Your mental health is possibly the most important thing to be conscious of when it comes to college.

If there is one thing to describe my experience in college, it would have to be exhausting . While college is great and completely worth said exhaustion, you have to be aware of the effect it can have on your mental health.

Now, why would you have to be concerned with your mental health? What if you have no history of mental illness?

Mental illness is most times developed through a traumatic event, or through copious amounts of stress. Stress has a huge effect on your brains function, and it can sometimes do irreversible damage. Mental health days are important to keep your brain healthy. When feeling more down than usual, lacking the ability to feel anything, or having trouble dealing with small things like social events or group work, you might want to take a mental health day.

Mental health days are when you take one full day to yourself. You do things that limit your amounts of stress and keep you from working too hard. When I take a mental health day, I sleep in late, I don't work on homework and I see people who make me laugh. To me, laughter is a very important part of my daily therapy, and it helps me when my depression gets the best of me. When taking a mental health day, it is important to remind yourself that what you are doing is not selfish or ridiculous. Taking this day for yourself is important to your health, and just like you would take care of your body if it wasn't feeling well, you should take care of your mind.

Mental health days do not consist of things that stress you out. You might think you should go see the school counselor or call your mom, but these are things that might stress you out even more. This day is for you. You are not obligated to do anything that makes you uncomfortable today. Tomorrow, go see the counselor and call your mom, but today, relax.

Being conscious of your mental health, and taking these days for yourself is not selfish. If you didn't take these days, your life would become harder to manage, the stress would become overwhelming, and it could do serious damage to your brain. You have to remember that your brain is an organ, and it can get sick. So take care of your brain, and take a day off if you need it.