I watched an awesome YouTube video by Hitomi Mochizuki about habits she incorporates into her everyday life to keep from spiraling into her depression. I resonated with this because I too, struggle with depression. Spring semester has been the best yet, but has also been the busiest I’ve ever been. It is so easy to get caught up in exams, school work and all of the fun things in life and forget about self care. So here is a list of my habits that I do to maintain a healthy mindset.
Get A Good Sleep
Getting a good sleep is a hard habit for me to keep up with. Since I don’t really have a regular sleep schedule, I find myself going to bed around midnight most weeknights and try to allow myself wellness days and Sunday mornings to catch up on my sleep. I also take naps when I need to but it isn’t a habit that I want to rely on.
Eat Healthier
This is such a difficult habit to form in college. Your friends will always be going out to eat or going to ice cream and the temptation is real. Many of my meals are made by our chef at the Chi Omega house and they are relatively good for you, but I wouldn’t say they are the healthiest option. I haven’t been dieting but have just trying to eat more vegetables and fruits because I know they make my body feel good. When I eat unhealthy I find my body feeling exhausted and my mental health feels in a low place leading me to feel bad about myself.
Regular Phone Calls With People Close To Me
I am the kind of person who loves to chat and stay in touch with all of my friends even if they aren’t in close proximaty to me. Long distance friendships mean the world to me. On Sundays I like to call my friend who is studying abroad and hear all about her week and share about mine. There is something so relaxing to me about our phone calls. It is almost like it is a relief to break down my week and share all of my news instead of bottling it up.
Take Daily Vitamins
It is super important to take vitamins, especially after you drink alcohol which depletes your body of it’s natural vitamins. I take the Women’s Smarty Pants Multivitamin which I really like except for that you have to take 6 gummies for one dose. I also take Vitamin C gummies when I feel a cold coming on. Lastly, I swear by Emergen-C powdered drinks. I get the Immune + which has vitamin C, vitamin D, and Zinc. My favorite flavor is raspberry and I love the fizziness of the drink too.
Therapy
Speaking of not bottling things up, I love going to my therapist once a week. She has been crucial about helping me work through hard situations, plan coping skills to use for future scenarios, and release all of my stress and feelings.
Workout
Every Tuesday I workout at the Total Strength Group X class at our university gym. This class jump-starts my day and makes me feel like a badass after. I skipped it for the month of March for valid reasons like presentations during that time, and bad reasons like it was pouring rain and I didn’t want to walk in the rain. There was a noticeable difference in my mental health when I skipped this workout.
Remove Activities That I Don’t NEED To Do
This is super important! I always sign myself up for things because I want to volunteer, or I want to do something to make my friend happy. The truth is though, you can’t let yourself get overwhelmed by things that are not in your best interest. Don’t hurt yourself and your mental health to please others.
Soak In The Sun
Quarantine has made me realize how important it is for me to get outside. If I am inside watching tv or studying for too long I feel really depressed. I don’t have to stop my day and go tan for hours, just sitting outside for 30 minutes will make me feel good.
Journaling
I don’t journal frequently, only when I am really stressed. It helps me get out all of my thoughts- both rational and ridiculous. I use my journal to have something to reference and remember my exact feelings when I go to therapy later in the week. It is also great to look back on over the months to see how much you have grown.
Quiet Time
Quiet time means something different for everyone. Maybe it means a relaxing bath. Or possibly a bible study. For me, listening to a podcast while on a walk, tanning, or just relaxing. The point of my quiet time is to not be on technology multitasking, but actually just sitting and quietly listening. After this I feel so calm and gain a new positive mindset since many of my favorite podcasts are self improvement based.
Walk To Class
Walking to class is so important for my mental health, yet my lazy self loves to skip it and drive. It is 1.5 miles from my apartment to my classes. This is a great time for me to wake my body up, and get some exercise in. Our campus is pretty hilly so I almost always break a sweat and my Apple Watch is always like “are you okay?” However, I’ve noticed that I always feel so much better on days that I walk to class than on days I drive.
These are just some of the habits that really help me stay healthy mentally among a chaotic season. If you have any additional suggestions please let me know, I’m always looking for new ideas!
