Whether you spent your spring break lying on a beach sipping cocktails or lying in your bed binge-watching House of Cards, it’s fair to say that readjusting to the Davidson bubble will prove less exciting. Let’s be honest: Davidson is really stressful, and as Davidson students, we have a tendency to want to join ALL of the clubs and write ALL of the papers and go to ALL of the meetings and do it ALL today. And while pure exhaustion and hunger force us to take care of ourselves physically, it’s easy for us to forget that we need to take care of our emotional and mental health, too. As someone who suffers from anxiety, I know firsthand how ignoring my mental health can wreck my physical wellbeing. Here are some things that help me to slow down and unwind. I hope they help you, too!
1. Get outside and go for a walk. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Just ask Elle Woods.
2. Call your best friend. Davidson people are great, but there’s really nothing like a conversation with the person who saw you through your awkward middle school years. If you miss her, chances are she misses you, too.
3. Invest in a good planner. Even if there’s no way you’re actually going to get all of your reading done for the week, it helps to see all of your assignments clearly organized by class and due date. I spend about 15 minutes on Sunday night writing down all of my assignments and commitments for the week. It helps me manage my time wisely, and if someone asks me to go to lunch or schedule a meeting, I can immediately see when I have some extra time. So get some highlighters and Post-its and color coordinate that mess.
4. Clean your room. It’s impossible to focus in the middle of chaos. The amount of clutter in your brain is directly proportional to the amount of clutter in your room – if you can’t see the floor, you’re doing it wrong. Make your bed every morning, hang up your clothes and keep your desk as free of clutter as possible.
5. Don’t drink excessively. Don’t get me wrong: I like to have fun as much as the next person, but alcohol is NOT a responsible remedy for stress. There’s a big difference between a few drinks with your friends and having to figure out what you did last night from the pictures you’re tagged in on Facebook. While you might forget about everything in the moment, you still have to get up and get things done the next day, and that’s a lot easier to do without a hangover.
6. Give yourself a manicure. One of my professors told me that she painted her nails once a week while she was in grad school, just so she had an excuse to sit and not do anything for an hour while they dried – genius.
7. Get in touch with your inner child. Forget that you’re in college. Get some coloring books and crayons and have a Disney movie marathon. Don’t even try to pretend that you don’t know every word to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.”
8. Most importantly – don’t be afraid to ask for help. I spent my first two years here in an almost constant state of panic. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was struggling because I couldn’t imagine that anyone else felt the way I did. I’ve come to realize, though, that it’s okay to not be okay. No one here wants you to fail – not your friends, not your professors, not the administrators. The hardest part of having anxiety is admitting you need help, but as soon as you do, life becomes so much easier. Don’t let the stress of being a Davidson student get in the way of the fun of being a Davidson student. Take care of yourself. You deserve it.