Maintaining your mental health or well-being is one of the most important parts of mental health itself. Going to college adds additional stressors which is why it is crucial that you know how to take care of yourself to prevent burn out. Finding a work-life balance can be difficult but with the right tools, it is manageable.
- Make time for you. Make sure you schedule time for you is so important. What do I mean by this? A time when you can turn off your phone or take a break from Instagram or Snapchat and do something that balances you and de-stresses. Whether it is for one hour or as little as five minutes: do a face mask, listen to your favorite uplifting song, watch an episode of your favorite show, read a book, there are endless possibilities. While this may sound super corny, it is truly helpful in the long run,
- Eat Healthy & Exercise We have all heard this one before: exercise and eat right! At this point, it has been scientifically proven that what we eat can have an effect on our mood or mental health, depending on preservatives or chemicals that are being used. But eating right is only half the battle, it is also important to schedule time to get some sort of physical activity. No one is saying to work out as if you are training for a marathon, but even going for a walk and getting your blood pumping. Exercises such as cardio can cause a chemical called serotonin, also known as the happy chemical since you tend to be in a good mood when you have the right level of serotonin, to be released throughout your body which can boost your happiness.
- Sleep! Make sure you get enough sleep. When starting college, there is a lot of talk about all-nighters. Yes, studying is great, but getting a healthy amount of sleep is even better! With proper time management, you will get more studying done and feel more energized and mentally healthy by getting the right amount of sleep because sleep can affect both physical and mental health.
- Stay Connected. Staying connected is another aspect of maintaining one’s mental health. Sometimes, we can get so overwhelmed that we distance ourselves from everyone around us for no reason, but that is not always what we need. Even when we don’t realize it we may need that support system and staying connected with both friends at school and family and friends back home can increase one’s self-esteem and feelings of happiness.
- Set Realistic Goals By setting realistic goals, you are taking the right steps to prevent a possible burn out from being overwhelmed with schoolwork. Many college students, including myself, fall into a habit of procrastination, and then stress about the assignment a short few days before it is due, however, by doing something as simple as planning ahead of time and setting the right goals, allows you to get the same amount of work done with a fraction of the stress and anxiety that we are used to coming with it.
While these are only some of the basic mental health maintenance tips, there are many more out there. But no matter where you go or look, these will always be the standard ones because of how our minds and bodies are interconnected. Understanding this is one of the first crucial steps to beginning to fully understand mental health and ourselves in general.
