De-Stressing 101

Balancing graduate school, work, a social life, and other responsibilities can be difficult. I believe it's highly important to take time for myself and take care of my mental health in order to get through the day. Here are some of my favorite ways to de-stress!

Staying active

I like going on walks to appreciate the outside and take my mind off of school. I enjoy playing tennis with my family and friends occasionally on the weekends, which is perfect for the upcoming fall weather! I have also utilized the gym in the Hafter Center a couple of times, which I would recommend because it is almost never packed.

Dedicating time to reach out to your support system

Even when life gets busy, I find it really helpful to talk to my family and friends. It is really important to me to maintain my relationships with my support system and helpful to simply talk to others. It brings me joy to keep in touch with the people that I love.

Journaling

I started journaling when I was in middle school and I still love doing it to this day. Even though I don’t journal as much as I used to in the past, I still make time to journal at least a couple times each month because it helps me de-stress to freely write my thoughts out and reflect on myself. I have also started scrapbooking, which is another outlet for me to have fun creatively.

Keeping up with my skincare

I highly recommend implementing time for self-care! Personally, spending time taking care of my skin every night helps me de-stress before I go to sleep. I have a skincare routine I do every night that involves a cleanser, toner, serum, and moisturizer. Even after long nights of studying, I enjoy taking a couple minutes to do this. Even if it isn’t an extensive routine, using a face mask from time-to-time is another nice way to de-stress.

There are so many ways to practice self-care, which varies from person-to-person! Being mindful of ourselves is essential to having the energy to push through challenging experiences and prevent burnout. It is always valuable to take care of our mental health.

- Gail is a first-year Speech-Language Pathology student