It’s almost Mental Health Month! National Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May since 1949! It’s important to take time to make sure that you remain in a good headspace. Now is the perfect time! Being a teen is HARD. With school, family, social media, friends, dating, internal and external judgment, life can start to feel overwhelming. You have to remember to keep going! You’ll get through it and come out even better. Life won’t always feel overwhelming, but when it does, it’s important to have the right coping methods to keep your mental wellness intact. Life can get scary. Here are some tips to help you power through.

Get a Hobby!

When life gets overwhelming, it’s important to do things you love. Doing things that make you happy keeps your mind away from negative, stressful thoughts. If you have a hobby, do it! Don’t neglect it because you’re going through a rough patch. Ultimately, neglecting your hobbies will only make you feel worse.

If you don’t already have a hobby, try a couple to see what you like! Lots of people find creative outlets helpful. Music, drawing, writing, dancing, painting, or creating can be a way to express the feelings or emotions that you might not feel up to talking about. The best part is that you don’t even have to share your creations with anyone! If you feel that your creative outlet is a special, personal experience, it’s okay to keep it to yourself.

Reach Out!

If you have friends, family, or mentors that you can confide in, you should utilize them. These are people who want the best for you. When you’re going through a stressful period, it’s important not to isolate yourself from them. Even though you may not feel like being around people, isolating yourself will always make you feel worse. Always. Having a laugh or a fun time with friends or family is key to positive mental health. It’s mental medicine!

Even if you feel like you don’t have anyone to talk to, there’s always someone who can help. School mentors and counselors are highly overlooked as resources. They are there to help you! Take a visit to your school’s guidance counselor if you need someone to vent to. They are happy to listen and even give guidance when necessary. An important step towards mental wellness is not to hold in all of your frustrations. Before you know it, they’ll build up.

Exercise!

Focusing all of you negative, stressful energy into a physical activity can help maintain your mental wellness. Using physical activity as an outlet focuses all of your energy into the workout.

If physical exercise isn’t your favorite, try mental exercises! Meditate! Try a couple of breathing exercises. Learn about apps that offer simple meditation programs here.

Get your Sleep!

In many studies, lack of sleep is linked to depression. It’s recommended that teenagers get about 8-10 hours of sleep every night. Although that much sleep may seem difficult to incorporate into your schedule, do your best to strive for it. Try creating a bedtime routine for yourself so that you have a more structured sleep schedule. This way, there’s more of a chance that you’ll acquire the appropriate amount of sleep.

Implement Self-appreciation!

Lastly, remember that you are AWESOME! Don’t compare yourself to anyone else or what you see on social media. Why? Because you’re one of a kind! Don’t get caught up striving to look or be like a celebrity or a social media influencer. You are perfect the way you are. Your mental wellness and overall happiness will drastically improve if you actually, truly take self-appreciation seriously. It’s okay to take a break from social media for a couple of days if you have to. Instagram can wait, but your mental wellness can’t.

Mental health is just as important as physical health. We go to the doctor for physical checkups, but it’s important to do regular mental health check-ins too. Life can get crazy. Taking the right steps towards keeping your mental health intact is key in avoiding psychological breakdowns. Everyone is vulnerable to becoming mentally overwhelmed and exhausted. What makes the difference is the way you cope. Try some of these coping methods to keep yourself in good mental health.