Hey everyone! It has been a super long year dealing with this new pandemic. COVID has presented a full roster of new challenges for everybody, especially our students. With the isolation and unrelenting workload, it can seriously affect your mental health. I have compiled some handy tips to keep yourself feeling as great as possible given the circumstances:

1. Keep active – I put this as number one because exercise is such an underrated antidepressant! Studies show that a lack of exercise can impair brain function, and the stored energy that does not get released causes anxiety. So, by exercising regularly, you release all of that stored energy which in turn aids in dealing with anxiety and depression and can also increase your ability to focus on schooling and other tasks.
2. Eat healthy – Yeah, I know. I’m sounding just like your parents. But, hey! You literally are what you eat. Your body is constantly changing and regenerating cells. So, the food that you eat is the energy that your cells are constantly using to regenerate themselves. In the realm of mental health, eating healthy has been shown to aid in the maintenance of strong mental health, seeing as how sugar can cause depression and anxiety when eaten in copious amounts.
3. Take time for you – Sometimes you are so busy giving your time to everyone else that you forget to make some time specifically for yourself. For example, let’s say that you’ve been in class all day (be it virtual or physical), then you do your homework and/or projects, research, etc. By the time that’s all done it’s family time, chores, and so forth. By the time the day is over you have accomplished so much, but you still feel like something has been missing.

A great way to change this is to just take some time every day to spend solely on yourself. Go for a walk if you can, take a long bath, read a book, play a video game, make some art. Anything at all that is just for you with no purpose other than to make yourself happy and relaxed. Please take care of yourselves.