By Nate Maki | Staff Writer
The spring semester is here, and with it comes the familiar faces of our old friends: academic depression, anxiety and chronic stress.
According to a study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, nearly 60% of all students experienced some form of depression, anxiety or stress in the 2020-21 school year, which has doubled since 2013. Against the growing challenges of student life, one of the most essential steps is making space in your schedule for healthy habits.
Exercise
One of the healthiest things you could do with your time is a scheduled workout. Not only is it important for your physical health, but exercise is proven to release endorphins that reduce stress and improve your mood. Workouts also have the advantage of being versatile. Regardless of the method you use, you still get those endorphins.
The McLane Student Life Center also holds the campus fitness center which is open to students and faculty for free with a valid ID. The SLC has equipment to accommodate a wide range of fitness goals, organized by three floors.
Free time
Once you’ve lost motivation for classwork, getting out of bed can feel like moving a mountain. Something that might help is giving yourself something to get out of bed for.
The Pomodoro technique, sometimes referred to as the 25/5 technique, is a study strategy that may be familiar to students. It relies on a reward system where you take a five-minute break to do something you want to do in exchange for every 25 minutes that you study.
While the strategy is already helpful to students, if you take this concept and apply it to a daily schedule, it becomes an hour or two of structured free time you can look forward to while you’re moving that mountain. You can fill this time with something you truly want to do (not doom-scrolling). Maybe get into a good book, dive deeper into a hobby or try something entirely new.
Spirituality
Both physical and mental health are important for personal maintenance, but alongside both is spiritual health. For Christians, it can be extremely difficult to find time to spend in the word, but those who do may find it refreshing, or even essential in their everyday lives.
Baylor has plenty of tools to help students connect with God and other Christians. Spiritual health applies to more than just Christians, too. Regardless of religion, spirituality is about connecting with others, and making time for it will help you find peace of mind.
College is hard, and nothing is going to change that. There is no secret ingredient to change how you’re feeling, but if you put the work in to change your mindset, you will find yourself feeling better than you were yesterday.
