Life can be stressful at times and our mental health can deteriorate. One thing that you can do to help yourself stay well is create your own wellness toolbox. Now, what is a wellness toolbox? It’s essentially a metaphorical “toolbox” that contains a collection of ideas, activities, exercises, and anything that would help you feel better when you are dealing with stress, trauma, and just struggling in general and you need a pick me up.
First, make a list of what helps you when you are dealing with moments of stress or trauma. This could include taking some deep breaths, lying down and listening to music, anything really, as long as it makes you feel better. Try to be as specific and detailed as possible. This will help in the long run. If you are having trouble, you can also do some online research about ways to destress. It’s also a good idea for you to talk with friends and other people you are comfortable with, to hear their ideas. Their ideas might help you. Some examples from my own toolbox are laying in bed and listening to my favorite playlists, looking at photos/videos on my phone of my favorite memories with my friends, watching cooking videos on Youtube, and calling my mom or my best friend and ranting to them about what is stressing me out or simply what is bothering me.
Next, make a list of things that you need to avoid in order to stay well. This is the time to be completely honest with yourself and accept your weaknesses. When you are talking with others, keep in mind that what may be helpful for someone else may be something that you need to avoid. Some examples from my avoidance list are sleeping late, procrastinating, drinking caffeine, and having my phone next to me when I am doing homework.
Lastly, make a list of what you want to achieve in the future, whether it be in the next week, month, or year. Simply writing down and having a list of your ambitions and aspirations can encourage you to work harder as you have clear goals set in front of you. Some can be easy goals, like finishing all your homework early for the week or going out and exploring somewhere on your own. It can truly just be anything you want to accomplish. Some examples from my list of goals are learning how to use weights at the gym, waking up earlier, eating healthier, expanding and adding experience to my resume, getting an internship before my junior year of college, and writing for a magazine.