Tips to Boost Mental Health for Students (online school edition)
-Create new ways to relieve your stress. You can do this by taking up hobbies that aren’t stressful like painting, reading, journaling, jogging, sewing and even writing fanfictions or tumblr posts (kind of like what I’m doing now). If you’re not interested in doing hobbies then you can also relieve your stress by sleeping, crying or even screaming in your room. Whatever activity you choose just ensure that it won’t cause you any stress or any harm.
-Find time to hang out with your friends. Now I know that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic right now but it is very important to stay in contact with our friends and loved ones. So you can arrange in person meet ups with your friends. Just as long as you guys promise to social distance and take the necessary precautions. If you’re unable to meet up in person then you can also try keeping in touch over the screen by using facetime, zoom, skype, WhatsApp video call and many others like these.
-Form a spiritual practice. You don’t have to be religious to have a spiritual practice (not that I have anything against being religious). There are lots of stuff you can do in your spiritual practice. You can do guided meditations (you can check videos on YouTube), pray, make a gratitude list at the beginning or end of each day, practice deep breathing, write affirmations etc. These are things that you can either do by yourself or with your close friends and family members.
-Assign a ‘rest day’ each week. What I mean by a ‘rest day’ is put aside at least one day where you don’t do any school work and use this day to relax or do a hobby or do some self care or clean your room. Just choose a day where you don’t think about school or assignments for a full 24 hours. Trust me you may not think it’s possible but you need to start taking day offs from academics. Especially since many of us are unable to separate our school life from our home life now that online school is a thing now.
-And lastly check in with yourself. Ask yourself these questions as often as you can. “How am I feeling right now?” and “What do I need right now?” This is important so that you don’t end up neglecting your feelings and your needs.
I know this post was kind of long but if you have reached this far, I just hope that you are doing well despite the current situation of the world. And I know that it might be very difficult adjusting to online learning right now but I believe in us. WE CAN DO THIS GUYS. Please take care of yourself, both mentally and physically.
