Self Care During Midterms Season

Everyone talks about the importance of mental health but during college, it is incredibly difficult to prioritize and manage your own mental health. College is a very competitive, academically challenging environment that puts a lot of stress on us. Sometimes, it is hard to know when we need to take a step back from it all and focus on ourselves for a bit. I for one, overbook myself to the max to where when I am not doing internship work, school work, or studying, I am trying to see friends and balance my relationship to the point where I tend to leave very little for myself. Something I am trying to do this semester is develop morning and night self care routines, even if it is only 5 minutes, to recenter and focus on myself. Below, I provide a list of self care ideas, some specifically targeted towards midterms coming up, and a sample of my morning and night routine for self care!

Self care ideas:

1. Take a hot bath (maybe w/ a colorful bath bomb!)
2. Put on your favorite Netflix shop w/ some cookies
3. Re-organize your room or re-decorate 
4. Take a walk to the monuments (DC vibes) 
5. Text/call/hang out with a friend
6. Grab flowers at a plant shop
7. Say no when you need to and cancel if you need (you come first, always!)
8. Yoga or working out, any form of exercise is good for your brain
9. Drink some tea 
10. Journaling (especially when you have had a hard time – everyone needs a release) 

Specific suggestions during midterms:

1. Schedule out your studying and breaks so you allow your mind to have some “rest” time
2. Cap your work for the night and allow yourself to still get a good night’s sleep
3. Meal prep so you don’t fall short on eating 3 meals a day 
4. Use your planner or calendar to your advantage so you can map out your obligations weekly
5. Communicate with friends, organizations, clubs and such if you need to take a step back and things become too much (its important to remember your real friends will understand when you need a break) 
6. Get outside, even studying in Kogan or somewhere in DC 

Sample morning routine 

(FYI- I am not going to pretend I do this every morning as I am not a perfect human in the slightest however, I like to have a rough idea of my morning and nights to set myself up for success and to try to manage my anxiety; so this is more of a goal or outline you could say)

• Wake up; try to give myself time to wake up before going through my phone
• Drink some water, brush and floss my teeth
• Clean and moisturizer my face/lips 
• Make some breakfast and coffee :) (best part!)
• Make my bed *always*
• Change into some clothes depending on what I have going on
  • If I have to leave soon after waking up, I put on some eye makeup and fix my hair!

Sample night routine

• Take a warm shower, if I haven’t showered today
• Take my medications + brush my teeth
• Remove my makeup and clean + moisturizer my face/lips
• Unmake my bed and put on some sweats
• I like to journal out my day or something I’m upset about so I avoid thinking about it when I’m trying to sleep
• I do my gratitude / check in journal every night 
• I usually call my boyfriend after until I crash or watch a show with him! 

Its important to find what works best for you as self care is entirely and only about you! However, it is crucial everyone finds what works for them as this semester is going to get crazy. Everyone needs to have a backbone to fall back on and take good care of themselves and their bodies!