Self Care
Improving Your Mental Wellness: Where to Start
The clinical definition of well-being comprises four components: the individual realizes their abilities, can cope with the everyday stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to their community. Simple, right? If only. In my one and half years as a college student, I have learned the importance of stress management, which…
A Guide to Navigating Mental Health Amidst Change
As the winter months settle upon us, seasons change, and many aspects of our lives do as well. Change can take on many forms and manifest in several ways, from minor adjustments to our daily routines to more significant transitions such as a new job, ending relationships, or relocating to a new city. These shifts…
How Humanities and STEM Students Alike Can Better Manage Stress
College is not easy. This fall, I began my sophomore year at Union College, and it is definitely much more challenging than the previous year, especially since I have all upper-level classes this term, two of them being biology classes and one other intensive political science class. Though students often jokingly debate which is more…
Creating a Sustainable Self-Care Routine for Students
Self-care is something that everyone talks about — but what does it actually mean, and how do you create a routine that is both effective and sustainable? As a student, self-care isn’t always easy to fit into my schedule, but it remains an important part of taking care of our mental health. As I’ve learned…
Your Perfect Self-Care Day: Expectation vs. Reality
A peek online will expose you to a seemingly unlimited number of self-care routines, tips, and advice. But take a second look, and you’ll see a disconnection between what internet influencers portray as self-care and what a self-care day actually looks like. What does it mean to care for yourself? Is it popping a different…
Navigating Mental Health with Art Therapy: Surviving Big Feelings
What happens when you link creative art therapy with a revolutionary treatment that helps people navigate their mental health? You get Alyse Ruriani’s The Big Feelings Survival Guide! From scribbling out angry impulses to embracing confusion by working through an intricate maze, the illustrated workbook is packed with practical, creative exercises designed to improve your…
Five Simple Stress Awareness Events to Host on Your Campus
Nobody knows stress better than students — and at the same time, no one knows better how to help young adults manage stress than other young adults. April is Stress Awareness Month, a time to check in on what we’re doing each day to mitigate stress and manage negative emotions surrounding productivity, burnout, and fear….
How to Practice Self-Love (Even When It Feels Impossible)
It’s more than normal in life to want to love and be loved. Love, after all, is around us — it exists with our family, friends, neighbors, communities, in movies and on TV, and, arguably, most importantly with ourselves. But, figuring out how to practice self-love can be more difficult than learning how to love…
Strategies for Living with Seasonal Affective Disorder
I am a loud and self-proclaimed lover of summer. I love everything about the season: how ice cream melts faster than you can eat it, the beach and the smell of salt water, and blockbusters out every other week at the movie theater. But the thing I love most about summertime is the long, extended…
Happier Holidays: Tips to De-Stress and Enjoy Your Break
For many, the holiday season brings cheer and excitement; however, it’s not uncommon for it to also be a difficult time. The holidays can be particularly hard for those struggling with mental health. Your routine may be disrupted, some of the coping mechanisms or support networks you’ve built at school or in your own home…
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.