Important Message from Maria Pascucci, Founder of Campus Calm

I created Campus Calm to shine a light on perfectionism as a private barrier to student health, confidence and leadership development so our best and brightest young people could see that they are not alone with the pressure they face.

When I coach students or speak on college and university campuses across the United States, I want to be an inspiration for young leaders and a source of encouragement by letting them know that they too can overcome the hard stuff like perfectionism, anxiety, depression and insomnia and go on to create happy, purposeful lives, from college to career.

Campus Calm is not meant to be a substitute for professional counseling.

My words of wisdom should be considered the advice of a big sister who is also a former anxiety-ridden college perfectionist. Anything I write or say on my website, or during my campus presentations, is through the lenses of a certified professional coach, who is trained to help you trust yourself, make clear, conscious choices and be the leader of your own life. I may have personal experience as a recovering college perfectionist, but as a certified coach, I understand that your journey is unique and so are the solutions I coach you to create for yourself.

The Campus Calm website could be one component of your decision-making process – no decision should be made or action taken without the coaching support or counseling support of a professional. Without a face to face meeting with a professional, the advice given will not be able to take into consideration the full range of facts and issues that need to be considered in rendering complete and useful advice. Any advice you see on the Campus Calm website should be shown to a professional as a part of the overall decision making and healing process and may be useful in opening a dialogue that may lead to the root of a person’s maladaptive perfectionism, anxiety or stress.

To help me move past my own mental health challenges while in my twenties, I visited my campus counseling center, and sought counseling as a recent college graduate. I cannot stress enough how imperative that was. I read books, invested in a lot of personal leadership development, hired a qualified life coach, ‘journaled’, changed my diet with a primary focus on nutrition to support my anxiety-ridden nervous system, took up Yoga, began meditating – in short, I created a positive environment to support my healing, but I did not attempt to do it alone.

I am a certified life coach, nutrition coach and personal leadership development coach. I am not a licensed counselor. If you are experiencing mental health issues like anxiety or depression, I encourage you to seek professional help from your campus wellness/counseling office, or from a licensed counselor in your area.

Many times, my high-achieving clients will work with me to:

Become crystal clear on what their core values are
Prioritize their time in alignment with their core values so they no longer feel overextended and overwhelmed
Overcome fear and guilt-based people pleasing that all-too-often causes students and young professionals to choose college majors, leadership and career opportunities that aren’t the best fit for them
Communicate healthy boundaries on their time and energy
Co-create effective self-care strategies that are in alignment with their core values
Question unrealistic societal standards of success, beauty and leadership
Breakthrough the pressure to be perfect and look perfect
Learn about nutrient-dense whole foods and their power to help high-performing students to calm stress, sleep better, look and feel their best and create the energy to lead
Articulate how they want to lead and serve in the world using their authentic voice, skills and passions
Stretch themselves outside their comfort zone
Lead with more internal power, confidence, health and resilience

*Oftentimes, students and young professionals work with me in a one-on-one coach/client relationship while they are simultaneously working with a counselor to help with the anxiety and/or depression piece of perfectionism.

If you are experiencing the perils of perfectionism alongside critical mental or physical health challenges, please contact the following organizations:

United States: National Suicide Prevention Hotline
The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones

Helpline: (800) 273-8255 (TALK)

National Eating Disorders Association
Dedicated to providing education, resources and support to those affected by eating disorders.

Helpline: (800) 931-2237

The Jed Foundation
JED is leading the way to a comprehensive, community-based model of protecting student emotional health and preventing suicide at schools across the country.

Anxiety Disorders Association of America

Founded in 1979, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and co-occurring disorders through education, practice, and research.

Resource Linking Requests: Maria already provides a library of valuable resources for students that we encourage you to link to. We do not respond to requests for content linking partnerships at this time.