Rachel Ford looks forward to Wednesdays. As a staff worker in Alfred Lerner Hall, Ford anticipates the five minutes of serenity she receives during her Wednesday lunch hour when she heads up to the seventh floor of Lerner Hall.

"I come every week. It makes me feel less stressed," Ford says. "It" is five minutes of calm while trained "Stressbuster" volunteers massage the neck and shoulders of Columbia staff-members, faculty and students. For the past six years, "Wind Down Wednesdays"—sponsored by the Alice! health education program and held from noon through 1:00 PM— have been a weekly fixture at Columbia where students and staff receive free back rubs. But since Sept. 11, many individuals have found their stress levels increasing beyond the typical pressures of daily life. The good news is two-fold: that these are relatively normal signs of collective trauma, and most are discovering a variety of ways—like massage—to manage it as a result.

Free back rubs are one of the best—and most immediate—ways to let go of tension, says Jordan Friedman, assistant director of health services. Although "Wind Down Wednesdays" have consistently attracted a large attendance since its inception, the program has seen an increased interest this past month, as have other health services programs on campuses around the country. Friedman says that requests for help and for stress management workshops suggest student anxiety levels have risen.

They are not alone. Staff workers at Columbia and on college campuses across the U.S. confess they feel more pressure and fear than they did before Sept. 11. Educators and professors are trying to keep up with requests for help and insights. Relatives of college students worry about their loved ones away from home. Spouses, children and neighbors are having trouble sleeping, staying focused, and feeling secure.

But these are all normal signs of stress in times of crisis, say psychology and social work experts. Individuals who have faced a collective trauma or personal tragedy are likely to experience a diversity of symptoms, ranging from feeling unsafe and helpless to doubt and disruption in daily eating or sleeping habits. According to information on critical incident stress (available on the School of Social Work's website), any number of traumatic events or critical incidents could create physical, emotional, relational, or mental symptoms that last a few days, weeks or months. Fatigue, thirst, headaches and muscle tremors might be among the physical symptoms. Other signs of stress might include confusion, poor attention span, guilt, decreased motivation, withdrawal, or inability to rest. The signs and symptoms of reactive stress may vary greatly, but generally individuals feel they are "not quite themselves."

None of these signs implies craziness or weakness of character. They simply indicate that the particular event was too powerful for a person to manage alone. The point is that anxiety is a fairly normal part of life these days especially, says Polly Wheat, physician and director of student health services at Barnard College where she developed and implemented the mindfulness-meditation based stress reduction and relaxation training program in 1993.

"Even if someone is coping well and not panicked, one is contacting anxiety all day long," Wheat says. "Anxiety is contagious in the way calm is contagious." Though it is not likely to go away soon, Wheat believes stress and anxiety do not have to be debilitating. The challenge to remain centered and present is obvious, she says, yet individuals can redirect their anxiety to help them cope with the unexpected.

In addition to teaching a 6-8 week program on mindfulness meditation as a way of coping with stress, a technique which uses the resources and wisdom of the body and mind to learn how to cope effectively with stress, Wheat suggests people find that which nourishes them and do it consistently. Whether it is yoga, tap-dancing, walking, jogging, taking a hot shower, getting a manicure or a massage, people need to "be kind to themselves" by scheduling these things into their lives, says Wheat.

GoAskAlice!, the education arm of health services, agrees that activity and exercise can be some of the best methods of stress reduction. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recommends increased and sustained cardiovascular elevation. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends twenty to sixty minutes of regular aerobic exercise to obtain the best stress-controlling benefits.

Kitty Reese, coordinator of the personal training program at Marcellus Hartley Dodge Physical Fitness Center, says people she's working with are finding exercise routines energizing and relaxing in light of their increased stress. The hard part for most people is simply getting to the gym. "A lot of people feel thrown from their daily routines (since Sept. 11)," Reese says, "but it is important to continue trying to live a healthy life and exercise is a key."

Fitness also ensures adequate sleep which is crucial in fighting stress, Friedman says. "Because people are losing additional sleep, waking up in the middle of the night with thoughts of the next terrorist attacks on their minds, it is helpful to be more diligent about getting 7-9 hours a sleep a night," he says. Friedman, author of "The Stress Manager's Manual," also encourages people to think and act differently in the face of the things causing them stress. He suggests people look for alternatives in those areas that might cause them stress. If the subway, for instance, is a point of tension or fear, he recommends looking for an alternative form of transportation or a different route.

Whatever the stress, it is important to face the causes and not delay the consequences, says one counselor. Though backrubs, exercise, alternative choices, and even medical treatment can help address the symptoms of stress, maintaining a healthy perspective will require confronting the causes of stress and working through them with family, friends, clergy or counselors. Many believe making conscious decisions —like limiting the amount of television viewing and increasing time for personal, honest reflection—can also confront the deeper issues behind anxiety.

Finally, it is important for individuals to revisit the goals and expectations they had before Sept. 11 and readjust them in realistic terms now, says Shinhee Han, clinical social worker and director of the Counseling and Psychological Services outreach team. As part of the "Live at Lerner" lecture series, Han encouraged people in her lecture, "How Can We Return to Normalcy," to become aware of their feelings, articulate them regularly with friends, faculty and family, and accept them as normal reactions to abnormal situations. That is the first step toward reclaiming control after Sept. 11.

"We all found out about the tragedy in our own ways. Processing it, then, can be a daunting task," Han admits. The return to normalcy in daily life will begin, she says, by keeping a physical routine, focusing on the present, and accepting new goals without internal criticisms.

Certainly everyday stresses existed before Sept. 11, such as being in a competitive academic institution, family life and career pressures. "Now we've added this huge, unprecedented new stresser to the mix," says Friedman. "Looking at your support network, doing the things you enjoy, and applying stress management techniques can all help deal with the anxiety of our current situation."