5 Ways To Look After Your Mental Health This Back-To-School Season
School can be stressful in many ways for many people and it is nothing to be ashamed of if school is affecting your mental health. With the back to school season slowly creeping up on us, you might be feeling nervous, anxious or stressed about going back to school later this year. However, there are five ways that you can look after your mental health this back to school season, read on to find out more!
1. Remember that grades aren’t everything
I know it is very easy for me to sit here and say that bad grades aren’t the end of the world, but truly, they really are not. There are so many successful people out in the world that don’t even have any qualifications and are still extremely happy and successful. If it comes down to your mental health vs your grades, always choose your mental health – there are other routes to being successful without getting A*s all the time, always put your mental health first.
2. Don’t get caught up in toxic friendships
Be careful who you surround yourself with at school, it can be tough enough to deal with school without having toxic friendships or any sort of unhealthy relationships. Surround yourself with people that have the same mindset as you and make you feel good about yourself. You want to be around people who you can grow with. If you are spending all of your time consumed by high school or college drama that won’t matter in a few years time, you will have sacrificed your grades and mental health for nothing.
3. Keep on top of your work
Stop putting assignments off until the last minute, get yourself organised and do your future self and favour and get the assignment started early so you can spend more time on it and feel less stressed. I know it seems important to watch the latest episode of Riverdale or hang out with your friends, but if you get that assignment started now, you won’t be having a meltdown over it un Sunday night and then again when your mediocre grade comes back.
4. Always give yourself breaks
Although I did just suggest that you should pass up a night out with friends to write an assignment, it is still important to give yourself breaks when you need them – just be sensible about it. You don’t need to do ten minutes of work and then take a one hour break, or on the other hand, you don’t need to work a 12 hour day and then call sleeping a ‘break’. You need to take some time out for yourself to do something you love or you’ll become completely consumed by school work and that’s not healthy either.
5. Always talk to someone if you’re struggling
You’re not a failure for admitting that you’re struggling. If you’re finding things tough, talk to someone. Whether it’s a friend, a family member, a teacher or student support, always speak up when you’re having a tough time. You can get extensions on assignments, extra support from teachers, or even counselling, but you have to reach out and let people know that you need the help if you want it.
