You think of a cocktail of what college provides,
the dangerous cocktail of young people on their own for the first time
with a lot of freedom, feeling stress,
being able to eat what they want,
stay up as late as they want. Add it all on top of that
because that's what everybody, get in there, it's like, "I'm free.
I'm gonna do it all." You know? And that's just,
you know, you have to kinda be able to recognize in yourself
that you're trying to do all that.
And that it's gonna cause--
that's a combustible combination.
Michelle Obama is right 'cause college is a lot.
A lot of studying, a lot of fun,
and a lot of freedom. But between all of that,
there's room for self-sabotage if you don't check in with you.
Nobody's gonna tell you when it's time to go to bed,
or to eat your vegetables, and there are plenty of germs going around.
So you may have to visit that campus clinic.
Taking care of yourself means staying on top of your health
physically and mentally.
In a study of first year college students in eight countries,
about one in three said they struggled with their mental health.
Today's episode is all about the tools you need
to take care of you on any college campus.
I'm CC Allen from Now This, and you're watching
"A Student's Guide To Your First Year of College."
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Today we're talking about how to stay healthy in college,
both physically and mentally.
Back again with the best tips for healthy living
is Chelsea Fresini, Senior Program Manager at the Opportunity Network.
Really important that, in addition to talking about academic success, right,
professional success, that we're also talking about personal wellness, balance.
One size does not fit all. What works for me to care for myself
might not be what works for the person next to me, and that's okay.
But self-care is something different for everyone.
It is about yourself.
Think no parents, no rules, up all night,
crazy sleep patterns, crazy eating patterns,
but it's helpful for our bodies to stay on a routine
for healthy eating and sleeping.
You also might not figure out what works for you
the first time. Try, try, and try again
to experiment with what makes you feel whole and good and balanced.
Stress is normal. Everyone experiences it.
And there can be healthy amounts of stress.
And there's also unhealthy stress,
which leads to other things like anxiety, depression,
feeling really disconnected, having your grades suffer,
and it's important to really know yourself
and know what that-- the difference might feel like for you.
And if you're feeling like you're crossing over
into more of the unhealthy stress space.
It's really important to know that there are many resources
that you can go to, either on your campus
through mental health counseling services,
speaking to somebody in your dorm.
There's also a lot of resources for young people
that are free, online, by phone,
if your campus doesn't have the resources that you need.
With the same skills and tools and resources and resilience
that got you here, every single one of you who are here
had to get through some deep, dark obstacle,
whether it was in your own mind or something real that's going on in your lives.
And that has given you the strength to do what you have to do next.
People might think that it costs money
or it costs more time than you have to invest in it,
but, literally, self-care can be taking a deep breath
on your own before heading into a class
or before taking a test.
It can be low on cost and also low on time.
Nobody's gonna come and look and go, "Ooh, girl, you look stressed.
You need to see somebody."
'Cause everybody's stressed.
It's really important to check in with yourself
as you're caring for yourself as a college student.
If it helps for you ask a friend or family member
to check in on you maybe by a phone call or a text or seeing you in person,
you know, maybe every day if you're going through a hard time.
Or maybe weekly or monthly just to say, "Hey, how are you doing?"
That can be really helpful.
But if you prefer to kind of be more intimate individual about it,
making sure that you have the time that you make for yourself
so that you can do that check-in.
Another misconception is that self-care
is self-indulgent or selfish,
and it is not selfish or self-indulgent
to take care of yourself and want to preserve yourself
as you work towards various goals that you have.
So you have to have the maturity and the practice
of recognizing your own panic points.
And when and how to get the support that you need
It's important to kind of know yourself, too, and your reset
because if you are someone that identifies as an introvert,
hanging out with friends can definitely be self-care.
But you might even need a moment after that.
Because sometimes, like, people can be really draining.
To hang out with people, even people that you love or have a lot of fun with,
you might still find that you need, like,
some down time after that.
One, seek out opportunities that might be a good fit
for your own wellness.
Two, find an accountable buddy.
Somebody that maybe is in a class with you
or somebody back at home or somebody that you live with.
to help each other hold yourselves accountable
to practicing self-care.
And three is be patient with the process.
If you're not feeling like it's working for you, you're not doing anything wrong.
You just haven't found the right self-care practice for yourself yet.
Really important is what you eat,
you know, and what you put into your body
absolutely affects how you feel
physically and emotionally.
You just sometimes have to regulate and come up with a plan for yourself
to maybe say, "Okay, French fries a couple times a week.
Not gonna do it for two meals a day, every day if I want to feel good."
Eating well and making sure that I get my sleep
actually keeps me in a much better position
to be able to deal with the stress and the challenges
that come day to day.
Now I'm an adult. It slaps you in the face.
Like, now you have to do everything on your own.
I practice self-care by working out.
If you have-- if you find someone else to go with you,
like, who's also motivated, they're gonna say, "All right,
you know, it's 7:00. Let's go to the gym."
And when I ate healthier, I also felt better.
I was, like, eating a lot of Hot Pockets.
But then eventually I got a dorm with a kitchen,
so then I became, you know, Chef Boyardee.
Let me just make sure I eat my vegetables.
Let me be sure I have my water. And then I can have what I want.
You know, just look online for some recipes if you don't know how to cook.
Mental health is really a big, big thing.
And people really don't take it seriously, but it's a big thing.
Like, even if you need to take a mental health day to recuperate.
There's always gonna be, you know, them hard times and the rough,
but you just have to, like, stay positive.
Surround yourself around people who are positive
and want to see you do good.
Make sure you're trying to make yourself better.
You're in college for yourself.
And once you do those things, it will be easier to see improvement.
'Cause you're basing it on a scale of your own and not someone else's.
That time that you do have, you want to be careful with it.
And you want to be thoughtful with it.
And so making sure you're surrounding yourself
with people who are making you better.
And a lot of students go into isolation,
so it's good to find that group
or those people that you can connect with.
Whether it be going on a walk at the park
or whether it be working out,
just trying to find out what fits into my schedule.
And know that you're there because you belong there.
When it comes to taking care of yourself,
one size does not fit all.
So let's recap some of what we've learned.
One, create self-care techniques that are low on cost and time.
Two, check in with yourself. Ask how you are doing.
And this sounds obvious, but answer that question honestly.
Three, have an action plan for managing your self-care.
Four, establish healthy eating and sleeping habits
because both affect you mentally and physically.
Five, when it comes to staying on top of your health,
find out what works for you and stick with it.
Throughout this playlist, you've received a ton of tips
about how to thrive your freshman year.
We've talked about everything from budgeting
to making friends to staying healthy,
but if you're still feeling a little nervous,
stick around for our final episode.
Because nobody gives a better pep talk
than Michelle Obama. Thanks so much for watching
"A Student's Guide To Your First Year of College."