How to Help Your Personal Wellness in College

Moving into the middle of the semester, it starts to really all come together and start to weigh on you. Midterms hit, the weather changes, and you realize how limited the time is that we have in college. 

Personally speaking, I have been having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I only have one semester left in college before having to become a “big girl” and get a “big girl job”. We all joke about it and everyone always says how quickly time flies, but you don’t really think about it until you’re staring it in the face. 

Here are my biggest tips, being a senior in college now, for how to get out of the brain fog that accompanies getting older and dealing with the hardships of college. 

Number one: spend as much time with your friends as possible. Study breaks are truly key in not getting overwhelmed by what is taking place in your academic life. If you spend too much time in the library your head will feel like it is going to explode. People also don’t mention how much FOMO takes out of a person. Sitting there and realizing that your friends are doing things without you is one of the biggest tolls on mental health in college. 

Number two: making sure that you take time for yourself. I know it can be challenging to say no to going out, but sometimes you really do just need that night in to make sure that you are centered and grounded. It also helps to add balance between work, school, partying, and friend time. Sometimes those couple hours alone to enjoy your favorite movie or show can be what sets you up for success in the next week. 

Number three: maintain positive friendships! Make sure that the people you surround yourself with are the ones that are going to continuously lift you up and make you feel better about yourself. It can be really hard at times to cut out the negativity that already flows through your own head, but making sure that people that are around you help you through that negativity is what it really is all about. Sometimes friendships can turn negative and it is completely okay, and necessary, to distance yourself from them at times if they aren’t rewarding you or fulfilling the need that you have for that relationship in your life. 

Number four: BOUNDARIES! Setting good boundaries is the best thing that you can do to support your mental health. Allowing people to walk all over you will only make you spread yourself thin. Think about how much you have to do for yourself to get good grades, make it to work, entertain yourself, if you are doing this for other people too often too then how will you prosper? It’s easy to get lost in it, but it’s also even easier to help yourself when you have a solid foundation of boundaries laid! 

Number five: Have fun! Take every opportunity that you are offered to have fun and be spontaneous. Putting yourself out there can be terrifying but every chance that you feel comfortable doing it you absolutely should! That’s how I met some of my best friends and found the best hobbies while in college. If I didn’t put myself out there I wouldn’t be living with the people I call my best friends and roommates, I wouldn’t be in my sorority, I wouldn’t have the job that I have, and I can confidently say that I wouldn’t have had as many opportunities within my academics. 

Remember that you have the power over your mental health and over what goes on in your life!

• #Friendship
• college
• health
• mental health