Ways to Recharge Your Mental Health
The winter semester is almost over! So many students, like myself, are so excited to finally be able to take a mental break from the large amounts of stress put on us during stressful exam seasons! In no time, the days will get longer, the weather will continue to get warmer, and we all will start the process of recharging for the up-and-coming school year! Here are some effective tips to help recharge your mental health this summer break!
Journal Your Road to Recovery
It can be difficult to feel as though you are improving or recognizing how far you have come through your mental health journey. The University of Rochester Medical Center found that journaling can help you manage your anxiety, reduce stress and cope with depression. Tracking your daily progress can help you prioritize yourself and recognize your day-to-day triggers.
Journaling gives yourself room for positive affirmations that can accelerate your mood throughout the day. Mental health is not a linear journey, recovering, and recharging after a long year can be difficult. There are many different ways you can track your day-to-day journey. Some positive reflective tools recommended by Recovery.org are writing 2–3 sentences of affirmations and writing something you wish to accomplish for the day no matter how small. This will allow yourself to build self-confidence and assurance. Overtime, engaging with these goals and affirmation can reduce overall stress.
Recovery.org brought up a study published in 2001 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology that found increased journaling enhanced cognitive integration and increased capacity for working memory. When put into long term stress, it can be difficult to find a place in ourselves to feel positive. It can also be difficult to uplift ourselves but taking the right steps to recharge and reflect can input stronger and healthier mindset for the upcoming year.
Recharging Your Gratitude and Joyfulness
Recharging your inner joy and gratitude can be difficult after a burnout. The amount of overall gratitude and joyfulness you practice in your day-to-day life has a profound effect on one’s mental health.
Harvard Health stated that positive psychology research found that gratitude is associated with greater happiness. Those who feel and consistently express their day-to-day gratitude overtime have improved mental health. Joyfulness has the same effect on one’s mental health. Practicing joyfulness (or doing things that bring you overall joy) is a great way to reduce anxiety, reduce negative through’s and feel overall more satisfied and fulfilled. After a long year of studying and having no time to focus on the things that make you happy practicing gratitude and joyfulness allows for a boost of mental health and day by day can help you recharge after a long stressful year.
Harvard Health also mentions that small adjustments such as practicing gratitude and joyfulness in even small amounts can significantly reduce your overall stress levels. Gratitude and joyfulness can be practiced in really simple ways, this can be done through simply writing down what you’re grateful for, expressing it to someone you care about, or simply saying it out loud.
Joyfulness can also be practiced with the same amount of ease. It can be simply going on a walk outside if that is what you enjoy, or getting your favourite drink. It’s always crucial to remember on your mental health journey, that small steps in your mental health journey can go a long way.
Taking a Break
Recharging your mental health can be as easy as taking a break. Yes, a break. As university students, we are so used to a lifestyle that is consistently on the go, there is always something to do, there is always work that needs to be done. Taking a break from this busy lifestyle and simply relaxing, can go a long way in recharging your mental health.
As summer approaches, so does the need to fill up your summer calendar with a new job, new summer courses, and new activities. Before jumping into that this year, think about how much you need to recharge, and what you can, and cannot handle. Having a time in the year to mentally recharge is very important to have long term mental stability. Being able to sit back and take a break is vital to give your mind and body enough time to recover. Having time to eat well, and give yourself a few minutes a day to practice joyfulness and gratitude can go a long way overtime.
Before you start planning this summer’s activities, plan your mental health first. Make sure every night you are getting the 8 hours of sleep as your mind and body need to recharge, give yourself enough time to practice self-love, enough time to journal, and practice the things you truly love.
After a long year of being in a pandemic, many students’ mental health has taken a significant hit. Losing sleep, being on our computers all day getting course work done, or even being out for long hours trying to go to work, is heavily draining on one’s overall mental health. Take this summer and use these tips to reflect and recharge! Allow yourself time to take a break and feel great again! Good luck with finals everyone!
