Her first week was a walk in the park, with a lot of time in “meet and greet, plus a night or two of late hours. It seemed like a good fit. Week 2 hit like a tsunami without warning. A surging, sky-high wall of papers, to-dos, deadlines and deliverables smashed into her work area like a freight train that never stopped chugging. She worked 14, 16, 18 hours a day, for weeks on end. After several months, the shining star was dim, distressed and severely disillusioned. She was baffled, “Why would a company treat its people so poorly?”

Welcome to the Work World, a conglomeration of people and priorities that combine to build “success” of all types. It is Survival of the Fittest in all its glory; It’s “stomp, romp and chomp” your way to the top. It becomes central station for stress, anxiety, fear, anger. Resentment.

As a new college graduate, you’ll find all types of companies and places to work. You’ll experience the worst and usually the best.

Good companies do exist. There are companies that treat employees like people, no matter your title or position. These companies understand the Profitability Equation: Companies that treat their employees well usually win the end game, long term. Cut-throat companies who abuse their employees ultimately cut their own throats by mistreating their people.

The Job You Want, Where You Want It

A good job pays you respectfully, treats you respectfully and offers more than money. It’s about what you do, who you’re with, company benefits and even little perks that make you feel like a contributor.

Creative thinkers at companies seek ways to build teams and rapport. Benefits-wise, this may be Flex Time, where you can work specific hours and/or specific days, or compressed weeks. This is when companies choose to work 12-hour days, Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off.  Other creative options include onsite childcare, pets at work, tuition reimbursement and, our favorite, on-site massage. How would you like to know that one day a week, you can walk down to the fifth floor of Company ABC and get a free 15-minute chair massage, courtesy of your company? Mobile massage is a growing trend in corporate America!

It helps you. It helps the company. We’d even bet it helps your department team dynamics and how you feel when you leave work, go play, see your friends or parents.

Lastly, let us just say we’re proud that Google was recognized as #1 in corporate reputation, not because it is well trusted, admired or respected. It achieved the ranking in the annual Harris Interactive poll of corporate reputation largely for its favorable workplace environment that includes play rooms, a gourmet cafeteria and on-site massages, and more.

Find your job at a place that treats you well, trains you well and knows that every individual is an asset. Review their benefits and examine their creativity. Even mention how alternative benefits can mean a lot to employees without costing a lot, even if it’s just a “Special Celebrate Employees Day.”

You can find a great job. Just keep on trying and manage that job search well. When it gets to be too much, go get a massage.

It helps. Really.

For newbies, early college life is an emotional roller-coaster of excitement, anxiety, highs and lows, new friends and no friends.

For students acclimated to life on campus, there are different stressors, no less severe. Data prove it:

• Student suicides still total some 1,100 a year nationwide. It is the second leading cause of death among college students after motor-vehicle accidents.One in 10 college students has considered taking his or her own life, according to The Jed Foundation, a New York City-based college suicide-prevention program.
• Ninety-four percent of counseling directors reported an increase in students with severe psychological conditions, including depression, eating disorders, and drug and alcohol addictions, reports the 2009 National Survey of Counseling Directors.
• In addition, 91 percent believe a greater number of students are arriving on campus already taking psychiatric medications.
• In the past fifty years, the suicide rate for those age 15-24 increased by over 200 percent. About 12 people aged 15-24 will commit suicide today – that is one about every two hours.
• Caucasians account for over 90 percent of all completed suicides. For African Americans, the rate of suicide is growing faster among young African Americans than among Caucasians. Suicide rates from 1980-1995 increased 93% for African American females (age 15-24) and 214% for African American males (age 15-24).
• Native Americans have the highest suicide rate among all 15-24 year olds.

So what can colleges and student advisers do to stymie suicide, depression and mental illness overall? They can be as interested in delivering student support as they are with academic direction. They can take time to listen more and manage equilibrium between their primary job functions and what may mean life and death for a student. We applaud student advisers for all they do, but more can be done.

Another step is to stomp the shame that comes with depression, suicidal thoughts and even addiction. That means directing students to professional psychiatric counselors and physicians. But there’s also a to-do that’s always overlooked, despite being so obvious.
It’s overall health and wellness—eating habits, exercise, stress relief—even building a set of friends.

Stress relief is our mission. That’s why we do mobile massage. And that’s why we travel to colleges. We set up our chairs, our massage areas and deliver what can eliminate stiff necks and sore muscles. We usually do chair massage. Students can breathe sighs of relief and just STOP the pace of college life. Our licensed and certified massage therapists don’t show up with dollar signs in their eyes. They’re genuine, professional and readily chat with students.

Advisers, keep advising and do the best job you can. Keep on showing your interest and concern for students. But also look for the signs that may save lives.

It really can.

You’re at home, you change into your favorite jammies and crash on the couch. What times does “Glee” come on? So many thoughts, anxieties and questions—jobs, apartments, autos. Paychecks.

A bubbling volcano is active. It rolls up through the legs, back, arms, fingers, neck and shoulders and explodes into back of your head, screaming like a fire-hot Van Halen concert. Likely diagnosis: s-t-re-s-s.

We suggest extinguishing the fire and putting a lid on the volcano. De-stress by making sure you ask for the graduation gift that keeps on giving.

Massage. Mobile massage. So tell your friends they can get a variety of massages in a variety of locations. Let’s explain.

Real Convenience. While the common perception of massage is an experience at a massage facility, we offer massage service that makes it convenient for you. Our massage therapists hit the road and are found at colleges, health fairs and corporations. We’ve offered massages at malls and even private parties.

Real Experts. Did you know massage therapists must be licensed or certified? They do. Massage On The Go offers therapists offering one or the other. They are experienced and have demeanors that add to the relaxing and healing aspects of a quality massage.

Real Variety. Massage isn’t always just the neck or shoulders, nor is always lying on the bed, being partially disrobed, with a complete body massage. There are also added relaxation services and techniques. We’ve listed a few.

The Chair Massage. This is our most common service. The purpose of chair massage is to provide stress relief for our participants. Massage is a great way to introduce or continue the lifelong process of doing something healthy for one’s self that feels great. Our massage programs are both light-hearted fun and about feeling the pleasure of being alive.

The Event Massage. Event massage is all about technique and presentation. It takes more than technique to make an event massage therapist. They need to give a quality massage, understand the client’s needs and be comfortable in high-traffic public settings.

The Foot Massage. Relax your feet while waiting for your massage or have a separate foot massage station. Each person gets their own disposable foot booties to ensure cleanliness.

Aromatherapy. Get in touch with all your senses. Enjoy essential oil scents that are created to induce relaxation, energy and vitality and are a treat not only to your sense of smell but to your entire sense of well being. Massage aromatherapy refreshes and re-vitalizes.

The Henna Tattoo. Natural henna dyes and our henna artists give you the chance to experience the ancient body art of henna. The Henna tattoo typically lasts for 2-3 weeks. A great addition to any massage or spa event or multi-cultural event.

The Oxygen Bar. An Oxygen Bar is the perfect added attraction to any massage event. Each station has scent-filled oxygen giving each person a breath of fresh air to stimulate their senses. We have different oxygen bar stations to accommodate various amounts of people at a time.

So, when graduation gets you and your friends stiff and stressed, you know the graduation gift that keeps giving. Tell family. Tell friends. Massages really matter.

When days have passed and you are still cramming for your finals, its common place for stress and aches to take hold in your body. When hours have gone by and you’re hunched over a laptop or a book studying, it’s more often than not that these aches manifest themselves in the neck and shoulder regions. It’s quite common to tell if someone is stressed because their neck and shoulder muscles are incredibly tense, when in reality they should be relaxed.

A great way to relieve the stress and tension from the area is through a well performed neck massage. A neck massage will not only relieve the muscles it will also make you feel better and hopefully help you shed some of that stress too. This article will take you through how to give a great neck massage to someone else. If you are lucky, someone will return the favor.

1.       If you have a massage chair available then have your friend sit in that, but the chances are you don’t. In that case have your friend sit in a normal straight back chair instead.

2.       Have your friend sit with his or her back firmly against the back of chair and sit upright to give you access to their neck and shoulders.

3.       Start by massaging the lower sections of your friend’s shoulders. Use a firm circular motion with the palms and fingers of your hands.

4.       Massage the shoulders with your elbows as well, by rubbing them across the largest muscles of the shoulders in a circular motion once again.

5.       Once completed, it’s time to move onto the neck area. You will want to start by kneading the lower portions of their neck around their shoulders. Start at the bottom and move up, ever so slightly. You should periodically give the entire neck a once over during this period. Once you reach the base of the skull head back down the neck to the shoulders.

6.       Repeat the above steps as many times as it takes to feel a difference in the tightness in the shoulders. Change the direction in which you massage your friend’s neck and shoulders to give a thorough massage.

The idea with a massage is to be firm but gentle; you wouldn’t want to hurt your friend. Ask them if you’re applying to much pressure periodically, and before long you will have it just perfect. Once you have finished with your friend it’s time for you to take the seat and reap the benefits of your labors with your very own neck massage.

1.       Go out of the campus and have a walk or jog around the city or countryside. Just getting up and walking away from the situation is an amazing way to watch your stress levels drop. Being outdoors will help you deal with the stress that has built up from hunching over study books and computers.

2.       Have a massage. While trying to fit in a luxurious massage at a local spa may be too much of a time or money expenditure for yourself, getting a quick chair massage that you can comfortably fit into a break or lunch is an excellent opportunity to relax your mind and body and beat stress before it builds up.

3.       Instead of allowing the workflow to continually get on top of you, try spending some time to create a plan of action and stick to it. This often helps to reduce stress as you will have a plan of what to do when and also be able to schedule some down time during the day as well.

4.       Have a chat with a friend or for that matter anybody who will listen. That social interaction will help immensely. As humans we are very social creatures, and being stuck in a dim room studying all day causes a fair amount of stress. Communicating or spending time with someone else can be all you need to alleviate the stress.

Ultimately these are just positive ways in which to deal with stress, but they are very general. You may find you have a specific task, chore or hobby that you enjoy which will work better than any of the suggestions above. It’s all a case of finding the right things for you. The main thing is that you find a way to deal with stress in a positive way. Too often, students find that they are in over their head, or can’t handle the stress at a particular time, and as such engage in destructive behavior, from binge drinking to blowing off classes or dropping out. With time and stress management, this destructive behavior can be avoided.

One of the very first things you will need to arrange are the massages, otherwise they wouldn’t be called massage parties. You can contact Massage on the Go USA for an amazing service that will come out to your venue and provide a great experience for all of your sisters.  With Massage on the Go you can expect excellent service where everyone will receive a luxurious chair massage by one of the experience and knowledgeable masseuses. You can also book a massage workshop from them too, where you and your friends will learn how to give each other simple yet relaxing massages for when you need them most.

Once you have the massages sorted it’s time to bolster the party with extra activities and things to do, to make it an incredible experience for everyone. There are a whole host of things you can do to make the day that little bit more special. Try to incorporate things you know your sisters would enjoy. Some ideas could be:

• Doing manicures and pedicures for one another.
• Renting a movie, buying some pizza and sitting down to watch the latest films.
• Tell stories of past experiences.
• Do makeovers for one another.
• Go out shopping as a group.
• Invite some more friends around and have an actual party to finish the night off.

The aim of the game with massage parties is to remove the stress of being a college student. You will feel revitalized after having a massage, and that is what many a student needs. Don’t forget to have a great day and enjoy your time with your beloved friends.

LAN Party – This is best for those studious dormitories but you can often be surprised by the amount of people who do enjoy a good computer game. It will be even more surprising when that unsuspecting cheerleader wins at Half Life.

Campus Massages – Invite Massage On The Go USA to provide everybody in your dormitory and campus a massage. This is always a great opportunity to bond with chums and is more than relaxing after a week of hard study.

Poker Night – Play a few rounds of Texas Hold Em’ with your friends. Be sure to include those who don’t know how to play by teaching them. That way the next time you have a poker night everyone can join in.

Movie Night – Watching TV on your own is boring, but watching the latest releases with your friends is so much more exciting. Bring some popcorn, soda and pizzas to have a real lazy yet enjoyable night in.

Board games – Competitive board games are always a great choice. While playing monopoly with your grandma was never fun, pitting your reputation as a business guru against others in a round of monopoly will be electrifying.

Scavenger Hunt – A scavenger hunt is a great way to get everybody out and about for an afternoon. It will require more planning than the other events but will be enjoyable for everybody who joins in. You could head to the local thrift stores to buy random, quirky and odd stuff for the scavenger hunt.

Go For Ice Cream – This will probably have the biggest turn out. Set up a night for everybody to go out to the local ice cream parlor and enjoy a night out eating sweet treats. This is a perfect opportunity to bond with people you haven’t already over a banana split.

When coming up with student activity ideas you will want to keep in mind the cost of the activities, ideally they need to be as cheap as possible and yet still remain enjoyable for as many people as possible. Most importantly have fun and relax!

Our brains and bodies need a chance to recuperate after having to process so much information. To avoid these problems it is wise to take regular study breaks, where you do something that takes you away from the work and hopefully revitalizes you. It’s recommended that for every 50 minutes of study you take a 10 minute break, this makes it easy as you can divide your study periods up into nice hourly blocks.  This doesn’t mean you have to take 10 minutes every hour. If you’re planning to study for 5 hours in total you can take a 50min break in the middle, giving yourself a chance to do something more than grabbing a bite to eat. There are many things you can do to during your breaks to relieve stress, many of which you can find in the list of study break ideas below.

Things you should do on your study break:

• Go out for a walk, this will give you some fresh crisp air, which is always stimulating after being inside for a while.
• Have a stretch and sit down somewhere other than your desk for a few minutes to relax.
• Do some exercises. Anything from going outside to going for a jog, to staying in your room and doing crunches is good for revitalizing your mind and body.
• Do some reading, make sure it entertains you.
• Spend some time on a hobby; you could have a project that you are devoted to completing during your study breaks. Super productive!
• Have a healthy and light snack to eat.

Things you shouldn’t do on your study break:

• Watch TV – You can watch discovery channel, but not garbage that will turn your mind off.
• Eat a heavy meal as this will make you tired, and before you know it you will be sleeping.
• Don’t use social networks as a study break, it’s all too easy to get absorbed and without realizing it you may have lost an hour or two.

Just remember that good study break ideas are ones that you enjoy and look forward to, and one that makes you feel rejuvenated and refocused to charge back into your studying for the remainder of the night.

Complicated hard work – When faced with a complex problem that is not truly understood and how to go about tackling said problem, a student might find themselves procrastinating as it’s the easier option.  The best way to tackle a big problem is to break it down into its smaller parts. This way you can tackle the complicated project in easy to manage stages.

Underestimating your time – It’s all too easy to think you will have 4 hours at the end of the day to do your homework, but what happens when your friends come knocking and you head out for a game of football. It’s these last minute activities that allow you to procrastinate instead of using your time to study. Make a calendar and block out sections specifically for college work. Make sure you stick to them and be firm with your friends when they want you to come out.

Focus – Losing focus or a lack of focus in the beginning is one of the many reasons procrastination occurs. It’s often the little distractions that cause us to lose sight of our commitments when it comes to completing the homework that has been assigned. Turn off and remove all distractions that you know will impede your work process. This includes cell phones, Facebook, the TV and video games.

It may be hard at first overcoming the urge to procrastinate, but once you have, you will feel a much better. Knowing that you can get back to managing your time and effectively juggling your academic, work and social lives without one impeding the other anymore and improving your campus wellness will help you get everything done that you need to get done while also keeping time free for everything else.

With so many students carrying an inordinate amount of stress from the demands of college, work and all that goes all long with the growing pains of becoming a self sufficient contributing person in society, I think we owe it to our students to help them learn how to cope. We owe it to them to help them avoid burn out and learn to enjoy the ride we called life.

How great would it be if as part of the college experience students learned how to manage their stress levels so that they could enjoy the process of pursuing and obtaining their goals and dreams.

Yes, many schools have a health and wellness department on campus but many of them do not have the funds to carry out extensive programs. Students don’t tend to take an active interest as they do with other departments, so health and wellness departments are not heavily influenced by student opinion or input.

When students think of the term “student activities” they do not think of health, wellness or stress reduction. Students think about the fun activities. Yes, student activities are about fun and fun can certainly relieve stress, but the intention with fun is not always about giving students the tools that they need to actively manage their stress on a regular basis. Instead of planning strictly fun activities, why not choose to plan an activity that is fun, but that also give students the tools that they need to deal with the stress that they inevitably encounter during college life. How about showing students through experience the value of taking action to relieve or prevent the pitfalls of stress?

Learning positive ways, such as massage therapy, of dealing with stress can be enjoyable, fun, relaxing and energizing. The choice between having a carnival or a stress relief program shouldn’t really be a question. The mindset behind one or the other is completely different. It’s not the same as hey, “Lets bring a band in or a magic show.” This is a choice between something that prepares students long term, or a short term solution. I would love to hear thoughts from people who are in student activities, working on college campuses and attending students.