How to hack your mental health this semester

My college years were a defining time in my mental health journey. Had I known then that what I was struggling with was anxiety, much of what I struggled with could have been very different. With the stress of shifting friendships, joining and leaving student organizations, a newfound sense of freedom, and the strain of full-time academics, I thought it was just how college was supposed to be.

In hindsight, that didn’t have to be the truth. These are the  5 things I would have done differently to care for my mental health:

1. Seek out counseling services. There was mental health support available on my campus and, as scary as it may have been, I would have marched my little heart into that office and booked a session. Therapy has been an essential part of my mental health journey, and talking some of those unrealistic expectations and perfectionistic tendencies out would have been a transformative source of support in my early college days. 
2. Medication. It’s no secret that medication is a pillar of my mental health care plan. The undergraduate university I attended did not offer a medical school or insurance to students, but options for securing medication may have come up had I embraced counseling services. Knowing the dramatic difference medication has made not once, but twice in my life, I know it would have reduced the academic anxiety I felt those 4 years. 
3. Plan care for daily movement. Identifying a plan for physical health and emotional wellness before the school year began would have been a game-changer. Be it yoga, long walks, running, dorm-room workouts, or a willingness to try new activities, engaging with and connecting with my body to understand its effect on my mental health would have made the dark seasons (emotionally and seasonally) brighter. 
4. Practice mindfulness. Meditation and breathing exercises have been in my life as a coping mechanism for years. Had I implemented that in a morning routine or as a stress release in the library, I could have quelled the storm inside. This is not exclusive to meditation; prayer and journaling would also help quiet the mind. 
5. Identify a mental health check-in buddy. If you’re on my email list, you know I had a friend in college who told me I was like Jekyll and Hyde. She saw a bubbly personality during the day and a depressive personality at night. At the time, I thought it was just the reality of an extroverted personality. Turns out, my mental health was imbalanced and, when left alone with my thoughts, anxiety won.  Establishing a check-in buddy for more support could have changed everything. Maybe it’s a dear friend who has been there through the hard days, a parent, a mentor, or a significant other. Ultimately, hearing judgment that night caused more shame and sorrow. It wasn’t what I needed and caused me to hide my struggle. 

If I could talk to my 18-22-year-old self, these are the tools I’d tell her to embrace. Without exception, anxiety and depression lose the battle in your mind when you choose to connect with a trusted, loved person in your life. Anxiety and depression lose when you speak about your struggle, rather than burying it down deep. 

If you’re going back to school this semester worried about how you’ll make it through another panic attack, another day when getting out of bed feels impossible, another day when the anxious thoughts are so loud you don’t know what’s true, I implore you to take these nuggets and include them in your routine this year. Commit to even one every day for 30 days and track what happens. This year doesn’t have to be so hard. You’re not alone and you can do this.