Regular exercise is so helpful and important for our physical and mental health. Physical activity releases endorphins in our brain, which helps us feel good. If you’ve ever went on a run, walk, lifted weights, danced, played a sport, etc., it’s likely you experienced the effects of endorphins. You feel great for a little while after the activity, are alert, and feel awake. If you are also dealing with stress, anxiety, or depression, exercise can be a great coping mechanism. I’m not sure I would’ve made it out of sophomore year of college without dropping organic chemistry if I wasn’t working out before or after class.

Breakups are just about inevitable. Romantic relationships are difficult to navigate at any point in life, and unfortunately, many of them don’t end well. Some of the most painful times in my life centered around losing that person closest to me, even if it was for the best. There are several stages you go through - denial, anger, sadness, maybe the crazies, regret, etc. Eventually, life starts to look up again - not everything you see reminds you of them, forgiveness happens, and you learn from the relationship. These relationships are often such an important part of your past. They’re going to affect you in the long-term. 

Unfortunately, many of us have spent time grieving in the past 1.5 years due to COVID-19. We’ve grieved the unexpected passing of family members. This kind of circumstance can affect the way we interact with others, and the way we see ourselves. 

There are two kinds of grief: acute and persistent/complicated. Acute grief lasts about 6-12 months after the loss, and persistent grief lasts longer than the 12 months. If you are dealing with persistent grief, it may be helpful to see a mental health professional to help you process and move forward. During a time of grieving, it is common for your mind to be filled with memories, thoughts, and emotions connected to the person you lost. You may also have a hard time really accepting the loss and have deep waves of sadness and desire for them. Chronic stress also comes alongside acute grief and can cause several issues, including having a hard time sleeping, depression, anger or bitterness, loss of appetite, and anxiety (How to Overcome Grief’s Health-Damaging Effects, 2021). These symptoms should not be ignored but more so accepted as part of the grieving process. It is important to be kind to yourself when you’re grieving - your loss was and is important. 

Whether it be school, work, sports, or just maintaining a social life, our day to day lives can get pretty hectic sometimes. A way I like to calm down and destress after a long day of rushing from activity to activity is bullet journaling. A bullet journal is a journal of your own design with the purpose of recording the past, organizing the present, and planning the future. Bullet journaling is a simple but effective way to organize your thoughts and free up brain space each month. It can be however simple or detailed you want it to be and all you need is a dotted journal and a writing utensil. A bullet journal keeps track of your goals each month and it’s fun to look back on and see how far you’ve come. It’s also a great way to get your creativity flowing. 

The relationships we see around us can shape and change us, especially at a young age. We look up to our parents for several years, and the relationship between our parents may be the one we observe and analyze the most. Do they love each other first and their kids second? Do they try to hide arguments or have full blown yelling fights in the kitchen? Were they openly affectionate with each other or did they never touch in front of you? Family dynamics can be difficult, especially if your parents divorced during your childhood.

There are several ways to encourage a healthy relationship with your brothers and/or sisters. One step would be not to compare yourselves to your siblings. This can be easier said than done in some families. However, each person is different - you have different goals, talents, and personalities. Be yourself and appreciate what your sibling is striving for (Goldfarb, 2018). Also, work on your communication skills. If you’re disagreeing on something, how can you work towards a compromise or a win-win solution? Disagreements don’t always have to end terribly. For example, if my brother and I are arguing about who gets the car that evening - could one of us drop the other off where they’re trying to go? Are my plans flexible and I could go another night? These arguments seem small, but if you’re fighting all the time about “silly” stuff, it will eventually cause a strained relationship (Lohmann, 2014). Also with communicating, tell your sibling that you appreciate them! Speak lovingly. We tend to think that our family knows we love them and think highly of them; however, everyone needs to hear they are cared for and someone is rooting for them. Verbalize that appreciation you have for them (Goldfarb, 2018). Finally, as you get older, try to find ways to spend time with your siblings. It can seem hard in those teen years and beyond, but if you can work on intentionally hanging out with each other, it will strengthen the relationship (Lohmann, 2014).

We all know that feeling. The feeling of dread, creeping over your body and pressing down on you. The seemingly abundant thoughts that keep coming at you with things you have to get done or will soon have to do. As a student, it can be overwhelming. Even when you’re able to get one thing out of the way, you get another assignment thrown at you. So if we can never truly get everything done, how are we supposed to get past this?

Stress and anxiety plague students all over the world. Everyone is, has, or will experience it at some point. As for me, I started experiencing stress around fifth grade. In the first week of school, I lost one of my math assignments and got behind trying to redo that, along with keeping up on all the new assignments we got. But even when I did catch up, I still found myself getting stressed out. That’s because for the rest of the year, I was constantly making sure that I stayed up to date on tests and homework. Even now, I struggle with trying to remember everything and keeping track of what I have to do. The truth is that no matter how behind or caught up you are, school is always going to be a source of anxiety. However, the good news is that no matter if you’re in fifth grade, college, or somewhere in between, there are ways to cope and greatly reduce school-related stress.

All too often in our society, sleep tends to be placed on the back-burner. We all like the idea of sleeping and letting our bodies rest after a long day. However, we don’t always make getting to bed a necessity. We all know what going on little sleep feels like, so why don’t we try to make sleep as routine as our mornings? It’s not always that easy. Sometimes it’s work that keeps us from getting enough sleep. Other times we have to be at some event that goes well into the night. These things are largely out of our control. However, there are also times when we are the root of our lack of sleep. Maybe it’s the time you're out late with friends. Or it might just be that night that you can’t seem to put your phone down. Either way, most of us aren’t getting enough sleep.

There are few hobbies that require as little to get started as drawing or sketching. Although this may seem like an intimidating hobby at first, drawing is really more about the way you see things than anything else. And like anything else, it can absolutely be learned. There are countless books or online tutorials about how to draw. The one thing that connects them all is the learned ability to look so closely at something or someone that you can break it down into shapes, shades, and angles. Besides, who doesn’t love an artist?!

“There are only so many seats on the train with you Lauren,” my friend says to me as I sip my drink across from him. “And either we’re intentional about who we give those seats to or… we’re not.” He takes a few swallows of his own beverage while I contemplate what’s just been said. He’s right. I know that. I can feel it in my bones. What he’s referring to is meaningful, close relationships. That inner circle of friends and/or family who are your tribe, your safe place, your people.

Or at least, they should be. But the fact is that when he tells me this, I know that there are definitely people on MY train who are less interested in what’s best for me and more interested in being where they want to be. It takes time, but eventually, I also realize that there are people standing on this metaphorical train station platform who I want to have on the train with me. I want them to know about what matters, to see them more regularly, to have them in my corner if they’re willing. But there isn’t any more space on the train… unless I make some. So I quietly pull back from a few relationships. I have a couple hard conversations where I’m up front about the shift. Not everybody is happy about it. But you know what’s even crazier? In the midst of making these changes, I realized something. 

Spontaneity of any kind can be really difficult for some of us. Rigid schedules can make us feel like there’s no room for anything else in our lives. One more person asking us to do something, even if it’s a fun activity, may leave us feeling overwhelmed. First I asked you to block off a time every week to rest, and now I’m asking you to say “yes” to unexpected moments to take a break?? Yes. Do it and see if you actually regret it. I’m not saying to say “yes” to everything that comes up or spend all your nights being spontaneous. Just every once in a while, give yourself the space to do something that’s not on your schedule (but still something that you want to do). 

A psychiatric study found that people who prefer an active daytime routine over a nighttime routine have better sleeping cycles. These healthier sleep cycles are associated with improved mental health and decreased likelihood to develop emotional difficulties. Furthermore, routines can lower stress levels and promote healthy daily habits. They can also boost productivity and focus. Not-surprisingly, routines are often recommended for individuals who have ADHD, insomnia, bipolar disorder, addiction, and depression. When you know what to expect and have some mental organization, it’s much easier to work through any symptoms of mental health conditions. Creativity can also thrive on structure! Creating a process for the everyday-things of life can release space for other, more important things (Plata, 2018; Cherry, 2020; Robins, n.d.). 

I write about my high school experience light-heartedly, but drugs are something to take seriously. They can impact every aspect of our mental and physical state. I’ll talk about that, but first, let’s talk about categories of drugs. There are 3 categories based on their effect: stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens (Types of drugs, 2021). 

Around 21 million adults in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode based on SAMHSA data from 2020 - this is about 8.4% of all adults. The prevalence of a depressive episode was almost 2x higher in women than men, and 18-25 year olds were the most affected.