Mental Health: Balancing Mental Health and Social life

The transition into college life is an extremely exciting time, with opportunities to meet new people, try new activities, and gain a newfound sense of freedom unlike ever before. However, amidst all of these opportunities and this completely new lifestyle, it can be challenging for students to find a balance between a full schedule of academics, extracurriculars, and social events, leaving students with a feeling of being spread too thin, and little time left to take time to prioritize their mental health and self-care. Finding the right balance between a buzzing social life and prioritizing mental health during a student's time in college is essential for allowing them to be successful and find a sense of fulfillment in all that they do. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of finding a balance between student’s social lives and mental health, how social support can impact mental health, as well as some tips and tricks for maintaining this balance.

Why Does Finding Balance Matter?:

There are several reasons why finding a good balance between social life and mental health is crucial to a person’s mental well-being, especially a college student navigating a new and transformative stage of life. For one, in order to develop quality friendships and relationships, taking care of one’s mental health is essential. Poor mental health can be strenuous in one’s relationships with their peers, and finding a balance between social life and mental health means improving both of these aspects of life. Another reason why finding this balance in college is so important is because this is a skill that will be beneficial in all stages of life, not just college. If anything, life only gets busier after graduation when beginning one’s career, therefore being able to figure out ways to maintain this balance early on will be nothing but helpful in the future.

What Is The Importance Of Social Support?:

Having a good social support network is essential for any person’s emotional well-being. Social support can provide individuals with things such as validation and empathy, which can help those who are going through stressful or difficult times to find supportive and like-minded individuals who make them feel heard and understood. Especially in college, where students are all facing similar challenges and experiences in transitioning to a new stage of life and new environment, social support can help provide individuals with perspective, allowing them to realize that they are not alone in what they are feeling, and helping to avoid feelings of isolation.

Tips And Tricks To Maintaining A Balance:

1. Prioritize self-care- No matter how busy our schedules get, it should always be a priority to set aside at least a little bit of time for ourselves. Whether this is exercise journaling on a daily basis, or taking a few hours out of the week to just relax or self-reflect, everyone should find time to focus on and spend time with themselves and make personal happiness the number one priority.

2. Create some form of a schedule- Tools such as a physical planner, scheduling apps, or a quick calendar update can help students stay organized throughout their day or week. Mapping out the week can be a way to relieve the stress that comes along with disorganization and a hectic and crazy schedule, allowing students to make sure they know when, where, and at what time activities are going on.

3. Seek support when it’s needed- College campuses have a large variety of resources for students who are struggling mentally such as wellness centers with mental health professionals, and even a quick call to a trusted family member or friend can be a good way to seek support when needed.

4. When it comes to friendships, choose quality over quantity- Parting on spreading oneself too thin can be trying to make a large number of connections, which can end up being meaningless or surface-level. Basing friendships upon the quality of the connection allows for students to have a better social support network, and build relationships with people who have their best interest at heart.

5. Learn when to say yes, and when to say no- College can be a time when it feels like there is a lot of pressure to say yes to everything when trying to make new connections and make the most out of only four years. However, it is important to be able to recognize when to add something else to the schedule, and when it is too much.

Overall, while finding this balance between mental health and social life in college may seem challenging, it is possible when both aspects are equally prioritized. When individuals find what methods and strategies best work for them in maintaining this balance, it allows them to thrive during their college years as well as in the future.