Pag-amuma Ginhawa: A Stress Management Program for the NBSC Employees
Pag-amuma Ginhawa is NBSC’s program for stress management and personal development aimed at benefiting its employees and stakeholders. The successful institutionalization of this program is attributed to the support and initiative of the College President, Dr. Catherine Roween C. Almaden, the Vice President for Administration and Finance, Dr. Helen E. Maasin, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Jovelyn G. Delosa. It is under the umbrella of Pag-amuma that the Ginhawa Program was welcomed and implemented.
On April 25, 2023, the Pag-amuma Ginhawa 1 Batch 2 was held at the NBSC AVR for newly hired faculty and those who were unable to participate last November 2022. On May 2, 2023, the same program was held at the NBSC AVR for newly hired administrative and non-teaching staff and those who were unable to participate last December 2022. Pag-amuma Ginhawa Phase 1 focused on restructuring the stress management program using a multidisciplinary approach. Mr. Reynan Sarsalejo Salo, the speaker, introduced the participants to the importance of understanding and applying the cycle of experience, the loop of distress, and the window of tolerance in our daily lives. He also introduced some self-care techniques before the program ended. The value taught by Pag-amuma Ginhawa Phase 1 is that the distress we experience sometimes comes from things we believe are outside of our control. However, we can navigate around this experience of distress by using the space between the stress stimulus and our response to learn about what the stress stimulus wants, so we can respond accordingly and not just react unattentively.
Also, last April 26, 2023, the Pag-amuma Ginhawa 2 Batch 1 for the NBSC Faculty was held at the Villa Imelda Farm Resort. The focus of Pag-amuma Ginhawa 2 is emotional regulation which leads to healing. In this whole-day program, the participants were introduced to the relationship between memory and the experience of distress. Mr. Salo then guided the participants in understanding their experiences of fear, worry, anxiety, sadness, and anger. The program ended with an activity on the art of letting go. The value taught by the Pag-amuma Ginhawa Phase 2 is that we keep holding on to something that unceasingly hurts and haunts us. We need to understand whatever it is, acknowledge it, and forgive ourselves for the pain we have been causing ourselves all this time by holding on to that pain. We can truly be free and heal only by letting go of that pain.
Onward to Pag-amuma Ginhawa Phase 3/5!
