10 Easy ways to take care of your mental health during a stressful semester. As can be expected, some semesters are more stressful than others. There are semesters where all it takes is an all-nighter and all is right in the world but sometimes even that’s not enough.
You feel like you are being pulled from all sides and like you are ready to be barefoot and pregnant, listen honey I’ve been there.
If you are beating yourself up about it, please don’t. It happens to the best of us. I can’t tell you how many times I cried from being overwhelmed so strap on in, you are in good company.
Without further ado, here are ten things you can do to take care of your mental health during a stressful semester.
Table of Contents
Sometimes we get overwhelmed simply because we aren’t getting enough sleep. In the age of Netflix, Hulu, Disney, Instagram, and TikTok, it can be impossible ask to simply ask your eyes to close right? This is one of those things that I struggle with to date so I know that the struggle is real.
This is how I get myself off these platforms, I remind myself that every time I am on there I am choosing them. Putting my phone down and going to sleep, is me choosing me.
You doing the same is you choosing you, choosing your mental health. With that said, put your phone down and go to sleep.
This one is very much overlooked. If you are feeling overwhelmed talk to your professor about it. These instructors are human just like you and me.
If you feel like you’re drowning then ask them for a lifeline. Here is the thing, when the semester is in session, all these things are in your control. It is up to you to ask for help. Once the semester comes to a close it will be too late.
You could also talk to your counselors at school there is a reason there is a whole army of counselors on the school payroll on a permanent basis. See even the board of the school knows that this is a crucial thing to have. It is up to you to go get help.
Go talk it out and ask for coping mechanisms. You don’t have to fight and struggle until you burn out or drown. Get help before it’s too late.
You could also just vent. Maybe you’re trying to seem like that perfect student who has everything under control, all assignments are done before the deadline always ahead of the curve but at what cost?
If you feel like you have to be perfect all the time that could weigh very heavily on anyone, not just you. You could talk it out with your friends, tell them how you’re feeling and they will give you insightful feedback.
Sometimes we just need to talk it out to lay something down. Don’t carry it if you don’t have to.
The enemy of good mental health is being disorganized. Being disorganized will make you feel overwhelmed and constantly anxious. Already we have three mental health problems just from one root cause.
The solution, get organized. Organize your assignments, your deadlines, and everything in between. Keep track of these things and your mental health will be in a better place.
Not everything is important and urgent. I shall say that again for the people in the back, NOT EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT AND URGENT.
Some things will be important but not urgent, something will be urgent and important. It is up to you to prioritize the things that fall into the urgent and important category and do them so you have time for the things that are important but not urgent so that by the time they become urgent, guess what, you’ll already have done them!!!
I have a whole post on this coming and will link it here for ya, meditation changed my life. It made me so mellow, slower to anger and aggression, more self-aware, and a ton of other good things that I have shared in this post here.
You need to meditate if you are feeling overwhelmed, take some time for yourself to relax and be in the moment. You take the guided meditation route using a great app called headspace or you could take the unguided route using an equally awesome app called Calm.
Meditation is the ultimate solution for soothing mental unease caused by the pressures of school.
Take a break. Play hooky. Did I just say that? Yes! Sometimes you just need a day, a day to press the reset button. Ae up, make some yummy breakfast, and then go back to bed. Did I DO THIS? Of course!
If you need a break then you need a break it is that simple. Don’t take it then feel guilty all day. I mean take a break and be assertive in your decision.
So much so that if your professor asked you why you were absent you can tell them to their face that you needed a personal day for your mental health.
Another great way to keep your head on straight is to keep good company. You need to tell that toxic friend to take her issues someplace else.
The company you keep can make you or break you, they could be the wind beneath your wings or the rock to your balloon. You need to be very careful about this one.
Your mental health will be so much better when you surround yourself with people who are full of good vibes.
Finally, we have arrived. You need a social media break. I don’t know what vain thing you have chosen to prioritize that you stalk people for on Instagram but I will tell you right now it is not good for your mental health.
Especially during an already stressful semester take a break. Log out and put all those apps in your phone’s freezer if you have one as I do.
Not to mention that social media is also competing for your time. The time that could better be spent doing assignments or sleeping even.
I shall wrap this up by saying the obvious which is the fact that your mental health is your responsibility. I shall say that one more time. Your mental health is your responsibility. It is like a flower, the more you tend to its need the more it will blossom.
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