It’s that time of the semester again, when days are getting shorter and schedules are getting busier and somehow, time seems to move too fast and too slow all at once. And if you’re anything like me, it’s the time of year where you can’t slow down. You can’t take a break. You just can’t because you know that if you do, you’ll just be haunted by all the things still left on your to do list, or you might just say “f*ck it” and stop all together only to never start again because it’s all just too much. So you just keep going- keep running from class to meetings, from meetings to work, from work to the gym, then take a few espresso shots and work through the night, only to catch a few hours of sleep just to do it all over again.
But this won’t last long. Soon enough, your muscles will ache and twitch from not getting enough rest, your eyes will droop in class from not getting enough rest, your mood will swing from extreme highs to extreme lows from not enough rest, and you’ll find yourself bursting at the seams– because you’re not getting enough rest.
In this hyperactive, overly stimulated environment, it feels uneasy not being busy. When there’s a lull in our day, it feels like there’s something wrong. It’s almost as if you’re not working hard enough if you’re not approaching a burn-out or already feeling it.
Is this just me? If it is, then I guess take this article as a journal entry and welcome to my personal thoughts.
If it isn’t, then hi hello. Nice to meet you. Maybe we can help each other out.
Call me a slow learner, but it has taken me 21 years to come to terms with the fact that one person is just not capable of doing everything. Something’s always gotta give, and it’s time to stop making that something your mental health and your sleep schedule. This is still something I struggle with on the daily. But it’s time we all realized– We deserve to sleep. We deserve to take breaks. And we deserve to be calm.
With all the cool clubs and activities at McGill and in Montreal, it’s tempting to want to take advantage of everything. But a day only has 24 hours and you are only one person, and sometimes, you have to come to terms with the fact that you bit off more than you can chew. Are your courses heavier than you expected this semester? Did you sign up for too many clubs without considering the time commitment? It’s never too late to re-evaluate your situation. You are not a quitter if you decide to drop an activity or three, or even drop a class, if that’s ultimately what’s best for you. Be honest with yourself and those around you, and all will fall into place just fine.
We’ve all heard of the term “self-care” but I feel the term is now purely associated with taking long bubble baths and binging Netflix for six hours straight. Sometimes, self care is doing all the things that you don’t want to do. How full is your laundry basket right now? When was the last time you cleaned your bathroom? Sometimes, self care is pretending to be our Moms and nag ourselves into doing chores, and organizing that stack of notes in the corner from last semester that you swore you’d take care of.
And what about your physical health? Take the time to make sure you’re eating enough in the morning, and you’re getting enough nutrients in your diet overall. What about exercising? You don’t have to go to the gym to have it qualify as exercise. Get a yoga mat at home and follow along with a quick Youtube workout (Blogilates has both easy, and quick ones that last only the length of a song, so no excuses of being too busy!). Go for a walk with some friends and explore beyond the Milton-Parc Community, or keep Confiture the giant white dog company (his owners are always looking for dog walkers!).
Self reflection is also another important concept in self-care. Often, when we’re too busy, we’ll take all the thoughts and feelings we have and shove them deep down instead of facing them, validating them, and reflecting on them. There are many ways to do this: Some people like to meditate, for which there are endless resources out there on Youtube and various apps such as Headspace. Other people, like myself, like to journal. Putting things into words truly does help you straighten out the thoughts in your head, and it’s really cool to look back on days and read about little details of that day that I would’ve just otherwise forgotten. Going to the therapist is also a great option, even if you don’t suffer from any mental health problems, as they’re an impartial individual who you can bounce your thoughts off and compartmentalize your feelings. Although the McGill Mental Health Clinic is reserved for those in need of mental health treatments, you can also search out an off campus psychiatrist if you have the money to do so. There are also other resources such as Kids-Help Phone (1-800-668-6868), a national bilingual counseling service that’s both free and operating 24 hours. McGill also has Nightline (514-398-6246), a confidential, anonymous, and non-judgmental listening service run by McGill students. Talking to friends is great, but sometimes it’s also good to talk about your feelings and issues to someone who’s completely objective. At the end of the day, please don’t keep your thoughts bottled up.
McGill has a culture of laughing and bonding over shared misery and mental health issues; I’ll admit, the memes that have come from some of the instagram accounts are hilarious, but they’re also very concerning. Yes, stress and hardship comes with the territory of pursuing higher education, but frequently having mental breakdowns and going to bed at 4am regularly shouldn’t. This shouldn’t be your university experience. You deserve better. Like I said earlier, we can help each other out.
I’m making an effort to be better this semester by following my own advice in this article and if anything in that first paragraph resonated with you at all, I hope you will too. You deserve to slow down and relax. If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this article, I’m going to ask you to take a deep breath for me right now, just sit where you are, and do nothing for the next 5 minutes. Do nothing because you deserve the break. You are the center of the universe and everything else is just stardust falling in to place. And you, my darling, should pause every now and then to see the meteor shower.
With love,
Angel
♡
Images obtained from:
Indierain, UWMedicine, McGill Tribune, StudentLifeNetwork