Four Small Ways to Take Care of Yourself Every Day
By Hailey Cernuto
In the midst of midterms, the upcoming election, and the lack of a fall break, student stress is at an all-time high. I know, and I know many would agree, that it's way too easy to get sucked into the stress and even easier to forget to take care of yourself. Your mental health is one of the biggest contributors to your well-being. If you’re not feeling good, it makes daily tasks, homework and everything in between that much harder to complete. That’s why it's so crucial to be attentive to how you’re feeling, and to take care of yourself on a daily basis. Here are some small things that you can do every day to tend to your mental health:
1. Practice breathing exercises
One of the most common strategies for coping with anxiety and everyday stress is deep breathing. This exercise is clinically proven to be effective when practiced correctly and regularly. A common misconception is that the purpose of deep breathing is to empty your mind. In reality, the goal of deep breathing is to train yourself to be in the present, and when you have a stressful or fear-provoking thought, to let it go and deliberately redirect your attention to your breathing. To practice this, first sit or stand straight up in a quiet place. Inhale for 3-5 seconds through your nose, hold your breath in for the same amount of time. Exhale for 1-2 seconds longer than the inhale through your mouth with your lips puckered as if to kiss someone. The purpose of the longer exhale is to rid yourself of all the bad thoughts. You’re letting go of what isn’t important in that moment.
2. Take some time to acknowledge good things
Even when we’re under immense amounts of stress and pressure, and even on the worst days, we can always look for the positives in life! It's important to remind ourselves that things aren’t ALL bad. To practice this, spend 3-5 minutes every day thinking about (or even better, keeping a journal of) all the good things that happened. Even if you failed a test or got a parking ticket, there’s a good chance that you also had a good meal, saw a cute puppy, or heard a good joke that day. I’ve been doing this regularly and my list is almost always 10 or more items per day… there is so much more good out there than we think!
3. Treat yourself
Do something for yourself that you don’t do regularly. Getting a blowout, ordering a special coffee from Starbucks, or buying the shirt you’ve been eyeing for a few weeks can go such a long way for our mental health. It’s important to treat ourselves once in a while because it’s SO important to remind ourselves that we are worthy of nice and special things!
4. Call a loved one
So simple, but so effective. Whether you call your mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt or cousin, or close friend, it doesn’t matter. Your family (especially your parents) usually know you better than anyone and, even if you don’t realize it, always know what to say. Even if they don’t offer direct advice or words of encouragement, I find it so comforting just to take a few minutes to talk to my mom.
