As many students feel going into November, post-reading week can be depressing. Weâre going through the lows of midterms and studying, while also experiencing the highs of homecoming and Halloweekend. This leaves so little time to take care of ourselves: both our bodies and our minds. As we transition out of all of the festivities, I personally am beginning to fall deeper and deeper into these fall blues. I have been procrastinating when I normally donât, Iâm dragging myself places instead of being happy and willing to go, and most importantly, I am not giving anything that I do 100%. As someone who considers myself a bit of a go-getter, I am determined to get myself out of this slump and back into a positive mindset with as much drive as possible. These are a few of the goals I have set for myself to keep my head up and lock-in at this time, which I hope to be helpful for more than just me to contemplate.
Individualizing my spaces
In order to fully embrace my spaces, I am dedicating my studying and schoolwork to be done anywhere but at home. Not only do I find that I work better in a more focused environment, but I also want my home spaces to feel like just that: home. Studying in my room cultivates a stressful environment when I am doing schoolwork and maintains those high stress levels for me. I donât want my chill spaces or eating spaces to make me feel uneasy or stressed because of the lingering vibe from doing my schoolwork there. So, one of the main ways I am choosing to get out of my slump is to separate my spaces for what they are meant for. That way, I wonât be walking into a stressful environment at every turn of my day.
Limiting my alcohol consumption
The second thing I am doing to fend off the fall blues is limiting my drinking. After the craziness of the past two weekends, I donât even think I can look at a drink anymore — let alone consume one. In that sense, I donât think this sort of pledge will be that difficult for me. Regardless, alcohol is a depressant. The consumption that has taken place over the past couple of weeks has definitely been a big contributor to my feeling âslump-y.â I want to enter a new era of self-care, where my time at home and weekends are taken up by spending time with the people I love, relaxation and any other activity that doesnât involve alcohol consumption. At the end of the day, no one truly needs alcohol to have a good time. Without consistent weekend consumption, I believe that my brain fog will start to clear a bit, so I can focus on what needs to get done. I think that the good times to come, in the next month or so, will revolve around reading, journaling, playing Mario-Kart and watching cozy movies. I want to embrace this fall, not drag myself through it!
making time for exercise and mindfulness
The final thing that Iâm devoted to is not skipping any parts of my physical activities. In the past few months, I have been hurrying myself through, and skipping, some of the most important things. The first thing I have found myself slacking on is cardio. Cardio is the only time during my lifts that I really just let myself think, reflect or listen to my music which is honestly one of the most therapeutic parts of my exercise. If I push myself harder to do my cardio, I know that it will not only make me feel more accomplished in my workout, but also slightly more grounded: and I will take all the grounding I can get when Iâm stressed! I also have a tendency to skip my mindful yoga and meditation that I typically close out my workouts with. Daily mindful practices can be so important in getting through a slump or low point in life, despite the odd stigma that seems to surround it — especially in a university setting. Even if you donât know exactly what youâre doing, finding what grounds you can completely alter the way you think, and the perspective that you have on a day-to-day basis. There is no shame in practicing meditation in the way that works for you, and no outside judgment can breach the focus and self-understanding that can come from it.
Overall, there are many things that can be done to get out of these slumps, but these are some of the main things that I will be doing to save my sanity in this somewhat depressing time. The biggest suggestion I have to other students would be to find what works for you and individualize your spaces and experiences. That way, you can push through the sometimes depressing section of the year that is fall. As always, surround yourself with the people you love and make time for the things you want to do, because that will have the utmost impact on reversing the dullness that the fall and winter months can carry.