Stress Management Workshop at NPS International (NPSI) School Singapore

Dr. Janani Vasudevan conducted a workshop titled “Do More, Stress Less” at NPS International School’s Secondary campus, located at 25 Scotts Road, Singapore, on April 29, 2025. The stress management workshop attracted enthusiastic participation from over 95 International Baccalaureate Year 1 students.

Dr. Kris Bhatt, Principal of NPSI, opened the workshop by introducing Dr. Janani and emphasizing the significance of pastoral care. The timing of the workshop was particularly apt, as this cohort of students is entering the most demanding period of their final year, with preparations for board exams, standardized tests, and college admission portfolios underway.

Dr. Janani initiated the workshop with an open-ended discussion on stress, encouraging students to relieve their stress by openly discussing it. Through this engagement, she helped students understand the nature of stress, its triggers, and when it becomes problematic. She cautioned students about the potential negative impacts of stress on self-concept and well-being, emphasizing that unhealthy coping mechanisms are ineffective. Dr. Janani introduced strategies for stress management, highlighting time management techniques such as “The Eisenhower Decision Matrix.” She challenged conventional views on procrastination by illustrating situations where calculated procrastination could alleviate stress. The analogies used throughout the workshop enhanced students’ grasp of stress and time management.

Student feedback underscored the workshop’s impact:

Nachiket Shrivastava shared, “Personally, I felt the workshop helped foster a healthy discussion and understanding on how to deal with the pangs of stress during “crunch time”. Using many of the points mentioned, especially the Eisenhower Matrix, I’m slowly starting the journey of becoming more organized and a little less stressed”

Grace Zhuang commented, “I particularly enjoyed Dr. Janani’s analogies because they reinforced my understanding of the concepts taught in the workshop. I have experienced a period of negativity in the past and this workshop made me realize that the cause of my negativity was the result of coping with stress in an unhealthy way. My key take-aways from the workshop are the ways to manage stress and manage time. Listening to this workshop was particularly helpful because I have a big exam coming up in the following week. It provided me with a sense of direction and reminded me to also accommodate time for breaks which would actually increase my efficiency. Dr. Janani’s words inspired me to take control of my own life. Dr. Janani was helpful and friendly, she gave me personal advice when I approached her 1-on-1 after the session.”

Nidhi Mailare noted, “The workshop taught me different levels of stress, healthy stress vs unhealthy stress, healthy vs unhealthy ways of dealing stress. All of these were covered with wonderful analogies that helped us understand how to deal with pressure and tension that leads to unwanted stress. One of the examples included making stress seem as “boiling water” and giving us 3 examples of egg, coffee beans and carrot. She used this to make us understand the effect of “stress” on different things and the different approaches to stress.”

The workshop was informative not only for students but also for teachers who actively participated and expressed gratitude to Dr. Janani for the insightful session. The event concluded with Dr. Bhatt thanking Dr. Janani and extending an invitation for her to conduct similar workshops regularly at NPSI Singapore.