Reflections on the Mental Health Week Challenge

Recently, our Her Campus chapter at the University of Maine facilitated a mental health challenge on our social media. The challenge was a week long and consisted of daily activities for our members and followers to participate in and share on their social media. The purpose of the challenge was to encourage self care by motivating participants to make time throughout their day to pause, distress, and relax their mental state. 

Day One of the challenge consisted of doing thirty minutes of yoga. Although yoga is not the mental wellbeing activity for everyone, stretching releases lots of built up tension our body holds onto throughout the day. Whether you do yoga in the morning, before bed, on your lunch break- it is a positive physical and mindful activity to add to your daily or weekly routine. You know what they say, namaste!

The activity for Day Two of the challenge was to take a walk. Winter in Maine is a difficult time: for some, being stuck indoors paired with Zoom burn-out, the motivation for physical activity is nonexistent. However, taking a walk is not only beneficial for physical wellbeing, but it also has mental benefits. Getting outside, enjoying nature, walking and talking with a friend, or reflecting deep into your thoughts, are all forms of self care that are often overlooked during the winter months.

Day Three encouraged members to practice their favorite hobby! Throughout the week, we tend to get caught up in school, work, social commitments, and other obligations! We tend to forget to make time for the activities that we enjoy. It should be on everyone’s agenda to spend time doing the hobby they love most, from playing guitar to writing a poem to a soccer game. Life is short- do what you love!

On Day Four, the challenge goal was to budget twenty minutes of at home spa-time. Whether this be taking a bath, doing a face mask, enjoying a foot bath or just relaxing, it should be a constant goal for having time to relax and take care of your body. 

On Day Five, those participating took a half an hour out of their day for a leisure read. As college students, many associate reading in a negative connotation, as we have an abundance of school work as is. However, when was the last time you read a book and couldn’t put it down because you were so invested? Being able to spend time reading content you actually enjoy (and not just for a learning basis) is very intellectually stimulating, yet timelessly relaxing.

Day Six of the challenge had members wear an outfit that made them feel good. From sweats to a mini skirt, everyone deserves to feel like they look amazing in what they are wearing. As most are stuck at home, wearing an outfit that makes us feel bomb has become rare. This activity encouraged body positivity, which is an important yet overlooked aspect of mental well being. How you feel physically sets the tone for how you feel mentally. It should be a daily goal to wear clothes that make you feel good!

The last day of the challenge, Day Seven, asked participants to journal their reflections on the week. Journaling is yet another habit that improves mental health. When overwhelmed with negative or positive emotions, writing it out helps capture, reflect, and add perspective to our thoughts. Journaling a few times a week is a great way to keep tabs on mental wellbeing.  

While our chapter realizes mental health cannot be solved with a handful of self care activities scattered throughout the week, our mental health challenge was to help our members and followers begin or grow in their journey of mental wellbeing by making time to connect with themselves and do things they enjoy. 

Personally, all of the activities in the challenge are things I love, yet I don’t do enough. In my eyes, self care has always been an important aspect of self love. Whether it be physical well being such as skin care or exercising, to intellectual well being such as writing and reading, taking care of my body and keeping in touch with my present thoughts and emotions helps me improve where my mental wellbeing is. 

Those who also participated in our chapter wanted to share reflections on how the week-long mental health challenge improved their daily lives.

One of our senior editors, Grace Bradley, said “I think it’s very easy to get wrapped up in stressful schedules and forget to look after yourself. The Mental Health Challenge really helped me get out of that mindset by reminding me to care for both my physical and mental health. The different activities for each day like doing yoga, reading, or even wearing an outfit that I felt good in were all great ways to take a step back and check-in with myself! I definitely benefited from this challenge and will continue my journey in mindfulness, self-care, and maintaining my mental health!”

Our other senior editor, Bea Johnson, also had a positive experience with the mental health challenge: “I loved the mental health challenge. It felt great to put some time away for myself throughout a busy week!”

Our chapter co-president and campus correspondent, Logan Swift, also shared her reflections on the week: “Overall, taking some time out of my day to focus on myself wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. My favorite activity was doing yoga! I love yoga a lot, so taking 30 mins to do it really helped calm me. I think getting into a practice of finding time for yourself is so beneficial in order to have a good mindset during the busiest of times!”

Self care is a critical part of mental well-being. Our chapter hopes that our members and followers continuously take care of themselves whether it be through activities such as the ones in our challenge, or other activities that better mental well-being.