If you’re in college and battling mental health, you are not alone.
College presents new challenges for everyone. Being away from home, meeting new people and trying to make friends, a new course load, the weight of your future hanging over your head as people ask you what you want to do with your life 3 times a week… it’s a lot. Not to mention all the different challenges life brings whether you’re in college or not, like a loved one passing, financial hardships, a breakup, etc.
Whether you’ve struggled with mental health before or find yourself battling it for the first time in college, let me say again: you are not alone.
In this post, I’ll share some of my personal experiences with mental health, present some of the tools that help me, and offer practical advice. I pray that as you read this post, you are encouraged and reminded that the things you’re struggling with are not who you are.
Disclaimer: The advice in this post does not substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a professional or healthcare provider if seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
I can’t talk about mental health without thinking about how far God has taken me from where I used to be.
In high school, I experienced extreme anxiety. The best way I can explain it is that it felt like there was a constant brick on my chest. I was always nervous about everything. There was no “I’m safe” feeling, my body was operating in survival mode. I desperately wanted to please everyone and to be pleased with myself by being as perfect as possible.
The Lord broke this off of me one night when I was listening to the song, “Hello Beautiful” by MercyMe. I had a mentor tell me that she overcame a lot of her anxiety one day by looking at herself in the mirror and deciding “I’m done living like this”. I thought, “that’s great for her, but I’m battling sooooo much anxiety, there’s no way I can just talk myself out of it.”
Well, that night as I listened to that song, I experienced something similar to my mentor. I sat on my bedroom floor listening to this song as the lyrics said:
"No more I quit I've had enough I wasn't made for this To all the lies that have tried To cripple me with doubt I think it's time to say goodbye I know who I am now... Goodbye regret Goodbye alone Goodbye to emptiness Say hello to beautiful Goodbye afraid Goodbye ashamed Goodbye to hopelessness Say hello to beautiful"
I prayed, “Lord, if it’s really that simple, I want to say goodbye to anxiety.” As I prayed, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace enter my body and my room. I physically felt lighter. The invisible brick I felt on my chest for years was lifted. I could breath a little easier.
Now, I’m not saying I’ve never struggled with anxiety after that night, but man- something was broken off of me. When I have anxiety now, it’s for moments, not something that dwells in my mind and haunts me day and night.
I also went through a season of depression later on in high school. I was always a really positive, glass-half-full person, so it was scary when deep, dark, depressive thoughts crept in. They came in out of nowhere. I went from being excited about the future to thinking the future would never come. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
To suppress these thoughts and feelings, I went numb. While everyone else was getting excited about prom and what they were going to wear and graduation and planning grad parties, I felt numb. I knew I was excited to graduate and do all the senior things, but I didn’t feel excited. I think going numb was my body’s defense mechanism to get through that season. Whatever it was, I hated it. I hated going through the motions and not feeling any joy or excitement.
I think that was a circumstantial mental health battle, meaning it pretty much went away when those set of circumstances went away. Once I graduated and it was summer, I finally felt better and was excited for college and all that was ahead.
I tell you this to say- I have experienced both seasonal and intense, on-going mental health struggles and I’ve come out on the other side. You can too.
Ephesians 6:2 tells us that our battle is against more than what we can see. There are very real, spiritual attacks that can come in the form of mental illness.
Ephesians 6:2 For our struggles is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.
I also believe that there are medical explanations for mental health struggles. I believe these two realities can coexist.
Now that I’ve talked about my personal experience with spiritual attacks on my mental health, I want to go into some more practicals. As I said in the beginning of this post, any advice I give here should not be treated as professional medical advice. I simply want to provide some tools of things that help me in my mental health journey that I pray helps you as well.
Let’s get practical.
Music
Science tells us that music affects the brain. I don’t think I even need loads of studies to prove that, I’ve noticed it so prevalently in my own life. I’ve noticed that when I listen to upbeat music, it improves my mood and my thoughts! I’m not saying happy music is going to cure your depression, but I’ve seen it go a long way.
Listening to worship music is another thing I would do to remind my brain of truth even when I didn’t feel like it was the truth.
Read: Experiences Don’t Dictate Who God Is
Excercise
This Healthline article explains how exercise helps regulate stress hormones and releases mood-bosting neurotransmitters.
If you’ve excercised consistently for a period of time, you’ve probably experienced this. You start to physically FEEL better the more you take care of your body.
This can present challenges in and of itself if you struggle with body image and insecurity about what others think of your body. This is where accountability comes in hand. Work out with a friend that can remind you of your ‘why’ (for your health, not to achieve a certain image), and one who can help get your head out of comparison zone. Make it fun! Smile as you go on a walk or have a dance party or stretch. It’s science.
Talking about it
Nothing hidden in the darkness can experience change. It has to be exposed to the light. I would encourage and challenge you to expose your thoughts to the light and:
- See what God has to say about it
- Let others encourage and speak truth over you.
Seek help! You are not the only one feeling the way you feel or having thoughts you have. Talk to a professional, a trusted friend or mentor, an older sister, and you’d be surprised how many people can relate and how many people in your life love you, care for you, and want you to get better.
I’ll never forget the first time I talked about the numbness I felt my last year of high school to a friend in college and she got teary eyed as she told me about the season of depression she walked through in high school. We both felt so seen and understood though we had once both believed the lie that we were the only ones.
Opening up to others is hard and they won’t always have the reaction you want them to. But man, find the ones that empathize with you and keep them close.
Deleting social media.
I’ll say it. Since the introduction of social media, our society has become more anxious and depressed than ever before. Maybe this is a root of your mental health struggles, maybe it’s not. But I don’t think anything bad can come from taking a break from social media- so give it a try!
Stop looking at others’ lives and subconsciously comparing yourselves to them. Stop spending hours endlessly scrolling and then feeling regret and shame after. Remove the distraction and get your mind on other, more uplifting things.
Sleep
I know, I know, the classic “ways to improve your mental health” chat usually talks about getting enough sleep, but it’s because it’s true! It’s proven that insufficient sleep can increase negative emotional responses to stressors and decrease positive emotions.
You know this – you know that you feel better after a good night’s sleep. Though it’s easier said than done, do your best to prioritize getting enough sleep- especially when battling mental health. This may mean saying no to some late-night hang-outs and practicing some discipline when it comes to time management.
Journaling
Often times, before you feel comfortable talking about something, you gotta take a minute to process it on your own. For me, this looks like journaling.
I write down all my thoughts: raw, real, unfiltered. Sometimes it turns into prayer. Sometimes I just write and write. I always try to end by being grateful. I have shared on this blog before and I will share it again and again- gratitude and anxiety cannot exist in the brain at the same time!!!
I encourage you to get real, even if that’s only with your journal at first, and start submitting those vulnerable, deep thoughts to God and declaring the truth of His word over them.
While God gives us authority to immediately speak truth over lies, there is also a beauty (and necessity) in first processing the lie that we’re believing and then reminding ourselves of truth. I used to think of the verse, “take every thought captive” as meaning I should simply shut down my negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones, when really, Paul is saying, “Recognize that thought. Acknowledge it and question it. Where did it come from? What is the counterfeit truth behind it? What is actually true?”
Routine
Routine helps keep us steady when our mind can wander to all sorts of places. Routines reduce anxiety and give us a source of momentum when it can be hard to feel any sense of motivation at all.
A routine that I LOVE is making my bed every morning. Even if all I do in a day is make my bed, I’ve made an accomplishment. It’s also so refreshing to come home to after a long day. I typically scripture out loud as I do this, immediately reminding myself of truth as I start my day. I love reciting Psalm 139 and Psalm 23.
Getting outside
There’s just somethin’ bout vitamin D, ya know? No seriously, vitamin D regulates your mood and may decrease depression! Getting outside isn’t something you can always do, but take advantage of it when you can. Go on a walk with a friend (or by yourself if you want some alone time and it’s safe to), or simply read or do homework outside instead of indoors.
Along with this, if you find yourself in the same spaces all the time (i.e. a musty dorm room, the dining hall, and the same academic building), switch things up! While routine is key, there’s also something to be said of spicing things up a bit! 😉
Do homework outside. Find a new study spot in the library with natural lighting. Ask to go to a friend’s house or apartment for a little bit. Get a meal off-campus. A change of scenery can work wonders.
So there ya have it folks- a look into my personal journey and some practical tips for battling mental health.
If you found these tips helpful, would you consider sharing this post with a friend? And if you have more helpful tips, feel free to leave ideas in the comments below!
Always remember- you are SO LOVED, and YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!