This time of year is the best time for stress to be high. First semester classes are in full swing, celebrations and festivals seem to happen every other weekend, and the holidays are right around the corner. All these factors not only make life more stressful, but they can also produce a different type of fatigue. Social fatigue is something that doesn’t necessarily make you want to sleep but instead makes you feel like a big pile of brain mush. Having a week packed to the brim with social activities makes it hard to find that necessary time alone.
Now more than ever, it’s so important to make time for yourself. It doesn’t have to be an extravagant night of self-care including bath bombs, face masks, and the whole nine yards. A simple way to spend time alone could be just watching a show. Giving your mind time to recharge is so incredibly important, and sometimes, doing nothing is doing the most for you.
A year ago, we were basically doing everything solo. Classes were taken from our beds, holiday celebrations were small or nonexistent, and we met up with old friends through our computer screens. This year we can actually do the things we weren’t able to do for a whole year and although life isn’t completely back to normal, the small sense of normalcy we’ve gotten back has really turned life back to busy schedules. Going from having almost all your time be alone can make it challenging to start being out and about again. This is another reason why it is so important to recharge that social battery so that you can get used to being a social butterfly again.
So, any amount of time you take to just be alone and not go do anything is so important. Never get down on yourself for relaxing, but instead, think of something that you need to add to your to-do list. Now is the perfect time to light those fall-scented candles, cuddle up underneath some blankets, and take some much-needed R&R. You’ll appreciate social events so much more, and have more energy to attend them. Here’s to YOU-time.