Tips for Staying Positive

It’s officially October now which means one thing for those of us in school: midterms. Well, midterms, essays, and overall high stress levels. The warm frivolous days of summer are long behind us, the introductory lessons just finished, and now we all, students or not, feel the pressure to seriously get back to work.

It’s hard to remain positive when you feel like you’re drowning in readings and assignments, living for the weekend just so you can get a little bit ahead on the work for next week. Even though your stress it totally valid, it’s important to take a step back and try to remain calm and positive when you can, so here are some ways to do just that, from an equally stressed out student:

Give yourself reality checks. 
It’s easy to get lost in your own head of misery, trust me. I spent my bus ride to school this morning feeling like I was going to be sick and somehow letting that escalate to thinking that my best friend must be mad at me. My best friend and I live together, and we haven’t fought in forever. I was being ridiculous, so I reminded myself of that. I took a deep breath and told myself that it was all in my head, we’re fine and school will go well because I’m prepared for it, and that today was going to be a great day. It’s not a lie, just tell yourself the truth.

Look around you.
The fall colors are coming out, but the sun is still here, making a beautiful, calming combination. Enjoy it. Put on a comfy sweater, go for a walk outside, and take pretty pictures of leaves. Look at how much bigger everything is than you. Look at all of the little things.

Make a game plan.
What’s stressing you out or making you sad? Take a little time to reflect on it and make a game plan for dealing with it. Plan a weekly schedule to ensure you’re productive enough throughout the week to get everything done. Also plan in time to pamper yourself: take a bath, call that person, color, whatever you need to do to give yourself little breaks of relaxation in-between the madness.

Talk to someone.
If you’re really struggling, you may need to do something more serious that taking a bath and looking at ivy. Depression and anxiety are incredibly common among college students and young adults in general. There are many resources out there for you, be them online or at school. If you’re having really dark thoughts, please let someone know. Your life is worth it. So many people have to go through these kinds of thoughts and come out of it just fine, you will be alright.

 I hope you’re all doing well this Monday, and find some of these tips helpful for staying positive. Negativity is toxic for your mental health, so please do take care of yourselves. x.

bloglovin