With school being entirely online, it’s now easier than ever to stay inside for days on end. I know that during my first online term, there were stretches of days at a time where I didn’t step outside at all. When I didn't have to walk around campus to get to class, my default state of existence became indoors, sitting at my desk, staring into my laptop, and it took an intentional effort to get outside. During my second online school term I made that intentional effort to get outside at least once every day and I noticed a real difference in my mental health because of it.
Getting
outside
is
valuable
to
me
because
it
gives
me
a
sense
of
perspective.
It
serves
as
an
important
reminder
that
even
while
school
is
all
online,
the
world
still
exists
outside
of
my
laptop
and
outside
of
my
room.
When
you
can’t
see
people
in
person
and
all
your
coursework
is
online,
it’s
easy
to
more
or
less
forget
about
the
outside
world.
For
me,
getting
outside
more
helped
me
to
think
more
about
the
world
outside
my
computer
screen,
and
reminded
me
to
appreciate
the
beauty
of
the
outdoors.
When
I
would
go
for
my
daily
walks
this
past
winter
term,
no
matter
how
stressed
I
was
about
school
or
co-op,
every
time
I
saw
a
duck,
a
smile
broke
across
my
face.
Something
about
their
cute
little
faces,
their
adorable
waddles,
and
their
state
of
being
completely
oblivious
to
the
stresses
and
challenges
of
human
life
just
filled
me
with
joy. It’s
little
things
like
that
that
I
was
missing
when
I
spent
days
at
a
time
inside.
When
I
started
getting
outside
more,
I
started
to
become
more
appreciative
of
the
world
around
me,
and
my
mindset
became
more
hopeful
and
positive
because
of
it.
I
started
to
think
more
about
the
wonder
of
sunlight
breaking
through
into
my
room
in
the
mornings
and
became
more
attuned
to
the
rhythms
of
pattering
rain
on
my
window.
Noticing
the
little
things
made
me
feel
more
hopeful
and
helped
me
deal
with
stress.
Aside from its immediate effects on my state of mind, going outside carries extra value these days, since it’s often a way we can safely interact with others in person. In COVID times, a walk with a friend isn’t just a walk with a friend, it’s one of the only ways we can really interact in-person with the people we care about. Feeling a sense of connection to other people is so beneficial to your mental health, and going on a walk with a friend is an easy way to feel that sense of connection. I’m all in favour of Discord meet-ups and virtual games nights, but getting outside is a unique and important opportunity to see people face-to-face (well, mask-to-mask).
Getting outside, even just for small amounts of time, is also a lovely way to get some exercise. It’s energizing, it’s fun, and it can be very beneficial for your mental health. For me, getting outside more has been a literal and figurative breath of fresh air. It’s allowed me to be more appreciative of the world we live in, and it helped to relieve stress and give me energy. Going outside has been shown to improve peoples' moods and their productivity, and that has really rung true for me. Going for a walk to get a bit of exercise and some fresh air every day really helped me get through my second term of online school. It may not be possible every day, but when you can, I'd encourage you to get outside, breathe in the fresh air, and maybe smile at a duck.
On behalf of the ENGWellness Team, thanks for checking out this post! Please connect with us if you have anything that you would like to see in the future: ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca.