As midterms are approaching and the semester gets more and more stressful, it is common to feel overwhelmed and underachieved. Oftentimes, we notice that the relationships in our lives; romantic and platonic, are suffering as a result. However, we rarely take into consideration the relationship we have with ourselves and how that may be suffering as well. Take a moment to reflect on yourself. What makes you happy lately? What makes you stressed? What are ways that you can alleviate the stress? If these are things that are hard to answer or things you haven’t taken into consideration in some time, then you have some work to do in keeping yourself in mind.We spend every second of our lives with ourselves, so why not put as much effort into the relationship with ourselves than we would with a partner?
With so many responsibilities, academically and personally, it can be hard to not only find time for yourself but feel that you deserve to spend that free time alone. However, it is vital to get that re-energizing time with ourselves. Those 30 minutes you spend scrolling on your phone instead of moving on from one homework assignment to the next or forcing yourself to go out, is actually very important for your mental health. Everyone needs time to decompress and when life gets busier it is hard to find that time, let alone value it. It is never selfish to find quality time to spend with yourself!
It is also important to keep doing what you love! This can include writing fun articles for your campus (😉), going out with friends, or spending nights in your dorm reading, but it can also be so much more. Even finding that one show that you can’t help but watch for the fourth time is a great step for your mental health. Life should not only be full of stressful obligations, whether they be academic or social. Sit down with yourself and write a list of things that make you happy, whether that is playing a certain sport or even just going on that Dunkin run. Anything big or small that makes you happy is so important to note and try to interact with more!
Make sure to never stretch yourself too thin and to be forgiving with yourself. Unfortunately, we are not machines, we are human. In being just that, we cannot always accomplish as much as we set out to or be as involved as we would like to be. Not finishing an assignment the day you planned on having it done by or taking a night just to yourself is okay! We all have off days that we need to spend focusing on our own mental health and there is never anything wrong with that. Try to take more moments during your days to stop and note the stress you may feel and ways that you can alleviate it, whether that be to take some time to yourself responsibility free or get yourself that coffee you’ve been thinking about. Take care of yourself, it’s your most important responsibility!