By definition, self-care encompasses the holistic well-being of an individual.

“One way of thinking about it, just in a simple way, is it is taking care of the varying aspects of your life,” Abernethy said.

Abernethy explained that self-care is multi-dimensional. If a person isn’t taking time to care for themselves, it affects them emotionally, physically, relationally and spiritually.

According to Abernethy, some Christians believe that God's value system is the same as the world's, which stresses overachievement and success over personal health and relationships.

Abernethy believes that self-care is extremely important for students, who often face a constant push to extend themselves beyond their limits. Students’ ability to be still and rest in God is constantly challenged. 

Abernethy gained knowledge of the importance of self-care through her own collegiate experience.  Her overwhelming schedule, which included class, church and community commitments, began to take its toll on her health. She concluded that her busy schedule was affecting her health and realized that she needed to take time to rest in order to stay healthy.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CARE 

While students often believe that life will become easier once they finish their education, Abernethy noted the importance of students learning to practice self-care and manage their time in the midst of busy schedules and commitments.

“Life actually gets more difficult, it gets more complicated,” she said. “So the key is to learn the practices now for a lifetime, including self care, and then you’ll see that there is time where you don’t think there is time.”

In a society where over-working and pushing oneself to the limit is expected, Christians have all but forgotten that the Sabbath is intended as a day of rest, not just physically, but spiritually as well. Abernethy noted several examples of rest in scripture.

“[With] Jesus and his ministry, there are clear examples of him being with the crowds, but then going by himself or with his disciples,” Abernethy said.

Students who attended the conference were challenged to reconsider their priorities as they cultivate healthy habits and disciplines for their lives. Sophomore math major Beth Crabtree was convicted to start taking self-care more seriously. Crabtree appreciated Abernethy’s talk because it showed her that resting and taking care of herself will help her better serve others.

“[Self-care is] attending to our personal needs so that we can better attend to others’ needs. Not just spiritually — that’s a major part of it — but just making sure we are well rested,” Crabtree said.

Along with being better rested, Crabtree addressed her concerns that the Sabbath is hard to keep, but will ultimately benefit her.

“It’s going to be hard not to do homework, at least a little bit on Sundays, but just doing it more in Christ, just taking the time to go somewhere quiet and do homework in a restful setting and take a break every hour, and just spend some time with him [is important],” she said.