Stress Busters Week 2025 Aims to Ease Finals Pressure

<p>2024 Stress Busters Week event: Students interact with therapy dogs. (Photo Credit: Ryan Anderson)<br/><br/></p>

2024 Stress Busters Week event: Students interact with therapy dogs. (Photo Credit: Ryan Anderson)

As the 2024-2025 academic school year nears its end, students across campus are preparing for final exams, projects and papers, and seniors are anticipating graduation in May. For many students, the demanding nature of this time results in mounting stress. 

The IU Indianapolis Division of Student Affairs (Health and Wellness Division) advocates for a balanced and healthy lifestyle, one which includes stress management. In response to the universal stress of finals week, they have created Stress Busters Week. This year’s Stress Busters Week takes place April 28 to May 2.

On Monday, April 28th, students can expect the events DIY De-stress Bags, Scribble Your Stress Away, Press Pause on Studying and Play a Video Game, Mocktail Madness, Zumba and Cycling.

stress busters '25 poster

2025 Stress Busters Week flyer. (Photo Credit: Office of Health and Wellness)

Tuesday, April 29th, there will be Relax, Refresh, and Recharge with Reiki, Less stress, better results: Copilot AI at IU, Tech Tools for Success, Stay-A-Float for Finals, Karaoke Night, Sunset Cycle, Create & De-stress Express, Hatha Yoga and De-stress fair. 

On Wednesday, students can attend Sundaes and Sleep, Stress Less Snacks from Around the World, Crafting Cards of Encouragement, Weekly Mindfulness Meditation, Glow and Groove Zumba, Regatta Tug-Of-War and cycling.

Thursday’s events include Mental Health Awareness Month Tabling, Tea-riffic Journalling, Fun n’ Games in Student Employment, Dissolve Your Distress, Writer’s Block Party, Dye Hard, and Vinyasa Yoga. 

Finally, on Friday, students can look forward to Jagapalooza from 3-10 PM in Lot 80 in front of the Campus Center. 2025 marks the 12th annual Jagapalooza. First established in 2013, Jagapalooza is a celebration with carnival rides, games, food trucks, and more. With nine carnival rides and six carnival games, Jagapalooza is meant to be a space to have fun and decompress for all IU Indianapolis students, staff, and faculty. 

For students who plan on attending, Jagapalooza is a free event to enter, though food trucks and carnival games do include a small cost, only payable with cash. 

Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson, the Assistant Director in the Office of Health and Wellness. (Photo Credit: Office of Health and Wellness)

Ryan Anderson, the Assistant Director in the Office of Health and Wellness helps create and oversee campus-wide events like Stress Busters Week.

“Stress Busters Week has been going on for quite a few years now, our office – the Office of Health and Wellness Promotion – is the one that coordinates it, but it’s a lot of campus partners working together to make everything happen,” said Anderson. 

The goal of this week is to provide a space to decompress. 

“We treat it as an opportunity to provide time and space for students to destress, to take a break, really in the spirit of taking care of your mental health and any other aspect of your health during this really busy time of the semester,” said Anderson.

For Anderson, this selection of events is far from haphazard. His Master's degree in Public Health informs his work significantly.

“I think a lot of it comes down to putting theory into practice. So a lot of what you do in a Master’s of Public Health program is learning the different theories that can go into some type of public health program…So when it comes to things like Stress Busters, I’m constantly asking our student employees for ideas… then getting student organizations involved… And then we get feedback every single time we do a major week of programs and apply that feedback moving forward,” said Anderson. 

For some students, finding time to take care of themselves and their mental health during the demanding time of finals, assignments, presentations, and projects can seem like an impossible task. But it is important nonetheless.

previous jagapalooza

A Previous Jagapalooza event is attended by IUI students. (Photo Credit: Office of Health and Wellness)

“It can really save you in the long run. Sometimes we just get really bogged down, especially if you are working on something for a long time or have been studying for hours on end. If there’s no break for that care, you can really be delivering something that is not your best work,” said Anderson.

Anderson advises students to take breaks during long study or work sessions, so upon returning to work, students can feel refreshed and ready to perform at their best. He even encourages his student employees to prioritize their mental health and status as a student to avoid added mental stress.

From mental health and mindfulness events like yoga and meditation sessions to physical activity like cycling to arts and crafts, the variety of events that span over the week is plentiful.

“We definitely like to have a lot of variety when it comes to the events, and luckily, since we work with a lot of different organizations and offices throughout the campus, they all want to do different things,” said Anderson.

Anderson also advocates for students to find activities that are enjoyable to them and allow them to decompress outside of Stress Busters Week. For example, Anderson enjoys adult coloring books, going for long walks down the canal, or spending time with friends.

Anderson’s final message to students: You’re almost at the finish line.

2023 stress busters event

2023 Stress Busters Week event: Students participate in "Cocoa and Snowflakes." (Photo Credit: Ryan Anderson)


“You’re almost there. You’re so close to the end of the semester, if you’re graduating this May, you’re so close to commencement which is really exciting. You can be excited about the end of the semester, it’s okay to look forward and think ‘I’m almost done,’” said Anderson.


In addition to Stress Busters Week, there are resources available year-round and during the summer to students. Anderson encourages students to use resources available to them, like CAPS or the Office of Health and Wellness Promotion’s variety of services such as addiction recovery support meetings, anonymous mental health screenings, campus health, campus recreation, health and wellness coaching, and more. 

For more information about Stress Busters Week or year-round resources, access the Health and Wellness website or follow them on Instagram.


Salsabil F. Qaddoura is an undergraduate student on a pre-law track and a copy editor for The Campus Citizen. She is passionate about public service and volunteerism to better our communities and the world.

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