Winston Workshop Provides Law Students with Powerful Tools to Combat Stress

Winston & Strawn was pleased to be a sponsor of Wellness Week at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where our firm’s Director of Coaching and Well-Being Diane Costigan presented “Deconstructing Stress to Enhance Performance” to a group of law students.

Diane set the stage for success by providing attendees with a Stress Management Toolkit and posing a critical question to them: “what is one thing that you want to do to reduce your stress more effectively?” This introductory workshop began with a discussion of the stress response and how it works followed by an overview of external and internal stress triggers and the common physical, behavioral, and emotional reactions that indicate a stress response.

Armed with this information, attendees learned powerful strategies to approach stress effectively. Diane emphasized the importance of focusing on what can be controlled with an emphasis on mindfulness practice to:

• Become aware of when and why stress is triggered.
• Initiate the relaxation response.
• Detach from unhelpful thoughts.
• Respond in a thoughtful way aligned with intentions.

Diane also introduced breathwork and progressive muscle relaxation as additional stress management tools. Students came away with a greater appreciation for the importance of stress management not only to overall health but for career health as well.