Mental health is a very critical factor to lead a happy and healthy life. In fact a sound body needs a sound mind to operate. But despite so much importance mental health is an ignored topic and most people aren’t comfortable opening up on such matters in public. It should become a common practice from a very early stage of life to get rid of the stigma. Increasing mental health awareness activities for students is a great way to spread this message.
Mental health and self-care
The main cause of mental illness is a combination of:
- Environmental stresses
- Genetic factors
- Biochemical imbalances
So taking care of yourself is important if you want to control these factors from the beginning. To clarify, if they aren’t dealt with from the beginning they may sustain and become usual. Students from all levels go through a lot of stressful work. Sometimes it may cause them to forget about themselves. Taking care of one’s own self makes you a better handler of stress. Specially college students have to go through a lot of undesired hardships just to get done with studying. So mental health awareness activities for college students are very important for their health, career and their education.
Mental health activities for students
Here we have included a list of very important mental health activities that are suitable for students of all walks, levels and ages. Practising these mental health exercises may be helpful for kids to even young adults finishing college.
Take a mental health quiz
To find your standing point you can start off your quest by taking a mental health quiz. Youngsters may not always realize their mental health issues on their own. These are several online tests of such types. They are fun to attempt. The results of such tests may sometimes blow your mind with their accuracy.
Get rid of the stigma
A good way to shake off mental illnesses is to rid of the stigma surrounding such topics. Mental illnesses are just as common as any other illnesses. If young people start to understand how common they are then other people will start to speak up openly about these.
Making people realize they are not the only one struggling will increase their courage. Opening up on mental illness may even relieve the victims from a lot of their pain. In short, it is nothing to hide behind or demonize.
Practice gratitude
A great way to lead a stress free life is to practice gratitude. It is the practice of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. People who take time and reflect on their surroundings and feel thankful experience more positive emotions, feel more alive and live much more compassionate lives. They are very humble and kind people in real life.
People who practice these are more likely to get less affected by reactionary behaviour. So their emotional well-being is not put into much risk by their surroundings.
Mindful colouring and drawing
Mindful colouring is a way to focus on how to choose and apply colour in a design. It is knows to build awareness to the present moment and let go of any thoughts of yesterday.
Colouring is a great mental health activity for kids and as well adults. It’s a great way to reset your mind. Not just this it can also help to lose up mental stress, improve your focus and help you with anxiety.
Go for a walk in the nature
Walking is an activity which promotes both physical and mental health. It is an activity that can be performed by people of all activities. Going on mindful walks in groups or alone unites us with nature. It will reduce your anxiety, blood pressure, BMI and increase your overall life satisfaction. Waking up early and getting out to take in the morning fresh air works wonders for your mind, body and soul
Go for an adventure trip
Spending your time in the great outdoors is a great way to introduce health and well-being into your life. Activities such as trekking, hill climbing, camping and kayaking can really get your adrenaline pumping. Sometimes a little thrill in the monotonous daily life is all that you need to give your mind some much-needed rest.
Learn to meditate
Meditation is the practice of training your mind to focus attention and awareness. Its purpose is to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. Meditation is beneficial for many mental discomforts such as reducing stress, anxiety and depression. Not only this meditation also shows you a healthy way to deal with your thoughts and emotions without panicking. It will improve your self-awareness and self-esteem. You will become more tolerant to difficult-people and situations.
Get rid of identity crisis
By identity crisis we mean a period of uncertainty and confusion in which a person’s sense of identity becomes insecure. It’s a dangerous situation if not handled properly and can lead to any person taking bad decisions.
Students and young people experience the change in their role in the society a lot within a short space of time. So typically this is a problem concerning young people the most. To fix these problems everyone should take some time out to themselves. Ask themselves the questions that need to be asked. Confront all the contradictions that may appear in your mind.
Play board games with your friends
Laughing and having a good time with friends is a good way to relieve stress. Playing board games with your loved ones can trigger your body response to release the ‘feel good’ hormones. Boardgames can be a fun mental health activity for primary school students. Staying happy also improves the power of your conscious and unconscious mind.
Exercise outdoor sports
Exercise is a great way to naturally boost the level of ‘feel good’ hormones in your body. It naturally increases your fitness level while excelling your mood. So if you pick out an activity that you enjoy doing such as any outdoor games like cricket, football or basketball may help your overall mental state.
Closing Note
Mental health and wellness is a buzzword of recent times. So, people are very well aware of the importance of mental health activities these days. New ways are always being introduced to keep people engaged to lead a healthy and prosperous life.