As you can see many of my posts are centered around mental health. This is a passion of mine and I truly believe in order to reach your goals it is important that your mental health is in order. Ohio State University has created a short checklist that students can use to ensure that they thrive in the college environment. This checklist is universal and can be used in many areas of your life. Here are the top 5 things you can do to help maintain and healthy mindset:

Establish healthy habits that work for YOU!
Schedule stress reduction, physical activity and healthy eating in your personal calendar. Personally, I schedule these things in my calendar like I would a meeting or an appointment.
Build resilience and coping skills
Practice deep breathing, mindfulness, gratitude,and changing negative thoughts into positive ones. This is one of those things that is easy to say but hard to do. Once you start and make a habit of it you will notice a huge difference in your mindset. In order to start you need to be cognizant of your thoughts, once you notice your mind going to a negative or stressful place take some deep breaths and regroup by identifying the silver lining to the situation. If you need help in identifying the silver lining then it is important that you find your support network (see below).
Find local mental health support
Explore your school’s resources and locate counseling services, a primary care provider, and pharmacy. For those of you who are in high school in the Anoka-Hennepin School District you will want to connect with your school counselor, they have a wealth of information and resources that can help guide you.
Grow and maintain support systems
Get involved in student activities, meet new people, and make positive connections with people in your life. I am sure you have heard to surround yourself with positive people, and I can’t reiterate this enough. If you are surrounded by positive people it will help you stay positive and motivated to reach your goals.
Don’t wait to get help
Seek professional help immediately if your symptoms or emotions are affecting concentration or daily functioning. If you don’t know where to start, reach out to your school counselor for options.
Add the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to your contacts: 800-273-8255
If you are looking for resources and/or guidance reach out to me at info@atozeducationalconsulting.com or 612-735-1261.
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