By Ellie Hubbard, 2nd Year Psychology student
With the Christmas period soon coming, it is important to reflect on how to look after your mental health during this time. Whilst Christmas is a time for happiness, for some, the Christmas period can be very challenging. If you would like tips on how to look after your mental health over Christmas, whether you’re struggling or if you want to prioritise your mental health regardless, then keep reading!
Stick to a daily routine
One way to maintain good mental health around the Christmas period is to have a daily routine. Whilst being off for Christmas, I find that having no routine can affect my mental health. Therefore, maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern, eating 3 meals a day and getting ready in the morning can really help me feel like I have a purpose in the day. Whilst maintaining a routine over Christmas is important, I also find there needs to be a balance. Christmas is a time for relaxing and putting your feet up after a long year – relax and enjoy yourself! Just taking a few small steps to make your day feel a little bit more structured can improve your overall mental health.
Factor in time for a self-care day
On top of having a routine, having a self-care day once a week is important for me – not just during the Christmas period but all of the time. A self-care day can be anything you enjoy – I personally love reading or going for a walk (or not leaving the house and binge-watching Netflix). Self-care days are important for your mental health as it gives you time to do something for you and no one else. Self-care days are also essential to let your body and mind relax from the stressful things in everyday life. With a self-care day once a week, you can appreciate your personal space as well as appreciating the things you enjoy in life.
Surround yourself with people who make you feel good
A final step I take to improving my mental health over Christmas and always is surrounding myself with loved ones. If you are struggling over Christmas, surround yourself with people who make you feel good. Having self-love is so important, although, it can sometimes be hard to achieve which can make you feel down. Surrounding yourself with loved ones can remind you of why you are loved and not only make you feel loved by others but can also improve your self-love. Furthermore, spread the love! You never know what anyone is going through and how much you can brighten another person’s day by doing a small deed for them.
All of the above points are steps I take which helps maintains my mental health when it is at its highest and lowest. Christmas can be a hard time for a lot of people; therefore, it is important to encourage self-love alongside spreading the love to maintain mental health all around.
Our Student Support will still be here to support you during the winter break for more information on support and services available to NTU students over the winter break head to the Student Hub
For help, advice and resources whilst studying at NTU, take a look at the following for sources of support.
- Support from NTU
- Self-Care books in NTU’s libraries
- Silvercloud: SilverCloud is our online system designed to help with a range of mental health issues.
- Health and Wellbeing resources
- NTSU Information and Advice service
- Wellness in Mind: Advice and support for anyone in Nottingham experiencing issues with their mental wellbeing
- Student Minds or Student Space
- 10 Keys to happiness
- Mind
- Papyrus
- CALM
Healthy NTU 