A speech Dr. Maness gave at a weekend workshop in Atlanta in July, 2019

I once knew a diligent college student striving for academic excellence.

Every morning, she woke to a relentless alarm, the sound echoing the weight of expectations on her shoulders. Devvie’s life was a tapestry woven with strands of ambition and anxiety, each day a thread of academic pressures, unwritten essays, and a looming sense of what lay ahead.

Amidst the chaos of finals week, Devva felt the familiar grip of worry tightening around her chest.

• “What if I don’t get into graduate school?
• What if I let my family down?”

These thoughts danced in her mind like a chaotic orchestra, each note a reminder of her fears—fear of the unknown, fear of failure, and fear of disappointing those she loved.

One afternoon, after receiving a particularly low grade on a project she had poured her heart into, Devva sat under the ancient oak tree on campus, her sanctuary. Its gnarled branches, twisted and resilient, felt like a mirror to her own turmoil. She could feel the soft rustle of leaves above her, urging her to reflect. In that moment, she pulled out her journal, a constant companion throughout her journey.

Devva began to write, scribbling down her worries. As the ink flowed, so did her realization: her worries were not merely a shadow of doubt; they had specific triggers.

Academic pressure was just one aspect. Relationships were another—her friendships felt strained, with the fear that she might lose her closest allies to the academic riptide pulling them apart. Society’s expectations loomed, too, an invisible weight that demanded perfection.

With every word she wrote, she felt lighter. She segmented her worries into categories:

• grades,
• friendships, and
• societal judgment.

By distilling them into tangible entities, her mind painted clearer pictures, allowing her to recognize the thoughts swirling inside her head weren’t insurmountable monsters but manageable challenges.

Yet, as Devva unearthed her triggers, she also acknowledged the role of stress in her life. Stress was a persistent companion, motivating her to meet deadlines, yet sometimes morphing into an overwhelming force.

The relentless cycle of stress often left her drained, battling panic attacks that clouded her judgment.

Days turned into weeks, and as finals week approached, Devva decided to take a different approach.

Instead of allowing worry to govern her, she sought balance.

She reached out to her friends to find solutions. Devva admitting her fears and inviting them to share their own vulnerabilities. Together, they formed a study group, transforming individual pressure into collective support.

Devva also incorporated moments of self-care into her routine, BTH Mind Management program which includes;

• Maintaining her Evening Bedtime Journal
• Morning Meditation
• Morning Yoga
• Afternoon walks after work to the park to relax and recop
• Solutions Hour early evening

Refer to the BRE Mind Management Program

The program teaches you how to breathe, how to manage rogue and stressful thoughts, how to offset those thoughts to your daily solutions hour. How to breathe relax, focus and enjoy life.

Each small step became an antidote to stress, a pathway to clarity.

On the last day of finals, as she sat in the examination hall, a wave of calm washed over her. Devva realized that while worry is a natural response, it doesn’t have to dictate her life. She learned that understanding her triggers and embracing the support of her community were essential in navigating her thoughts and feelings.

As she left the hall, the sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow across the landscape.

The future was still uncertain, but with the knowledge that she possessed the tools to manage her worries, Devva felt ready to embrace whatever lay ahead.

In that moment, she understood; Worry might knock on her door, but it didn’t need to be invited in.