Our lives in college can be very complicated sometimes, especially at the end of the semester, where we have so much to do that we end up forgetting that we should also take care of ourselves, primordially our mental health, which, if it isn’t taken care of, will definitely affect everything around us. I understand because I’m also going through it too.
That’s the reason why I decided to bring some tips to help you maintain mental health at the end of the semester. But, before we start looking at them, we should understand: why it’s important to give our attention to our body and what it causes if we don´t? Let’s?
Basically, if you ignore your mental health, your life will be miserable. It’s harsh like that, but believe me, mental health is just as important as the rest of your grades, classes and graduation in general. It’s normal to get a little bit more anxious at the end of the semester, because of the desired vacations, and because of the teachers are going crazy giving you all that work. So, you only study and work all the time and don’t even notice the signs your body is giving for you to take a break for yourself. You get angrier, more tired, don´t sleep properly, don´t mind not eating, forget to drink water, and as you get upset you become more uptight, getting mad at people around you who don’t deserve that behavior.
We know it’s not easy at this period of college, but if you let all those bad habits continue, you will get really bad anxiety and even depression, making you take all those medications. To make this text more complete and help you more to deal with your feelings at this time, I’ve contacted two great psychologists that gave me tips on how to maintain my mental health that actually helped me concentrate better on studies. Débora Moraes, who is an awesome therapist, gave me these followings tips:
Have a routine
This tip is to help you organize your thoughts and studies. So, establish a period of the day where you can focus on studying.
Exercises are great for you, even if it’s just a walk
Respect your boundaries!
Everything in excess is bad for you.
Eat well
I know it can be hard sometimes, when you have a lot of to do, but don´t starve yourself, it will only damage your whole body.
I also contacted Jacira Carvalho, who is also a great Therapist too and a children book writer. She gave some of the same tips above and a little more, check them out:
Start the day doing some stretching, and take a long breath!
Focus on the essential
When organizing your study material, throw away things that don’t matter, stay with only the essential.
Don’t use the phrase “I’ll do it later”
If you have established that time for studying, do it.
Use your phone less!
They are one of the most distracted things. Focus on yourself!
Take a break
If you lose your concentration, it’s ok to take a break. Stop, breathe, stretch, drink water or eat something, pet your pet, give someone you like a hug and then continue.
Stay positive
At the end of the day, be grateful, work on positive thoughts of your day and prepare yourself for the next one.
After all those great advice from professionals, are you sure you are going to break yourself? I don’t think so, you will be so much better and happier if you follow them. I am a student at the end of the semester as well, and what I do is hang more with my family and let myself be with my pets to balance and recharge my energy. I also love having breaks in the sun listening to some good music, and arrange time to talk to my friends via Facetime, WhatsApp or whatever social media I like. Because of the pandemic it’s important to talk to someone who is going through the same as you, laugh your problems out. I also started doing Yoga before bed and meditating when I woke up. It has been really helpful, I know my body appreciates it a lot!
Last, but not least, I hope you enjoyed the tips and start taking care of yourself!
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The article above was edited by Nicoly Bastos.
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