This Table Talk provided a valuable setting in which to discuss stress and how to manage it. While stress affects everyone at certain points in their life, it felt particularly important to discuss it amongst students in an environment where stress often seems to be far more of the exception than the norm. Moreover, at a school that encourages challenge and rewards rigor, it is easy to develop an unhealthy relationship with stress, either by completely normalizing it or by shrinking away from it. While such a culture can push individuals to challenge themselves and grow, it undoubtedly has the potential to negatively impact mental health. Since stress is typically felt on an individual basis, it was particularly valuable to engage on such a topic with other students. This exchange initialized a much-needed dialogue on Cornell’s stress culture and ways we have each learned to combat it. The discussion with therapist Ineke Demuynck was also enlightening. I particularly appreciated that Demuynck approached stress from two sides, discussing what triggers it and how to actively confront it. It was interesting to gain a better understanding of the neurological processes that lead to stress responses. Having such a scientific, objective explanation of stress helped shape it as a logical human experience, rather than an uncontrollable, random phenomenon. Countering this explanation with more intuitive, approachable coping mechanisms, Demuynck’s conversation helped shape my notion of stress as something that can be actively managed. Even with simple responses like positive visualizations and mantras, stress is something that can be faced in a healthy, growth-oriented way. In an environment where it is easy to feel powerless in the face of unrelenting stress, this discussion emphasized the active role we can play in our own mental health and the value of openly taking about such issues.