January is recognizable as a month of mental health awareness. We live in a time where there are countless factors inducing stress amongst all age levels, limited to not one specific group of people. With that being said, it’s important to prioritize awareness of mental health year round, not only amidst the month of January.
What does it look like to spread such awareness? Well for one, it means promoting self-care. Making sure that we utilize and prioritize our mental health above toxic relationships, patterns, circumstances, and habits is a way to improve our well-being.
Taking advantage of certain outlets that are provided through organizations, specifically those available to students on campus is one way to ensure that all of our needs are being met whenever we feel overwhelmed with the tasks of daily life. The wellness center provides a space to debrief and relax, away from class and any other outside stressors. Our psychological well-being is equally as important as our physiological well-being. As a matter of fact, they go hand in hand.
This can look like simple practices of meditation for a mere 5 minutes of your day, or a walk around your neighborhood block. Maybe this looks like dedicating 20 minutes to mindful thinking away from any social media, blocking out any distractions or disruptions from the outside world and the stressors that lie around you.
With a current world that seems so utterly focused on constant progression and improvement, sometimes it might feel hard to seem like what you’re doing is enough. While it is great to implement new habits and modes of self-improvement, such as pursuing passions with ambitions or taking big steps in your work career, maybe it looks like getting straight A’s again to receive that academic validation you rely on.
Regardless of what “improvement” may look like to you, above all else, it’s important to remind yourself through graceful and mindful thought patterns that no matter where you are in your journey, and what month of the year it is, you’re enough and you’re worthy of receiving appreciation for it.
