At MindsILike, our student clinicians lead meaningful conversations that blend real-world experience with accessible wellness guidance for our community.
On November 19th at 1:00 PM, we hosted another powerful episode of The Wind Down on Instagram Live, featuring student clinician Zoya Khalid and MindsILike CEO Alethia Cadore. This week’s theme, Coping Strategies, offered a grounded, honest look at how we navigate stress, uncertainty, and the emotional weight of our daily lives.
Zoya opened the conversation by naming something many of us feel but rarely articulate: coping isn’t about being perfectly calm, it’s about finding tools that help us return to ourselves. She reflected on the pressures that students, entrepreneurs, and caregivers carry, and how coping becomes an ongoing practice rather than a one-time fix.
Alethia expanded on this by emphasizing the importance of self-permission. Before any strategy can work, she noted, we have to allow ourselves space to feel, rest, and choose differently. So often, especially for Black, racialized, and 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, coping becomes tangled with expectations to stay strong, productive, or unbothered. Alethia reminded viewers that strength also looks like pausing, resetting, and asking for help.
Throughout the episode, Zoya and Alethia explored approachable coping strategies that anyone can incorporate:
1. Mindful Micro-Breaks
Zoya encouraged viewers to incorporate short, intentional pauses throughout the day, 60 seconds to breathe, stretch, hydrate, or step away from a screen. Small shifts, she explained, can stop overwhelm from spiraling.
2. Naming and Normalizing Emotions
Alethia shared how acknowledging emotions without judgment allows us to stay grounded. Naming what we feel, stress, sadness, anxiety, or frustration, reduces the internal pressure to “push through.”
3. Boundary Setting
Both hosts highlighted boundary-setting as a powerful coping tool, especially for entrepreneurs and service providers who often hold space for others. Saying “not right now” can create room for healing and prevent burnout.
4. Community Connection
Zoya emphasized the role of safe, supportive relationships in strengthening our coping capacity. Community isn’t just comforting, it’s regulating.
By the end of the session, viewers walked away with a reminder that coping is not a sign of struggle, but a sign of resilience. As Alethia beautifully noted, “Coping is choosing yourself, again and again.”
Stay tuned for our next Wind Down session as our student clinicians continue leading conversations that bring wellness, compassion, and community to the forefront.
