Your therapist was right

Some mental health tips are so ubiquitous, they’ve basically become hollow slogans. “Have you tried journalling?” “My mom’s friend does yoga for her anxiety.” “What about meditation?” “Try exercising.” We’ve heard them all a million times, from our therapists, well-meaning friends, and dime-a-dozen Instagram infographics. The words go in one ear and out the other. But there’s a reason why these tips are so widespread: when practised properly, they actually work. From breathing exercises to adequate sleep, the seemingly cliché suggestions that we typically dismiss can be powerful tools for coping with stress, managing difficult emotions, and improving overall mental well-being. As this year’s exam season approaches and you find yourself swimming in an anxious sea of deadlines, try incorporating these five tried-and-true mental health practices into your daily routine. 

1. Mindfulness 

We’ve all heard of mindfulness, but what actually is it? And how do we do it? Put simply, mindfulness is the practice of cultivating a non-judgemental awareness of the present moment. This includes your emotions, your thoughts, the physical sensations in your body, and external stimuli. As university students in the rapid-speed modern world of social media and hustle culture, it’s all too easy for us to sprint through our days on autopilot. We constantly feel rushed and overstimulated, because our minds and bodies are inundated with an excess of tasks and information. Mindfulness, conversely, is about slowing down: taking a moment to breathe and tune into your mind, your body, and the world around you. What emotions are you experiencing? Try naming them without judgement. What sensations are occurring in your body? Notice if you’re holding tension in your muscles, and loosen them. What is happening around you? Try connecting to your senses: name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. These mindfulness exercises can be used to reduce stress in moments of high anxiety, but they can also increase your awareness and appreciation of life in general. 

2. Meditation

Meditation is closely related to mindfulness. It’s the practice of intentionally occupying the mind for a given period of time. In meditation, we don’t attempt to control our thoughts or stop them from occurring; rather, we allow them to pass through our minds without judgement, gently bringing our attention back to our breath. The positive effects of meditation on mental health are supported by a growing body of scientific evidence. In addition to providing an immediate sense of inner peace and calm, studies have shown that practising meditation increases our capacities to regulate negative emotions and manage stress in our overall lives. While meditation apps can be expensive, Balance offers a free one-year membership, which includes access to guided meditations for specific purposes, such as stress, concentration, and sleep, as well as longer meditation plans. Alternatively, there are countless guided meditations available for free on YouTube—I would recommend Yoga with Adriene, the beloved YouTube yoga instructor who also happens to post great meditation videos. Or, if guided meditations aren’t your thing, you can always try meditating on your own!

3. Journaling 

Every mental health professional I’ve ever seen has told me to journal. I tried it once, didn’t get the point, and gave up after a few weeks of half-hearted entries, deciding that it “just wasn’t for me.” How on earth, I thought, was writing about my problems supposed to get rid of them? Recently, however, my therapist convinced me to give journaling another shot, and with genuine effort, I’ve found it immensely helpful. I try to journal every day, and I write about anything and everything that’s on my mind: things I’m grateful for, emotions I’m feeling, deadlines I’m worried about, or simply events that happened during the day. Some days I write about trauma, while other days I write about grocery shopping. There are no rules to journaling: think of your journal as a space to empty your mind, record your thoughts, and express your feelings without judgement. Journaling won’t make your problems go away, but continuous self-reflection can help you develop a clearer understanding of them, and eventually, of yourself. Your journal can also become a space for you to ‘release’ painful thoughts or feelings. Through the physical act of writing out these thoughts or feelings, their weight is transferred from your mind onto the page, and they’ll feel much less burdensome. Imagine, as you write, the content of your words flowing through the ink of your pen, out of your mind, and onto the paper. Start with five minutes of journaling each day, find a routine that works for you, and stick with it.

4. Spending time outdoors 

As it turns out, Mother Nature isn’t just beautiful—she also has immense healing properties. Spending time outdoors has been shown to reduce stress levels, improve mood, and encourage better sleep, as well as simply allowing us to reconnect with the natural world. Whether it’s a forest, a lake, or a star-studded night sky, observing the sheer immensity and beauty of our planet can help us put our worries into perspective. While wide-open fields and untouched woods may not be readily available in downtown Toronto, there are still plenty of ways to get your daily dose of fresh air and sunlight. The simple act of going for a walk in a park, for example, provides a much-needed physical and psychological break from the clamour and overstimulation of our technology-filled world. Personally, I love walking along the harbourfront: watching the rhythmic ripples of the water, hearing the calls of seagulls, and breathing in the fresh air help to clear my mind. Try going for a walk in a natural setting every day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. On campus, Queen’s Park and Philosopher’s Walk offer small oases of nature right in the downtown core. 

5. Getting enough sleep 

I know what you might be thinking: how can I expect you to get eight hours of sleep when you’re juggling research papers, final exams, extracurriculars, a part-time job, and a social life? I won’t pretend like it’s easy, because I know it’s not. But getting enough sleep (between seven to nine hours for young adults aged 18 to 25) can make a world of difference for your mental health. Inadequate sleep doesn’t just make you tired: it’s been shown to negatively impact mood—increasing feelings of sadness, anxiety, and irritability—impair cognitive functioning, and reduce your ability to manage stress. Add these effects onto the academic, social, and financial pressures of student life, and you have a recipe for mental health disaster. It might seem like a waste of time, but structuring seven to nine hours of sleep into your daily routine will help you cope with these pressures. To improve your sleep habits, try practising good sleep hygiene. This means keeping a regular schedule (going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day), developing a relaxing bedtime routine, and making your bedroom a comfortable and quiet environment. An hour before you go to sleep, turn off bright lights, put your phone down, close your laptop, and do something that helps you unwind—this would be the perfect time to give meditation or journaling a try! With enough sleep, you’ll wake up feeling well-rested and more prepared to handle the stresses of student life.