Hey you! Yes, exactly you! You have mental health problems–anxiety or depression–and it hurts you, makes you feel hopeless. So take care of yourself (and get help from professionals). 

Phone Use

Get off your phone! Come on. You know this. You know your phone is one of the biggest causes of your stress. You wake up, you go directly to social media; in school you are constantly on your phone and need to be reminded to put it down or it gets collected. When you are eating, in the bathroom and before sleeping, you’re on your phone. If you want to do everything you can to improve your mental health, then try to follow these tips: 

Put your phone in another room while you need to work on something and charge it overnight in another room. In school, ask a teacher to put it out of your reach or charge it somewhere out of reach. Because let’s be honest, if you can see your phone and it is in your reach, you will be distracted by it. Even teachers get distracted if their phone is in reach, so you are not alone. 

Exercise

Get off the couch! If you head home daily and melt into your couch, you are contributing to your mental health struggles. Your body needs daily movement and weekly exercise. Remember, what you don’t use, you lose. So what you can do: 

Exercise 3-5 times a week. It helps you to process things you learn, helps against cramps if you’re a girl, strengthens your heart, builds creativity, provides better sleep, and builds strong bones and muscles. There are a ton of sports you can try to find something that fits your interests. You can start by just walking 5,000-10,000 steps daily. 

So instead of taking the car, you could walk or take the bike. 

Social interaction

Stop isolating yourself! You need friends and somebody to talk to, so get out of your self-isolating shell and socialize! Here are some things you can try if you struggle to socialize:

Some ways to socialize are joining a club, a sport, or f a person who is alone and looks good to you and you could imagine talking to this person. Go up to this person, sit or stand next to them. You can ask them something like their name, their grade, or their interest, depending on what they are doing. Worst-case scenario would be that they don’t talk to you. But even so, you can be proud of yourself for at least trying.

Nutrition

You don’t care what you eat. You stuff yourself with tons of processed foods like burgers, fries, donuts and chips. In addition, you drink mostly only soft drinks like Coke, juice, slushie, and soda. To say it directly: If you don’t look out for what you consume, you will have physical health problems which can lead to mental health problems. Maybe you don’t need to completely cut out fast food and soft drinks, just reduce them if you are consuming them with every meal to once a day and try things like flavored water with cucumber and some lemon juice. There are many healthy recipes out in the world and something for everybody. Here are some ideas:  

       Pinterest provides a lot of healthy recipes or you can look them up on  YouTube. And listen to your body’s needs. When you are full, you are full. Don’t force yourself to eat. There is something called the healthy eating 80/20 rule. It means you eat 80% healthy foods with protein, greens, veggies, and healthy fats. 20% of you can try out new foods like sweets. Try out new drinks, and just enjoy. It is all about balance. 

    Along with helping yourself, get professional help. You are not alone and you are not the only one who struggles! Also, many people at our school can provide you with professional help: Mrs. Simpson, the school psychologist, Mr. Tracy the school social worker, the counselors, and the teachers. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it! Try reaching out to somebody you trust, like a teacher, and ask for help. There are also programs that our school provides, like workshops to manage stress in a healthy way and many others. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of these opportunities.

We can’t control our mental issues, but at least follow these steps and take care of you! Talk to the people that are important to you or find professional help, if you require that. Do everything in your possible reach to make you feel better again. You got this and you are really strong, keep going!