On July 17, 2026, the NAIST Career Support Office held a Mental Energy Management Workshop for graduate students.
The workshop was designed to help students better understand their own stress responses and learn practical strategies to maintain and restore their mental energy while managing the challenges of research, job hunting, and daily graduate school life.
The workshop was led by Dr. Akira Kusumoto, a psychiatrist, occupational physician, and CEO of Industrial Mental Balance Inc. To make the event accessible to a diverse student community, the workshop was offered in both Japanese and English, attracting many international and Japanese students.
Focusing on Mental Energy Rather Than Stress
Rather than viewing stress itself as the problem, the workshop introduced the idea that the real challenge is the loss of mental energy caused by stress.
Based on the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) occupational stress model, participants learned how stress affects four areas of their lives: thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and physical reactions.
Through a self-reflection activity, students identified how they personally respond to stress and created their own "mental energy indicators." This helped them recognize the importance of noticing early signs of stress before they become more serious.
Learning Practical Ways to Cope with Stress
The workshop also introduced the concept of coping strategies and emphasized the importance of having a variety of healthy ways to manage stress.
Participants reflected on the stress management techniques they already use in their daily lives and explored additional coping strategies that could help them maintain their mental well-being.
In the second half of the workshop, students took part in small-group discussions based on graduate school case studies. They shared ideas about common sources of stress in research life and discussed practical ways to maintain their mental energy. The discussions provided an opportunity for participants to learn from one another's experiences and perspectives.
