Welcome to she persisted I'm your host Sadie Saxton a 19 year old from the Bay Area studying psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She persisted is the Teen Mental Health podcast made for teenagers by a team in each episode. I'll bring you authentic accessible and relatable conversations about every aspect of mental Wellness. You can expect evidence-based, Tina, proof resources, coping skills, including lots of DBT,
insights and education. In each piece of content, you consume, she persisted Offers you a safe space to feel validated and understood in your struggle. While encouraging you to take ownership of your journey and build your life worth living. So let's Dive In. Hello, hello, and welcome back to she persisted and so excited. You're here today, I asked you guys what solo episodes you wanted in the next couple of months and this was the most requested. So I'm super excited to bring
this resource to you. Today, we're going to talk all about how to maintain your mental health, as a college student. So I've broken it down to some categories. I think I have it pretty summed up, effectively. So we're going to go over routine relationships, rest, Recreation, and resources. And I feel that if you stay on top of these, Areas you are putting yourself in great shape to be able to stay on top of
your mental health. These are all things that are tried and true that I've tested out this year, things that have worked for me. I'll talk about things that didn't work as well, and also makes in bits and pieces that I learned from dialectical, behavioral therapy, going to treatment all of those things that I still use today, we are also going to answer some of your questions at the end about navigating mental health, while in college, so stay tuned to the
end to answer your guides his questions. So the first thing that we're going to touch on, His routine routine is huge, because in college, you have a lot less structure in your day, in high school. You're getting up at like 7:00. You're in school until for you probably of extracurriculars. Then you have dinner, you're really don't have a lot of freedom over your die unless it's on the weekends in college is really a complete 180 from
that. You have a couple of classes sprinkled throughout the week but there are odd breaks. You're not scheduled from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. like you are in high school. And so it's on you to come up with a routine that supports your All of your mental health, your academics and any other goals that you're trying to pursue. So the first thing that comes to mind when I think about routine in college is your class
schedule. And there were a couple things I wanted to mention here that I was never told before going into college, I thought would be helpful to mention because again, it's so different from from high school. These things wouldn't even cross your mind, but it's super helpful to know, going into college. So when you're choosing your classes, I have a couple of pieces of advice. The first one is to talk to people that are a year or two above you and are trying to go
into a similar major or field. So if you are a stem major and you're doing pre-med, there's going to be like a really set track of what classes you're going to take what electives you're going to take. If you need those exactly what level of math and chemistry and bio. So talking to an upperclassman or someone who's done that before can really help you understand what other people in your class are going to be taking.
So that it's easier to make friends with people that are in your year in similar classes going through the same thing. And then you don't end up in like some random elective that. Yes, you do need. Take but most people take senior year so ask people that are on your similar major, what they did for class schedules, what? They wish they did differently. A really good example of this is that pain.
We have to take a writing seminar and it's a lot of like basic writing skills and we it's on a different topic but almost everyone takes it as a freshman. So yes, you need it by the end of your four years, but most of the people in the class are freshmen. And if you wait, you're stuck in a class with a bunch of freshmen and you don't have friends in the class, it's not as enjoyable. So it's really important to kind of be aware of those things. So, ask around, see what would be effective.
Another thing here is to see what people thought of classes, I don't know about every single school, but at Penn, there's this website called Penn course review.
And people rate the professor's, the difficulty of the class, how much work you're going to do. And really just all around if it's a good class or not, which professors, they liked best on which classes were not easier to succeed in, but you felt more set up for Success. So either ask other students that have taken the classes before. I'm sure there's like some random Reddit thread out there about these classes but that's another really helpful thing
that going into college. I was like, whatever. Like it's all college class like it's all the same subject. Like if I can stay on top of the work, it'll be okay. But having a good professor and having a syllabus that is really well put together and course materials that are really well thought out really is like night and day and setting you up for success and it's a much more enjoyable experience.
If you have a great professor and a well-organized class, the second point, I To make here is about spacing out classes. This is another thing that's totally weird going into college, is that you're picking your courses. So for pain, they have you do for classes. The first semester and then they have, you do five, the second
semester. So that's less than you're doing in high school and the way it's structured, some of them meat like once a week or twice a week and it's not every single day. I have found that myself and a lot of my peers have been able to make us that you're not necessarily taking classes on Friday. I love that.
If you could optimize for that great and then Other tip I would add here, which I found was like night and day for being able to stay on top of work and not become overwhelmed as like capping out like two or three classes a day. So not taking like for back-to-back classes on one day and then having literally no classes. The next day, I found that really difficult to against you. On top of work. Make sure that all my homework was done feel like I am keeping up a good momentum and not
getting burnt out. So my recommendation would be like two to three classes per day. Look at your schedule. Think About that. It's really easy. But oh, I got that. Like they wouldn't offer the classes. If it wasn't possible to stay on top of that. Like, it's fine. That there are seven back-to-back classes all on Monday, but give yourself some Grace, like, you've never done this before. These are different classes and you've taken in high school.
So be intentional, make things a little bit easier on yourself, if you can, and then you can ramp things up. Second semester, if you need to. And then the last thing I want to add here is just like physical health Tech days. If you're not feeling well, mental health days are okay to take. This is something that I know you've probably seen tons of legislation about in high schools, and in elementary schools.
But it's an important thing to remember in college as well, especially when you're really overwhelmed and stressed, out and struggling being able to take a day to recharge and really be more effective in your classes. And in your schedule going forward, can be something that has been really effective and Powerful for me to utilize this year. And Mom and Dad. Are you listening? Yes, I do go to my classes. I'm just saying just like you take a physical Today, mental
health days are okay, too. And then the last thing I'll add here about classes is to schedule work and studying time into your day, again, similar to high school. Like the work and homework time is scheduled into your day. Probably at night because there's no other point in the day when you could do it versus at colleges like you have three to four hour blocks in the middle of the day.
Maybe there's days when you only have classes in the morning so you have so much more time to figure out what you're going to do with your day. So schedule and study blah, Box that you don't mess. Make that commitment to yourself. And it doesn't mean that there's always going to be ton of stuff for you to do, but you can start getting head on readings. If you get behind on work, those are great opportunities to make up that work.
But schedule it in for yourself because it's not magically going to happen. And I found that having less structure in my schedule means that it's kind of more difficult to get things done and hold myself accountable. So, schedule, those things in pack your schedule. So, it's like, okay, I gotta work on this homework now or it's not going to get done, and that sense of urgency can be helpful. The last thing that I I will know it's similar to class scheduling.
I wanted to add a couple of tips that I've found to be really helpful for organization and staying on top of things for organization. My favorite online like digital planners have been a sauna and notion. They have different interfaces and it's kind of just like what works best for you but I will go in at the beginning of the semester and enter all of my assignments that I have do. So I can see them laid out on the calendar and that's been crucial for me to be able to stay on top of work.
That's another thing that's totally different. High School, is that a lot of your teachers will make the homework and the deadlines available at the beginning of the semester. So you're able to really plan out your time and see what the workload is like. And it's not like a random surprises. Oh, you actually have like 37 pages of reading that wasn't on the syllabus. There's a lot less uncertainty
there. I also love a physical planner, I think that's super helpful for me to stay on top of things, in addition, to working on using a sauna and notion Asana. I did second semester notion. I did first semester, I really like a sauna and I'll post like a pros and cons. Cons of both of these on Instagram if you guys are interested, but it's again. Really what works for you, and what interface you prefer, but I love a physical planner and then
to stay on top of my schedule. I love Apple calendar, but I've have it integrated with my Google Calendar and I don't know anyone here at college, that doesn't have an apple or a Google Calendar, or at least a physical calendar saying, like, when their classes are, and when they have to be it, I don't know club meetings because again, your schedule is a lot less structured than it is. In high school and so you have to write these things down somewhere.
You're never gonna remember. I also want to add related to class schedules before the first day of your classes. Like first and second semester, I highly recommend walking to the buildings and figuring out exactly where your classroom is. If you are like great at directions, love that for you, I'm not and college campuses can be crazy confusing.
So that was really helpful for me to know exactly where I was going for my class and it wasn't like I was running late and going to be the last person to get there and overwhelmed because I don't know what's happening. So that was a tip my friend and I walked around and not decrease so much stress the first day of school and then the last thing I'll add kind of related to technology. That was just weird coming into college is that everyone does
their math on an iPad? No one used iPads at my high school to do math, you used a pencil and paper and then I took a math class here this semester and no one used pencil and paper and I was like this is really strange. So I just Wanted to give you that little bit of information in case you're taking tons of stem classes and you're like, do I prepare to do things like by hand? Or is it going to be more digital that has been my
experience? If you were curious few last things that I'll mention for routine is morning and night routine, I think these are two opportunities to really set yourself up for success and either recharge for the day or boost, your mood, before you go into any of your classes or
interactions with other people. I really love my night routine and my morning time I feel like I've done A pretty good job about making it a time of day that improves my mental health, whether it's, like reading a book. I really like before bad or watching a TV show, or doing my skincare routine, drinking coffee in the morning, your day again is going to be really crazy.
Things are stressful in college and really taking those two times of the day to check in with yourself and give yourself a moment to like, breathe, relax. It's going to be okay. Has been a game changer, and I highly recommend and Going to touch more on sleeper teens and the rest part of the episode, but that does go hand-in-hand with the night routine. If you last thing that I'm going to add for routine is meal. So this is like dining Halls,
you are managing a budget. Probably for the first time with like Dining Dollars versus meal swipes, snacks are totally different than being at home in my experience. And then you also are like living in your dorm room and you have tons of more snacks and access to those kinds of things. A tip that I wish I would have known last semester is to have like two or three things that I love for each meal that I can
pull from really easily. So for lunch, we have this place that's in my dorm, it's called McClelland and they have these teriyaki, chicken bowls, favorite thing. I know that I can grab that really quickly and get lunch. Even if I'm running between classes, same things, they have like meal swipes so you can get a sandwich. It's grab-and-go because again, your schedule is going to be crazy and sometimes you're like, I don't even know what I'm going
to eat lunch. Or do I have time to get dinner before I had to this club meeting. So having a really set list. Of places where you can get dinner. Lunch breakfast, Etc. Is really helpful because it can be so overwhelming.
Like it pain, I think there's like six or seven tithing halls and there's retail and you have food in your dorm and you could doordash something like there are just so many options that it gets really complicated and overwhelming, so figure out what you like and make sure that you remind yourself of those easy options when your schedule gets busy, like, especially during
finals. And then the other thing that I found to be really helpful for me, which I I wouldn't have expected expected going into this year, is that I really like to do breakfast in my dorm. So I do like coffee. My favorite breakfast is doing like, Greek yogurt with fruit, or I'll do cereal and that's great because I'm not a morning person. I'm not going to get up like 2 hours before my first class to go and sit at the dining hall and have a sit-down breakfast. And then go to my class.
I'm like, eating like right before I go, and if I don't eat, I'm starving. And then I'm hangry and I can't pay attention. So, having little things in your dorm that are nutritious and are fueling For the day and you don't make breakfast a second priority because you're like, I have to get to class. I don't have time. That has been a game-changer for me to have those ingredients in the dorm room and it's been something that is simple and
decreased stress. I know I already said that was the last thing, but I have one more thing to add here, which is resetting at some point during the week College. Again, you're living by yourself. So you're probably managing like cleaning by yourself. You're doing laundry. You might be like, getting groceries, really not a ton of groceries, but like you're stocking up on snacks and so I found it to be really It for my mental health to like clean once a week.
Whether that's like tidying and all like wiped out. Like the surface says I'll do my laundry and I'll kind of reset for the next week and it makes me feel a lot less overwhelmed. I feel more on top of things. I feel more in control and less like, oh my God, things are just so overwhelming. Like there's nothing that feels like in order or in place. So I don't necessarily do a set day of the week, but I like to
pick. Okay, this weekend, I'm going to make sure my laundry gets done and I tidy up my dorm room. I have my breakfast and stacked going into the week and that's a really adulting moment, but it's found. I found it to be very effective. The next pillar that we're going to dive into here is relationships. So we're going to talk about roommates, making new friends.
And the last thing is going to be utilizing relationships that you already have for support, which I think is something that's really important that we kind of forget about. So the first thing is roommates. Most of the time there, you can either go random, or you can choose a roommate, what I did. Ed going into freshman year, was I chose a roommate if you are applying to college this next year, oh you just applied to
college. There's probably going to be some students that will start an Instagram page are just called like you pain class of 2025, and there was like a UPenn roomies account. And so people will introduce themselves and talk about like what their interests are and maybe like what their routine is like and what they're looking for on a roommate. And then what I did was I DM to bunch of people and I was like, Hey, like I'm trying to get to know people before we get on. Campus.
I would love to do a FaceTime call and I didn't say like I'm looking for a roommate because I was like that seems like a little, not aggressive but I was like, let's just bag trying to get to know people for we get on campus. Would love to talk basically and it would up was definitely outside of my comfort zone. But I definitely was grateful that I did that because I at least had like a couple of familiar faces. At least could be like oh my
gosh. Wait like I've talked to you before where there are people to ask about like what they're doing the first weekend or how their classes are going or do they know? Where this certain building is that you're supposed to have a class. So, yeah, I recommend reaching out to people asking to FaceTime. You will figure out like who you connect with and who you're like I don't think I want to live
with that person. If that is the route you were trying to go, maybe you have mutual friends with someone at home that you want a room with. I have had multiple friends that went random and that worked really well for them. I want to add here that living with someone can be really stressful. It's someone that you most times haven't known for your entire life. You probably have different beliefs and routine.
And preferences of like, how clean you, like the room or like, what time you go to bed and so can be really stressful. And if you are coming from living, like in your own room, or having more of your own space to be living with someone can be overwhelming and it can be more difficult to recharge and feel like you get time to yourself to be able to re-energize and relax. I think no matter how things end up like, you can always worst case scenario switch.
There's always next year. I think it's great to put yourself out there and try and find someone that you're To get along with maybe it will be your best friend. Maybe it won't. That's okay. And I also just want to again add that caveat that living with someone could be really stressful and that's okay. So give yourself more time to be able to recharge take care of your own mental health. And then that will allow you to show up more effectively in your relationship with your roommate,
also relating to roommates. I thought found it very helpful to coordinate, like decor and dorm items before we got to campus. So figuring out. Like, who is going to have a, get a mini fridge who is getting a microwave, like, do we A match, the colors were betting, which may be like, I literally couldn't care less but like, at least the furniture kind of stuff that was very helpful to
figure out another thing. If you, there are multiple buildings that you can live in, ask people that went to your college. Look up on YouTube. People normally look like, oh, this is like the fun dorm to live in, or this one's for social, this one's more quiet. So, ask around and see what the reputations are because it's difficult to figure out before you get on campus. I feel like a good example of this is on the Penn campus.
There is this dorm called K, check And it's like very far from everything at least in my opinion, it's like two or three blocks away. And most of the dorms are pretty Central and they do have a dining hall with within the dorm. It's, you're like, that's nice. It's one of like the newer dorms compared to like the quad which I live in. And so from an outside perspective, you like this could be great. But then you're on campus and you're like, if you're studying
in the library until 11 p.m. walking two to three blocks in the dark in Philadelphia at night, probably isn't preferable. So ask around, do your research and people are going to be honest, they're going to be helpful, especially if you have people that went your high school. That went to the college, ask them and I'm sure they will be super supportive and helpful. So, friends, this is a really big overwhelming thing for a lot of people as they transition to college.
For the most part, pretty much everyone around you is new, you don't know a lot of people. Again, I found it really helpful to dm with people on Instagram. Add them on Snapchat before you get to college. College the first couple of weeks, I recommend pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and like saying hi to everyone, introducing yourself, getting people's numbers being like, hey, I'm Sadie. Like what, what's your major like, what classes are you
taking? This is where I'm from like, let's get coffee sometimes or some time and even if you don't necessarily follow through, or you're like, I do not want to make my schedule, insane with all these commitments. You've at least established a foundation for the relationship and even if it's like 4 months from now. You're like, oh my gosh, we never got coffee. Like let's go do that. You've again lay that Foundation, the introduction has been established. Maybe they'll be in your classes.
Maybe you will be studying for the same test next semester. You never know. So that is one way to make friends, I highly recommend asking for people's numbers on the first day of class I use this way more than I thought I would be like, oh, do you know what homework is tonight? What do you think is going to happen on the quiz? Or even just asking people to study? I feel like the first day is when it's least anxiety-provoking to do that as you get further into the
semester. It's like I don't want to ask them. We've been sitting next to each other for five weeks and we've never spoken. Why would I ask them for their number now?
But asking people because you never know if there's like a question on the math homework that you're so confused about and you need help on having your number could be really helpful and people are going to be so willing to offer that today's episode is brought to you by teen counseling, as I mentioned therapy was a huge part of helping me feel supported and effective in my transition to college and making sure I was staying on top of habits and reaching.
Cause that I wanted to and also being able to check in and vent and get support when I needed to. So, teen counseling is an online Therapy Program with over 14,000 licensed therapist in their Network are better helps program for teenagers. They offer support on things like depression, anxiety, relationships, trauma, and so much more. All via talk text and video counseling from your home. So depending on what level of support you're looking for, they're able to meet your needs.
So if you are interested in In finding a new therapist or swallowing therapy for the first time you can head to teen counseling.com CSU. Persisted, you're going to fill out a survey about what you're hoping to work on in therapy. So maybe that is have it setting. Maybe that I was working through anxiety, about starting College next year, maybe that is staying accountable. And on top of the assignments, whatever it is, you feel about in the surveys that they can match with a therapist that
specializes in that area. So if you are under 18, you will then put in your parent or Guardians emails that they can consent to treatment. It is a Burbank email. All it says is a CD or whatever your name is. It's hoping to work with a therapist from Teen counseling, not of your information disclosed in the survey is then told to your parent or Guardian. HIPAA is enacted, of course. And I tried it sent the email to myself so I know it works.
So, in case that was a concern, just wanted to explain what that was about. So to start therapy, can go to teen counseling.com. She persisted again, that is teen counseling.com. She persisted to find a therapist today. Another great way to make friends is To join clubs. I feel like this is really different at every school for pain.
Be clubs are very professional and people joked, like the clubs are harder to get into than the school itself because everyone's competing against each other again, very professional. It's like Consulting clubs or differently business things. I am in service dog Club. It's my favorite thing ever, I get to walk dogs and play with puppies. So things like that, figure out what your interests are.
You will meet people that have similar interests to you and that is another way to get social events on the calendar. So you have Ways to interact with people and connect. And there's always that option there. Another thing that is so different from high school is that it's like very normal and okay, and Casual to ask people all the time to get, like, coffee or study or grab dinner.
I think in high school like that you were probably more established as friends if you were going to dinner to grab coffee or to spend the afternoon studying you probably like classes together. You hang out at lunch at College. I feel like that's a great way to start a relationship. It's just start to get to know
people. There's been multiple times where I'm like, I think I this person's nice like I had one conversation with them and I'd like to want to grab coffee or do you want to grab dinner and then we'll either have a great conversation and up talking for two hours or it's like okay didn't really connect with that person but it's great. Now I know. So that is something that I
highly recommend doing. And again, like I mentioned you and if you don't put something on the schedule setting, the foundation is great because then, if you need it later on and you're like, I'm feeling really isolated. And I wish I had more people to connect with you've Lay that foundation for yourself, and you can follow up and get those needs met. The last thing I'll add here is that Snapchat bit mogees are going to be your best friend.
You're going to meet so many people at the beginning of college and you're not going to remember anyone's names, you're not gonna remember their major, you're not going to remember what they look like, but Snapchat gives you a nice little graphic so you're like, oh I met, I don't know, Sarah and my philosophy class, but I don't remember what she looks like look on Snapchat and at least it jogs your memory and it's super
helpful. And the last thing here, Is using relationships that you've already created for support. I think especially in the first couple weeks of college, I was just like 100% in the moment. I wasn't like calling combos. Much are connecting with other people because you're just so focused on navigating what's right in front of you, but you've likely made a lot of relationships in your life with people that love and care about you and want to support you.
And so if you are feeling stressed out, if you're feeling overwhelmed scheduled into your day, your routine to call your family. We are friends and connect with people to boost your mental health. And then you'll be able to show up more effectively in your classes and your relationships on campus, and continue to strengthen those as well, rest. This is another key one. The anecdote I have here. Is that every single time I call my dad? He's like, why aren't you
studying Sadie? And I'm like, do you realize how many hours are in a day? How many hours? I have other things to do and it's very important to get rest and to take time away from Classes and studying or you will burn out very quickly because college is a lot of work, it's no joke. It's a lot of studying it's a lot more independent in high school like you are. The one that is putting in the hours if you want to do well and this the structures aren't there as much as they are in high
school. So because of that it's even more important to build rest into your routine. So I find it really helpful to have like time off from school so whether that's like a cut-off time at night, we're like after 11 p.m. I'm not going to work on homework because it's not effective. You know, like right around a mess, a until 4 a.m. and get up and go to class the next morning or you're like Fridays, I am not going to think about schoolwork and then Saturday and Sunday.
I'm going to be in the library and that works well for you. So make sure to take time off emotionally, mentally stress wise because again, it can lead to burnout really quickly and that's something I found to be very effective for me. Sleep is a huge thing. You just won't be able to show up as the best version of yourself. If you're not getting enough sleep, you won't be able to perform academically, you won't be able to pay attention.
You won't be able to learn. You probably won't be very enjoyable to be around socially. You will fall behind on things. So sleep is key. And again at something that you are in charge of and that you have to prioritize yourself, I have a whole episode that goes into depth on sleep, hygiene and sleep routines, and what works for you, but highlights are to have a consistent sleep schedule. So, Get up and go to bed at similar times.
It's okay if it looks different than High School, like if you're not a morning person but great, I'm going to get up by 10:30 and that's your goal or you're like, okay, I'm gonna go to bed by 2 and that feels like a good goal for me. So it doesn't have to look like. Okay, I'm going to go to bed at 9:00 p.m. and I'm going to wake up at 5 a.m. and go to the gym and like that's not the goal, here we are. Just looking for some semblance of consistency.
We are looking to get enough hours so that you can show up in these other areas of life that are important to you. Another thing, I An ad for sleep is nap, Snaps are more easy to get in college than they are in high school because you're not in class all the time. They are slippery slope.
I love a good nap can mess up your sleep schedule, their pros and cons are gonna have to do some trial and error, but for me, I that's something I'm very mindful of, I pay attention to because again, it can mess up my sleep really easily and get in the way of my schedule and staying on top of work. And the last thing we'll add with rest is to take time to
recharge. I feel like the first couple of months weeks of college, you're really quickly going to understand if you're more extroverted or introverted. And by that I mean if you feel recharged when you're in a group or when you're by yourself for me, I'm definitely more introverted. I like to spend time by myself to recharge and then I'm able to show up in social situations. I don't necessarily like get more energy from being in social situations for super long periods of time.
So being able to recharge socially and kind of like half my dorm room, be a safe space to have that. And night routine to really be by myself and relax, and take a breath. Is really helpful. Meals can be another great option. I'm not advocating to eat by yourself every single meal. That's not a great idea. Again we are trying to stay connected because it's good for mental health but if you're like I like for me I like to do my breakfast to my dorm room.
Before I go to class that works really well for me rather than like like I'm going to meet you at the dining hall at 7:00 a.m. to my friends like that just wouldn't be effective for me. My mental health and my schedule, same thing with like a If you are super overwhelmed, and feeling stressed, and for classes, and you have a break in the middle of the day, go ahead
and do like a meal by yourself. Maybe you like, listen to a podcast, or you work on a reading that you're trying to get done and taking that time to be independent. And recharge is huge, especially because your social life will probably look a very different, from what it looked like in high school, which is based on the structure of your schedule, and people are living by themselves. They're a lot more independent, so building that time to recharge socially Into your
routines. The again, you don't get burnt out is huge. The next area we're going to talk about is Recreation, I wish there was a better word for this, but it starts with our so we're going to go with it. We're going to talk about Hobbies free time exercise. And then also related to exercise is walking.
So for hobbies, this is a huge thing in college and I think it's something that people struggle with going from high school to college and high school, you likely have like a lot of clubs you were involved in or maybe you were an athlete, but you're not an athlete in college. Are you wearing like Student Government things like that?
And so then once you get to College, yeah, you're still taking classes, maybe you are an athlete, but those hobbies and extracurriculars are no longer strictly built into your routine. I think it's super important to keep incorporating them because they're great for your mental health, to build Mastery and accumulate. Those positives is something that is great for your emotion regulation, but it's something that you're being more intentional about. So for me, the things that I
make time for is or sighs. I really like to make time to read or watch TV shows that are really like the podcast is like kind of work but also that's a huge thing. That is a hobby for me. I mentioned service, dog Club playing with the puppies and going on, walks with them is another huge thing. That brings me a lot of Joy.
So be intentional about that and other great way to get those on your schedule and have that level of accountability is clubs and making friends with people that have similar interests as you do. So, if someone else is really loves listening to Casts were using that example, you are listening to a podcast, maybe that is, you know, I'm going to
give better example. So if someone else really loves like one of my friends and I we are both watching the Kardashians and every single week after the episode comes out. We're like what did you think building that accountability with someone else keeps you on top of those hobbies in those moments that bring you Joy and improve your mental health? The other thing here to add is free time, you're going to have so much more free time than you
would in high school. Whether that is the and whether it is time in between classes, whether it is night where you finish school way earlier, it's something to be aware of an intentional going into college. I think it makes sense to kind of like put some thought and like okay what is important to me in a week? Like is an important to me that
I spent time outside. It's important to me that I get dinner with friends during want to prioritize exercise how much of my prioritizing studying and then breaking up your schedule to reflect that. Like, I mentioned earlier, free time can be overwhelming for me when I have more.
Time. It's hard to stay on top of work, so kind of being mindful of that of one, the free time becomes like an endless pit of procrastination versus something that allows you to relax and recharge and show up as a better version of yourself exercise. This is another one, especially if you were a student athlete in high school but you're not in college. You gotta, you gotta motivate yourself or it's not going to happen. This is definitely been a goal for me this year, especially
second semester. I started by being like, I'm gonna go and exercise so I I can sleep better. Like that was the only motivation. I was like, if I get this movement in, I will be more tired when I go to sleep and I will sleep better and I don't want to be tired. That was the goal and now it's more. Like, I enjoy that moment. I will like watch TV or listen to music and I can check it off, my to-do list at something. It's very reinforcing for me.
So set, like a really small. A manageable goal. Maybe you're like, I'm going to go to walk for 5 minutes. Maybe you're like I'm gonna do one of those like ten minute ab videos on YouTube, whatever it is and stay consistent.
That is the goal here. Stay consistent instead of like one time going to the gym for three hours and you're like, wow that was great but you never do it again but yeah, it really does set you up for success in a lot of areas of your life, whether it's your physical health, it's your sleep. It's your ability to stay focused and learn in your classes, and it's also a great way to spend time for yourself.
And for a lot of people, it's a way to recharge and boost your mental health, Baseline. The other thing that I want to add here is walking different from. This is different from college campus. To college campus. But at least at Penn you walk everywhere and this is super different from at home where the like the high school campus which was much smaller like yeah, you'd walked your class but you really going downstairs in the building, I find it really helpful to pay attention
to my steps. It's kind of a indicator of what I did that day. If I get like, more than 7000 steps, it means that I probably went to the library. I got work done. I ate outside of my dorm room, I probably saw a friend. I spent some time outside, all things that are really good for my event. Paul. Where's if I get less than that?
It's probably like I got like five hundred steps and I was working in my room all day and napping on the weekend so that has been a really helpful indicator for me and a goal to set. It's also a really great way to unplug feel less stressed about academics and social stuff and you also get to see more of this new place that you're living in. I feel like there's so much to Philadelphia that I haven't explored that I want to continue to and walks are really great
way to do that. The last are that we are going to go to through is resources. The a star that we are going to cover is resources. These are going to be pretty basic resources. These are not like extreme mental health intervention. I need lots of support resources. If you are looking for those, you can send me a DM on Instagram, you can send me an
email. The first step that I would definitely recommend taking its talking to your counseling center at your school, talking to your parents, a family friend that you trust and they can definitely redirect you further but resources to lean on just to maintain your Baseline mental health and set you up for success. I recommend Past relationships therapy's been really helpful for me. There are a ton of on campus mental, health support, and most schools, and then content.
So we talk about past relationships, building conversations into your routine with people that improve your mood and help you feel seen and validate it. And supported can be really helpful and allow you to show up as a better version of yourself in your relationships. On campus therapy has been swinging the distance. So helpful for me to navigate the transition, stay on top of goals. I'm setting for myself.
Whether that is like, so, Studying for a certain number of hours each week or trying to get more exercise or staying on top of my sleep, that's just been really helpful to have in my routine. And again, a preventative measure to maintain my mental health, most schools will have on campus mental health support, whether that is like, tech
support counseling. There's a lot that will be like, video or audio calls ours is called caps like something Psychological Services and they're costly talk. About it. There's posters everywhere. So, a lot of campuses will have resources available, if you need them, or you need someone to talk to. And then the last thing that I want to add Kier is content. I think that having content that you're consuming that supports your mental health is really effective.
So whether that is podcast books, maybe it's a TV show, making sure that the ways that you're spending your free time is improving your mental health rather than deteriorating. It is something that I try to be mindful of. So before we dive into the questions, the takeaways here, R for mental health advice for college. Students is really creating a foundation so that when things aren't optimal which will happen, we all have our low
moments, it's going to be okay. You've set up relationships resources recreational activities and moments of rest to be able to regulate your emotions navigate. Stresses it arises and make it through.
And I think something that a lot of us do is we are like well I I'm sure that if I was feeling a lot of anxiety know how to cope with it, but we don't actually practice that I feel like this is an approach where you are building these things that are good for your mental health into your routine. So that when you're really struggling, if you're feeling really depressed, you're like okay, but it's already part of
my routine to exercise. I'm motivated to do that part of my routine to get dinner with a friend. It's part of my routine to consume content, that makes me laugh. And all of those things will help improve your mood. So, preventive, improving your Baseline. Practices is something that I highly recommend for college students. And also So, give yourself Grace. There's no way that you can expect yourself to know how to navigate this because you've never done it before.
It's okay. If it takes you three years to figure out what routine works for you and what class balance and what relationships makes you feel really good. And what work-life balance is most effective in, maintaining your mental health. So give yourself Grace, it will take time, that's okay. That's expected, trial and error. If you are trying your at least moving in the right direction. So yeah, give yourself Grace,
create an effective. Station ask for help when you need it, listener questions, you guys have submitted these on Instagram, I wrote them down and I'm going to answer them. The first one is how to make time for healthy habits. We talked about this in a bunch of different areas whether it's like sleep, exercise nutrition. I think the biggest thing is scheduling it into your schedule and really, making it a
priority. I know you've probably heard that 37 thousand times, but like I said, when I have more things on my schedule, it's somehow easier for me. To make exercising a priority or make getting that small homework done, a priority or grabbing lunch with a friend. It's more overwhelming when there's nothing on the schedule for the day and I'm like, my only goal today is to edit a podcast and work out, and it just doesn't happen.
So fill your schedule with things that do improve your mood and keep you busy, and that in turn, I feel makes it easier to maintain the healthy habits on habit building. A great resource and book for that is atomic habits. I love that book. I've been reading At this semester and I keep going back to different parts to try and incorporate them into my routine. But there are so many different insights there about how to build habits, what ways of building habits are more
effective. What reinforcements work, what doesn't? So, I highly recommend reading that if you're a struggling with habit building, but recap is basically like make it easy and make it attractive. So, make your habits easy to do. Like we're not setting a goal of, I'm going to go to the gym and run 12 miles Vic. I'm going to go to walk for five minutes. It's today. And likely, if you're walking for five minutes like, why not 10, why not 15, and make it
attractive. So, again, I feel like my goal is to exercise, but that's what enjoyable for me. Be like while I exercise, I'm going to listen to my favorite podcast, or I'm going to call my friend and we're just going to laugh and have a great conversation while I'm walking on the treadmill walking outside, whatever it is so easy, attractive, are the keys for healthy habits and that can really be applied to any aspect of Health and Wellness.
Next question is the most unexpected stressful moment. This is hard. I feel like there was a lot of things that were stressful about the first year of college, but they were expecting like, move in. Like you're moving. That's very stressful. Finals week, very stressful studying for a test that's coming up very stressful. I would say. One thing that does bring overwhelmed that I wouldn't have anticipated is being independent.
I was very excited to be living away from home and having more Independence. But there's also like that caveat of everything is on you. Like we just talked about all these different ways to maintain your mental health and if you're not Engaging in those practices or habits and routines and your mental health suffers, that's on you. And so that's something that can be really stressful to know that. It's like that you were the one that's responsible for your success.
No. One else is the blame. Can't go anywhere else. If you don't succeed, whatever, that definition of success looks like for you. But I think that adds stress that I didn't necessarily anticipate and I think this is really well said, an episode that came out a little bit ago with Jill and Dave Henry, it was number 94, For all about staying healthy in college, and that's
more physical health. But have really helpful episode to listen to and they talked about how most college students say the thing, they were most excited for was the Independence. The most thing that was most stressful Was the independence and I definitely agree with
that. The next question is, how to adapt to a new environment and have changes in people food, schedule, Etc. What is really unique about going to college is that it's like a blank slate and they talked about this anatomic habit, how that is the upper 50 opportunity. Start building new habits for better for worse. If you get to college and you're like, I'm going to make it a goal to go on a walk every day outside. It's good for my mental health
and you do that great. You've built this new habit because you're in a new environment, but if you get to college and you're like, okay, whatever I'll do that next week and you build this habit of not doing that and staying in your room all day. Every day. This new environment has facilitated at that new habit, that's been established. So, I like to see it from a positive perspective and that it's this great new.
Tunity to build habits that you've been wanting to add into your routine, into your lifestyle for a while whether that is studying relationships exercise, these different areas of Health. I think it's a really great opportunity, and it's also important to know that you are also susceptible to building bad habits as well. But with changes for people food schedule, Etc.
My advice there is to create a mental health Baseline and Foundation, that allows you to navigate those things, even if they don't go well and still be Okay, so even if your schedule isn't ideal and you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed, you have a morning and I routine asleep routine that keeps you, okay. Maybe you're like this isn't great yet, we'll get there but
you are okay. Same thing with food after the first couple of weeks here like this, so overwhelming, I don't know what to eat or how to eat, but you're maintaining these other aspects of your mental health. It will be okay. Same thing with people and also adding here leaning on old relationships to help you get. Those needs met like, validation connection Community, Etc. The next question is, I'm not a college student, but how does mental health and college differ from high school?
It's all on you and high school again. It's a lot more structure. There are things in place to help support you and your mental health, whether you realize it or not. So it's For Better or For Worse that you are now completely independent for me, I think it was really great. I think being independent and living, a college has been good for my mental health. It's allowed me to build routines that support my mental.
Health is allowed me to pursue things, that bring me a lot of Way, I love it. I really truly do love being on campus and it's very easy to end up in an environment that doesn't support your mental health. If you're not prioritizing, like, sleep, relationships, physical aspects of your health, your classes. All of those kinds of things can get very overwhelming, very
quickly. So, the biggest difference is that it's all on you and it's your responsibility to build a life that supports your mental health and if you Don't there probably will be consequences and that's a tough pill to swallow but that has been the reality to my experience. But again there are so many ways to build a life that is great for your mental health college campuses. A lot of the times are really amazing. There's so many things to do, so many people to meet so many new
things to try. And again, you have so much Freedom over your day. There's so much potential to fill it with activities that bring you Joy and improve your mental health. You just have to choose to do so and follow through last question is what to look for and how to Colleges that value, mental health and have good supports. So two things I'm going to do, there are two pieces of advice that I'm going to give you. The first is just making sure that they have basic counseling services.
So if you needed them, could you make an appointment tomorrow with a counselor if you needed to? Could you get free therapy on campus if you needed to, could you see a psychiatrist? Like, what are the student, health services that are set in place? What are the free counseling services available? That should be on their website school love. Young about mental health support. So you should very easily be able to find that and that's a box to check, make sure that's available.
And again, most schools should have that the second thing and the second piece of advice that I would give is to know yourself and what works for you. That's location. Whether if you are like, really prone to seasonal affective, NE smell disorder, depression. If you get really depressed during the winter or maybe go to California, if you do well in a city being surrounded by people, don't go to college in the
middle of nowhere. Go to the community aspects on campus, what events, take place, pain is a place where people don't really go to go to sporting events people go out a lot, some schools will be more centered on Greek life. Some schools are schools like ask around, get more information there, figure out figuring out what routine works for you what class schedule works for you and what will add to your mental health, rather than taking away. And and again, I truly do
believe. It's what works for you? Like pain is a school where Are people. They struggle a lot with mental health and it's something that the student population is talking about a lot. And I, like I said, pain has been a great place for me, somewhere, where I feel like my mental health has thrived and it's because I feel like I've been able to build a routine and habits that have supported my mental health. So, you have the capacity to build a life at college that
does support your mental health. And I don't think that where you go will determine that, but again, making sure that the resources are there if you ever need them. And then looking internally, And being like, okay, what is going to set me up for success and how can I do that and taking those steps? So, to recap, we talked about routine relationships, rest, recreation, resources, and we answered your questions. All about, maintaining your
mental health and college. I really hope this episode was helpful. If you guys enjoyed it, make sure to leave a review, an apple podcast and Spotify share with a friend or family member. If you share on Instagram tag, me it out, she persisted podcast and I'll repost and give you a little shout out. Out. But yeah, those are my mental health tips for college students. If you are a high school student, I will link the episode.
I did for high school students down below and make sure to comment your mental health advice on Instagram. When I put up a post about this episode. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of she persisted. If you enjoyed, make sure to share with a friend or family member.
It really helps out the podcast and if you haven't already leave a review on Apple podcasts or Spotify, you can also make sure to follow along at at she persisted podcast on both Instagram and tick-tock Check out all the bonus resources content and information on my website. She persisted podcast.com, thanks for supporting, keep persisting and I'll see you next week.