One thing that has helped me a lot with my mental health, especially throughout the pandemic, is having creative outlets where I can create things and express myself outside of any school responsibilities or deadlines.
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.
We’re all struggling to cope in our own ways right now. My way of coping, which I share here, may not necessarily be the best way for you. There’s also a good chance that what works best will change over time.
One of the key things noted about the happiest people is that they are grateful for their lives and the things in them. They are truly grateful for what they have been blessed with, whether it’s a good family, a warm home, adequate food, or good health. Many of us do, in fact, live lives that others would envy. Yet, there is an epidemic of feelings of unhappiness in our society. We’re told to be happy with our lives and be grateful, but that can be hard sometimes.
With the continuing pandemic and another online semester, it can be easy to complain about all the many disappointments we have with our lives. Many of us have moved out of Waterloo and back home with our family. Some may have had plans to travel, work, or volunteer that have been cancelled or postponed.
With the grey skies, gloomy days, and cold weather creeping up on us it is very common to experience a shift in our mood. You may tend to find yourself more sluggish and down than usual. Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD, is a form of depression that is developed with a seasonal change into the winter months. Due to the limited amount of sunlight, our bodies lack vitamin D resulting in a decrease of serotonin, the happy hormone and increase in melatonin, the sleep hormone.
I often find myself walking through each day, doing what I need to do, performing the tasks I need to complete, without really thinking about why.
Why am I spending hours studying this again?
Oh yeah that’s right. I have a test next week.
And the grind continues. But I realized that my train of thought was incomplete. In fact, the train's engine hadn’t even started. There exists an infinite expanse of answers as to why I put in effort each day, but a test next week was not the one I was looking for.
Most people are ok with being cooped up at home for a week or two. Being the hardcore introvert that I am, I’d be fine with even a few months of not going outside. Just focusing on my hobbies and using social media would be enough for me, entertainment-wise.
But alas, an entire year has passed.
Even for me—the one who spent 3 full days barely speaking to a soul for the sake of completing a piece of digital art, and the one who enjoyed every minute of it—it’s getting lonely. ಠ_ಠ
During the pandemic, it is important to be mentally resilient. The things we previously took for granted have now become luxuries of the past, so it is easy for us to dive into pessimism. At the start of the lockdown, many were optimistic that this would all be over soon. Now, an ongoing sense of uncertainty and trying to adjust to the “new normal” is a common theme across our communities.
There’s an old meme I remember hearing about from friends before I was coming into university. “Good grades, sleep, or a social life. In university, you can have two.” As a high school student, I laughed it off. I’m not laughing anymore. I might be too tired to. (They never told me you weren’t guaranteed any of the three options!)