Label volunteer writer Laura Gray Núñez chats about ways to protect your peace, create self-care routines and keep a happy lifestyle.
It is so important when becoming an adult to learn how to draw personal boundaries, as well as to invest into self-care and maintain general wellness measures in order to protect your peace. In university you are more independent than you’ve ever been, so self-care and being comfortable with yourself is more important than ever. The only person who will always be with you is yourself!
There are some important habits that can help you. First, you must focus on having your basic needs such as hygiene, cleanliness, meals and rest covered. For instance, having your living space clean and organized can contribute towards this. Remember that, although organizing can be tedious to start with, once you get it over with it will help you concentrate in your room and live happily. Make sure you sleep at night for at least about eight hours and try not to sleep during the day. Waking up before 11am also helps as you can take on the day early and feel fulfilled and productive. Not using your phone after 9pm and at least 30 minutes before you get in bed is an essential as well. Make sure your happiness not only depends on your phone for this to happen smoothly! Lastly, eat healthy and energising food, and have at least three meals a day.
If you have been struggling with anxiety or depression or any other mental obstacles, don’t be scared to try therapy or medication if recommended by a psychologist or doctor. People who go to therapy aren’t people who have problems since everyone experiences difficulty, they are just the people who want to put an end to them, it can help to have a professional to see them from another perspective. Sometimes you need a little bit of a push of help to be able to enjoy the little things in life and be able to start self-care. Keeping a journal also helps, to write things you’re thankful for, identify things you find difficult and also write how much you have eaten or how much water you’ve drunk. You must also leave time for things you like and hobbies as well as do some sport, preferably outdoors, and if not you must dedicate some time to yourself outside even if it is just for a walk. It is also important to set daily habits, such as skincare, sport or a few minutes for meditation or a pleasurable activity. Doing things to work on yourself such as skincare or therapy can make you feel fulfilled. Make sure you also have social time and time alone, they are both equally as important, but make sure you know which you like best to dedicate more time to one than the other, without completely neglecting one of these.
Once you mature and live more experiences, it becomes easier to say no. But one must still work on saying no to draw personal boundaries all their life whilst at the same time trying new things and saying yes to those. By having more experiences, you find out what you like and what you don’t like and you can also figure out what you want to say no to and create boundaries for, so do not be afraid to try new things. It is also important to live alone and have some time alone to get to know yourself better, so living at university is a great opportunity for this. After you know your boundaries, reiterate and uphold them! Journaling helps you to notice what makes you feel bad and what you should draw boundaries on, like how much time you spend on social media.
In conclusion, make sure you have your basic needs such as nutrition, sleep, hygiene and organisation covered, in order to learn to say no, draw personal boundaries and start working on your self-care which will make you even happier and allow you to work on yourself even more. It is an endless cycle!
Articled Edited by: Rebecca Pearson – Deputy Editor
Header Designed by: Sarim Mangi – Head of Design
