5 Ways for Students to Improve Mental Health
Every school year begins with a rush of anxiety, stress, and maybe a little bit of dread thinking about what is to come. All students have felt these feelings before an exam or before completing an important assignment. Although a healthy dose of stress can sometimes motivate and push us to new heights it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In the Mental Health League we promote using different tools and techniques or as we call them game-plans in order to maintain a sense of calm and keep improving on our mental health even through stressful times in our lives. Here are 5 things you can do as a student to help maintain calm throughout the school year and reduce stress and anxiety:
1. Make Lists
I know that when I was in college, I became regularly overwhelmed with the litany of tasks from a full schedule of courses. Each course taking place on different days of the week and with different schedules for assignments and exams. It’s a lot to keep up with and the fear of losing track is palpable. Many of our team members in MHL use lists. Make a list of all the tasks and assignments to be done every week. Plan your week out ahead of time and it will help you to keep track of everything that is due or upcoming. When you do this you can stress less because everything is planned. Not to mention, checking something off a list is oddly satisfying. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself.
2. Practice Meditation and Mindfulness
Some people may think it’s weird or think it doesn’t actually do anything but meditation can really improve your ability to manage emotions and be mindful of yourself throughout a given day. When practicing meditation, you learn to recognize your emotions and physical signs of discomfort. You learn to give yourself and your emotions their space and time to be present and pass. When we are more mindful of our feelings we are more capable of staying in control even when stressed, anxious, angry etc. With greater control comes a greater ability to weather the storm and continue on with your day. Stress and anxiety can bring an otherwise productive and happy day to a screeching halt. By practicing meditation in order to be more mindful you may be able to prevent that from happening and take momentary stress in stride. There are so many great apps available to help with meditation. Your MHL coaches and teammates are also great resources to help.
3. Self-care
Just like any muscle, your mind needs rest. As students you run and run and work and work non stop. Talk of all-nighters, energy drinks, and cramming just sound exhausting. In reality, they are even more taxing than it seems. As a college professor myself I see it first hand and I feel for all of you. At MHL we encourage self-care. This is time and space that you allow yourself to get away from stressors. Do something that is enjoyable to you and allow your mind to rest. Maybe you binge watch your favorite show to get away from work. Go to the gym. Eat your favorite food. Hang out with friends. Talk to a therapist. All of these and more are examples of self-care. Too many students don’t allow themselves this time and it shows. When you are making your schedule and creating lists for the week, try to work leisure time into that schedule for self-care. You will notice the difference.
4. Compassion
So often we are our own worst critics. We tell ourselves we need to be better. We should have performed better on the test. This paper should have been more clear. Wanting to improve isn’t something to be upset about but we have to be careful to also allow ourselves to feel compassion for ourselves. We are human after all and nobody is perfect. As with self-care, we need to be able to be compassionate. Understand that sometimes we will fail and that’s ok. It’s a learning experience. Some days might just be bad days and allow yourself time to reflect and relax. At MHL we talk a lot about wins and losses and that it is OK to be NOT OK. Wins are to be celebrated but so are losses. With our losses we learn and become better but only with compassion for ourselves can we see the lessons learned as a result of our losses. Be kind to yourself. You deserve it!
5. Communication
One of the most important things we at MHL promote is communication. Communication with your team, your coaches, and the family and friends in your own life. All of us at MHL also have our own counselors or therapists to help us communicate and work through everything we ourselves need help with. On your team feed you will see all of your teammates communicating their wins and losses. Their troubles and their triumphs. They do this because talking about it is always better than bottling it up inside. We encourage engagement with your team as well as with loved ones outside of MHL. Allow yourself the time to constructively vent your troubles and maybe even brag about your wins from time to time. As you communicate more you will feel a huge weight lift off your shoulders. Stress will reduce and hopefully happiness follows. That is our goal at MHL.
6. Join the MHL
With the MHL, you get the accountability and motivation you need to tackle your mental health with daily tracking, training, coaching, and team support. Learn more and join the MHL.
