Advice Column Ed. 3: Self Care
This past week was Mental Health Week at Overlake, so it seems like an appropriate time to ask, how can we best take care of the most important person in our lives: ourselves?
If you find yourself in need of some advice, please feel welcome to leave us a submission in our submission box, located in the Student Center.
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Dear Weekly Hoot,
What is self-care?
-Anonymous
So many things, Anonymous! Self-care means what its title implies: caring for the self. It seems simple… and really, it is!
Often times people imagine self-care as drinking a cup of tea or enjoying a day at the spa. These things certainly count, but there is so much nuance to the practice of caring for the self that the list doesn’t come close to ending there! Self-care may mean taking a much-needed nap, or opting to scream into a pillow rather than beat yourself up over the frustrations you can’t change. Self-care may be as big as buying yourself the house you’ve worked so hard to earn (and so totally deserve!), or as little as taking a single deep breath in a moment of stress.
Self-care is unique. It is for nobody but you. Anything you do to self-regulate, self-calm, or self-praise is self-care. And you deserve every second of that love.
The hardest part of self-care is remembering to do it! Take moments for yourself today, and every day Anonymous. It adds up.
Sincerely,
The Weekly Hoot
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Dear Weekly Hoot,
I feel like I’m floating between friends. I can’t tell who really cares about me, if anyone. What do I do?
-Anonymous
This is an experience I’ve had too Anonymous. In fact, at one point or another, most of us have. So at the very least, you’re not alone in this rite of passage.
I would say begin by taking inventory of those people in your life. Spend enough time mulling things over to feel like you have a clear head, and a grasp on how you feel about these people and how they treat you. However, the key is to not bring a self-deprecating attitude to this process. Don’t dwell too long either, just organize your mind.
This tends to be a tricky situation. In short, find a balance between cutting out toxic people and isolating yourself completely. My advice is to shy away from hanging out with hurtful people. Branch out to new people, but still give a chance to those who you just aren’t that close with yet. They might surprise you.
Sincerely,
The Weekly Hoot
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Dear Weekly Hoot,
I don’t know where my motivation went, but it seems long gone. Also, my sleep schedule rivals that of an anxiety-prone hamster, which school certainly doesn’t account for.
I see no end to this disastrous cycle that has sent my mental and physical health into a nosedive, aside from my eventual demise.
First off, WTF is even going on. Second, any suggestions for a game plan to escape this horrific pattern?
I’d like to get into college at some point, but at this rate… it’s looking grim.
-Anonymous
Motivation comes and goes. Don’t feel like this is the end of your ability to be productive for all of eternity. You can and will get your life back on track — if you are dedicated.
Now there’s some contradictory advice. To escape a lack of motivation you have to find the motivation to fix the issue, suuure. But you have got to start somewhere, and I recommend taking charge of motivation in smaller ways.
This might sound counter-intuitive, but might I recommend productive procrastination. Maybe you can’t find the drive to start your homework, but you can make a list of the things you need to do. Maybe you can’t focus on school straight away after your three-hour depression nap. But you can listen to some music as you clean your room, to ease into a productive state of mind.
Eliminate lazy tasks with easier productive tasks, make plans and lists to split your tasks into more digestible pieces. And keep at it. Work on strengthening your motivation over time, the same way you would build up a muscle by working out more and more each day, consistently. It’s hard to go from zero to 100, so don’t. This also serves as a healthy reminder that you should care about and train your mental health just as much as your physical health!
Sincerely,
The Weekly Hoot
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Thank you for your wonderful submissions! If you have not seen a response, check back again next time. For advice, submit something to our box and it will be answered next week!
