Moving onto college is an exciting new chapter, but that chapter may sometimes come with some stress. A big issue overlooked on college campuses is that some students do not know how to cope with their stress and it could become mentally exhausting. Although college life can become busy, it is important to add a self-care routine into your schedule to make sure that you are looking after your health and well-being and not just your grades.
Many college students look at self-care as a luxury and put it off to the side because they believe that you have to spend money to have a self-care day and many college students struggle financially. However, this should not be the case. Self-care comes in many shapes and forms, and many times, there is no charge to it at all. Some examples of self-care that are free and have been proven to alleviate stress are cleaning your room, taking warm baths, lighting up incense (unless you’re in the residence halls) or plugging in a diffuser, mediating for about 20-30 minutes and so much more.
Taking part in self-care, even if only 1-2 times a week, can help you feel refreshed, re-energized and well-rested, helping you to focus more on your studies rather than overworking your body and feeling drained. I used to not know the importance of self-care and I would always just focus on my job and schoolwork, but I started noticing that I would always be tired, would get sick often and found myself to be unhappy a lot of the time. Self-care is something so small that could improve your everyday life by a ton. You may start seeing differences in your mental health, physical health and attitude once you start incorporating it into your weekly routine. So take this advice and begin trying out your own kind of self-care routine and see how it changes your life for the better.
