Disclaimer: I’m not a psychology expert. This essay serves as an attempt to help students take a more practical approach to the way they treat themselves.

Back track to two weeks ago when you were preparing for / taking midterms: Breakfast is simply a caffeinated beverage, dry-shampoo and perfume replace your daily shower, and the bags beneath your eyes are so dark and sunken that not even tattoo-concealer gives you ample coverage. You haven't seen your friends much, and have scrubbed for three days in a row. You don’t honestly expect to work efficiently in this state, do you?

The stigma around self-care in America is deplorable. We think that by neglecting to meet our needs as humans, and only focusing on the task at hand, we will somehow come out of the experience a stronger, more disciplined person. Quite frankly, that’s b.s. I aim not to prompt my readers to pamper themselves and neglect responsibility in stressful times, but to balance hard work with meeting other personal needs; not only will this change your perception of the stress in your life, you’ll also be more equipped to conquer whatever it is that’s got a hold of you.

Suppress judgement- freely think about what you can do to reset and feel good. Maybe it’s going for a manicure, grabbing lunch with a friend, breaking a sweat in the gym or regrouping with some Netflix n’ Chill. When our schedules are free, we do these things more frequently- but when we really need them is when we’re busy and stressed out. So how do you find time to indulge in life’s pleasures when it seems the world is spinning faster than you keep up? For one, you can organize your time. Wake up in the morning and create a chronological schedule for what you’ll do that day; by setting up time blocked activities, you’re less prone to distraction anyway. If you’re not super organized, you can also just break up your studying with little rewards like going to the gym, and then coming back to the library. This will help you to refocus and not lose steam. We’ve all seen the data that supports chunking material makes it easier to retain opposed to cramming, anyways.

Self care “prevents burnout, reduces the negative effects of stress, and helps you refocus.” (Kirstin Wong) So stop self-shaming for taking care of yourself when there’s a lot on your plate- it’s highly beneficial in the long run.