Hey everyone! The month of May is Mental Health Awareness month so of course we had to take this opportunity to talk about that. Post graduation depression is REAL and enough people aren't talking about that reality, so today I'm going to give a few tips on how to stay mentally healthy.
After you graduate and enter into the "adult world", it's very easy to get overwhelmed. You're starting a new job (or going to graduate school), you're probably moving, being financially responsible for yourself, and just overall adjusting to all of the new responsibilities that come with being a grown up. You also probably are seeing other people doing "well" or "better than you are" and that can be frustrating to watch. But I am here to tell you that things are NOT a race! Everyone's journey is different and you cannot compare yourself to your peers, that does way more harm than good. So here are some of my tips on keeping your mental health in check.
Self Reflection/Goal Setting
Growth does not happen overnight and in order to get to where you want to go, you have to reflect on what you're already doing. Check in with yourself and make sure you're doing the thing that you love, that you're actively working towards your goals, and that you're staying true to yourself. These are all extremely important things because if you're allowing other people to influence your decisions, or are settling on your goals then you won't be happy. There will be no real motivation to better your situation because it's not even something you wanted to do in the first place. Constant self assessments can help you realign, recoup, and rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit so you're always working at your full potential.
Find an outlet
I cannot stress enough how important this one is. Outlets are amazing! They allow you to place all that negative energy into something positive and to take a few minutes to yourself. An outlet can be anything from working out to writing to coloring to baths, basically anything that calms you down. It's important to recognize when your body is telling you to relax. For me, if I start becoming extremely unmotivated, sleeping a lot, or being completely antisocial/to myself I know that something is wrong. Those are the moments when I take a step back, find the source to my problem, and fix it. Personally, coloring works for me. I swear by adult coloring books with some music playing and just getting lost in the moment. Cooking also helps recenter myself, I love being in the kitchen cheffing it up. But whatever works for you, use it. We all need mental health days sometimes.
Talk to someone
There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking to someone about what's going on with your mental state, whether that by a family member, best friend, or unbiased third party. Therapy is truly a viable option for people and DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU IT ISN'T! There's this stigma in our community that therapy is a waste of time and money, that simply just is not true. Sometimes our problems are too much for us to handle alone and venting to someone and letting them guide you through working through those problems is very beneficial.
Use the word "No!"
Last, but certainly not least, learning how to say, "No" is one of the hardest things to do, but it reallyyyyyy helps in keeping your mental health in check. You cannot do everything, for everybody, all the time. You need balance and sometimes you have to say, "No". This is something I'm constantly learning, because I am horrible at it, but it's something I'm trying to work on. Deciding not to do something or go somewhere does not make you a bad person and if anyone holds that against you then you need to reevaluate their place in your life. We all have choices and you are always free to decline things that you just simply don't want to do ANDDDD offer no further explanation. You have to take care of yourself. first and foremost, and then worry about everyone else after the fact.
I hope these few tips help! How do you keep your mental health in check? Tweet me your responses.
-The Chemist
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