Have you ever reached a breaking point with stress? Do you let assignments and chores pile up? Is your room a mess? When is the last time you worked out? Have you been eating a lot of junk food recently?
If you have answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, you may be in need of some reflection and self-care.
Looking back personally at my time in undergrad, I have realized that the times that I have felt most stressed were times I needed to improve my self-care. My room was a complete mess, I was very unorganized, I had laundry that needed to be done a week ago, I was losing track of assignments for school, I did not care much about my appearance, and I had not exercised in a while. Not keeping up with your own self-care can lead to depression, anxiety, and overall unhappiness.
Physical health and well-being have a positive correlation with mental health. The better physical state you are in, the more mentally stable you will be on some level. This includes the food you eat. What you put into your body is a direct reflection about how you feel at a current moment. Now, don't get me wrong indulging in ice-cream or have some cookies ever now and then is completely okay. But when you overindulge in bad foods you could be using it as a form self-care. A very unhealthy form of self-care.
Go for a walk outside to clear your mind. Fresh air helps me refocus on the current task I am doing whether that be cleaning my room or writing a twenty-page paper.
Yoga on the other hand, may not be free but can help you with your breathing and reduce your anxiety and stress. Yoga will also help tone your body and make you slow down which most of us need in life. We are always worried about the next event, assignment, or due date that we forget to be present.
Being organized will help with your stress and anxiety in finding things. If you are organized and everything has a place you will eliminate the possibility of this stress. Being organized can also mean having one specific day you plan to accomplish something like laundry or grocery shopping for example. I have found that being more organized and having a calendar with all my important due dates, doctors appointments, and social events has helped me to stay on top of everything.
Making time for everything is also an aspect for staying organized. Designate time each day to the things that are most important to you. This could be a variety of things but for me I try to designate time toward reading, school work, cycling, and my friends at school.
I also make sure I find the time to call my family during the week. Family can be your biggest support system during a time of depression or anxiety. It is so important to keep them in the loop when you are going through a difficult time. They want you to lean on them in time of need so do not shut them or your friends out. Having a solid support system away from home is key to surviving college and life in general.
Another option you have to reduce stress is going to therapy. I know our society sees this as a negative thing, but honestly I believe if people went to therapy there would be less problems in their personal lives. Therapy is also good because you do not want to always "dump" all your sadness and problems onto a friend. This could deteriorate the friendship from all the negativity being talked about.
That's another thing! Start talking about the happiness and positivity in your life! You will find that it is an infectious quality to have- being positive. No one wants to hear the negative or devil's advocate about every situation all the time. Find a healthy balance.
With everything, comes moderation. Find the right mix of positive forms of self-care that work for you! It may take time but just like the seasons these bad feelings will pass and won't last.
