College is an exciting venture for students everywhere. Unfortunately, the pressure to keep up can become damaging to your mental health. If this is something you’re struggling with, here are five ways to improve your mental health during school.
- Get Enough Sleep
College students aren’t known for getting a lot of sleep. After all, most have a lot of homework and parties to attend. However, breaking this stereotype is essential for your mental health. This isn’t merely because of grades. Without sleep, it can be harder to process your emotions in a healthy way. Therefore, you’ll want to focus on getting at least seven hours of sleep a night. Take a look at your schedule. While this may not be appealing, look for earlier times when you can do homework. Also, look for techniques like 5G management and orchestration that’ll make homework go faster. If you want to attend parties, try to avoid ones during a weekday. The more sleep you get, the healthier you’ll feel.
- Study Subjects You’re Interested In
In college, you often have to take courses you have little interest in. This is especially true for freshmen. Unfortunately, this can promote unhappiness and even depression in students. Spending all of your time doing something you don’t enjoy isn’t stimulating at all. Because of this, you’ll want to take at least one class that interests you. During your early years, this will probably need to be an extracurricular course. Later on, you can take courses within your major that you enjoy. Get creative when looking for classes! Colleges often have highly unique and interesting courses to offer. For instance, you could learn about superhero movies or children’s books. Just be sure that you will legitimately enjoy this course.
- Hang Out With Friends
Hanging out with friends is essential for mental health, especially when you’re away from home. Unfortunately, doing this isn’t easy for everyone. If you’re an introvert, you may have difficulty making friends in the first place. Making plans can feel stressful, not to mention taxing on your energy. Despite this, being with people at least once a week is extremely healthy. For one thing, it gets you out of your head. Being alone with your thoughts for too long can be dangerous, especially if you suffer from anxiety, depression or OCD. Also, hanging out with friends can provide a sense of worth. It’s less easy to feel self-conscious when you’re surrounded by supportive friends.
- Know Your Limits
Knowing your limits is vital during college. Because this form of schooling is so flexible and open-ended, it can be easy to push yourself too hard. While this may be tempting for overachievers everywhere, it can become very unhealthy after a while. Pace yourself. If you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed with stress every day, it may be time to take a step back. Remember that dropping a club or even a class for mental health isn’t giving up. Doing this is healthy. You’ll also want to find ways to make college easier for yourself. For instance, you can look into private student loans and attend tutoring sessions. No matter what, don’t let yourself drown in schoolwork. No class is worth destroying your mental health for.
- Ask for Help
If you feel yourself struggling with mental health in any way, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Your school likely has therapists on campus for this very reason. While scheduling an appointment and showing up can be very difficult, you’ll likely benefit in the long run. If you don’t feel comfortable with a therapist, you can always reach out to a community leader or trusted professor. Sure, these individuals might not be trained in therapy. However, you can have honest discussions together and receive support during classes. If all else fails, reach out to your friends and family. These individuals love you and want you to be happy. No matter what, don’t try to handle these problems by yourself. You deserve help and happiness.
Nothing is more important than your mental health, especially when you’re experiencing stress. Practice self-care and enjoy college!
