Happy Hour: Mental Wellness Insight

Sometimes I feel like I’m watching myself go through life and I am mentally not there. It’s almost like someone else is controlling me. I get so overwhelmed that I just mentally shut down. Especially after the global pandemic hit, life feels like it has gotten 10x more chaotic. So many things happened all at once and nobody knew what was happening. Stores, companies, and schools all closed, and the entire world went into lockdown. With school being taught remotely and not being able to have social gatherings, my mental wellbeing definitely suffered.

What is Mental Health/Wellbeing?: Mental wellbeing is the state of thriving in different aspects of life. A positive mental wellbeing is knowing that we, as individuals, are separated from problems we may face and believing that we are capable of handling our problems.

Mental health is a combination of our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is crucial to find ways to positively handle your mental health because it can affect our stress/ability to handle stress and our decision-making skills. Something that seems so small has the capability to affect your childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Managing My Mental Well-being:

It took an entire pandemic to make me realize how poorly I was managing my mental wellbeing. I was so used to the “go go go” mentality. I would always jam pack my day and set unrealistic goals. When it didn’t work out or go to plan, I would just break down. I honestly thought it was normal, but it was so far from normal. I’m really introverted and depend on my alone time to recharge. Being stuck inside with my family, during quarantine, drove me insane. I was used to being able to go back to my dorm to have time to just watch a show or listen to music without someone in my ear or a dog barking. The combination of adjusting to change with eLearning and not having alone time made my mental wellbeing SPIRAL. I felt like I had control over nothing. It just made me angry with myself and I felt defeated. I’ve slowly learned to be easier and kinder to myself. If something doesn’t go my way, I don’t need to beat myself up over it. I constantly remind myself to celebrate my smaller goals. I was so used to overworking myself to the point of no return and not crediting myself unless I reached a crazy goal.

Ways to Handle Mental Health:

With life being so chaotic and constantly getting the best of us, it is important to learn ways to give ourselves a break and handle our problems.

1. Talking to Someone: A good way to help with your wellbeing is talking to someone, whether that be a trusted individual or a professional. Sometimes all you need to do is get your emotions out or feel heard by someone to make you feel better. Let this post be a friendly reminder that it is 100% okay to talk about your mental health.

2. Getting Active: Another tip is to get active. For me personally, just going for a walk or run helps me clear my mind. Being active helps your brain release more neurotransmitters, called endorphins, that can help you feel better. Feel free to look at my past blogpost that includes a few workouts that can be modified based on your needs.

3. Taking Breaks: Remember to take breaks. I’m one to overwork myself, but I find that taking time to do something mindless helps me balance my mental wellbeing. It clears my head and makes me feel relaxed. Things like going to get a drink, food, pampering yourself, hanging out with a friend, or watching a show are all great ways to help take a break. I know that when I get started on work, I feel like it is hard to stop to take a break. I’ve learned that scheduling a break into my schedule helps me. For example, if I have 4 hours of assignments to complete, I’ll make a mental note to take a break after an hour of working.

Your mental wellbeing matters. Make changes to work on yourself and your health. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments!