The temperature has been dropping, the semester seems to be dragging on, and finals are taunting us from around the corner. It has recently felt harder to get up in the mornings, study well, and eat more than just the fast food on campus.
Around this time last year, I was deeply struggling with my mental health. Unfortunately, my habits and coping mechanisms were lacking, leading to the problems becoming worse. It took me getting Baker Acted upon self-admittance to the ER to make me realize just how bad it had become. This event, while traumatic, forced me to reevaluate my perception of mental health and coping mechanisms.
This year, I am thankful to say I am feeling significantly better, however, this improvement took a large amount of effort. While many factors caused this change, such as therapy, medication, and reaching out to friends and family, one of the biggest contributors was something I did. And no, I’m not going to tell you it was exercise, going outside, or journaling. These habits can improve your mental health, but they are often hard to implement while you are struggling. It’s hard enough to get out of bed, let alone trying to create a new habit.
The biggest thing I did to break this pattern was to focus on the little things around me. Cliché, I know. But it is not in a meditative way, as many might think. Rather, when I was walking to class, if I saw an animal, a pretty flower, or some event happening, I would take a picture. This only took 30 seconds, but it made me stop and notice small things that bring joy to the world.
Even if I did not think about my feelings or how the goofy squirrel made me feel, just creating a pattern of noticing did a lot to fix my mental health. It was able to pull me out of my thoughts and bring a slight smile to my day.
What I noticed was that I slowly became less annoyed with the little things in my life. Socializing became easier, and I became more invested in my classes. I am better able to pull myself out of dark thoughts and refocus myself.
I don’t want to misguide you and say that this is the fix-all. It is still important to implement healthy habits in your life, but this mindset shift is easy to implement even in your lowest energy and mood. I still have days I struggle, but remembering to find amusement, wonder, and joy in the world on a daily basis has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself.