Mental Health Management For High Schoolers

Mental health is a critical part of our lives. According to the World Health Organization, there is no health without mental health.

High school is already a difficult time, with hormones, the stress of school applications – the pandemic and the sociopolitical climate have done nothing to help.

In a 2019 survey, 1 in 3 high school students reported experiencing feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness, indicating a 40% rise since 2009.

Mental health management is a valuable skill for high school students. Beyond avoiding feeling down, anxiety, and other uncomfortable issues, maintaining mental health makes it easier to focus in school, socialize with your peers, and form genuine connections with people in your life.

Practicing good mental health habits early in life will make them easier to maintain as you go off to college, begin your career, or embark on other adventures in life.

Here are a few tips you can start using to understand your emotions and improve your mental health.

Establish a Manageable Routine

Between school, athletics, extracurriculars, thinking about college, and everything in between, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. It’s easier to tackle these things if you break projects and long-term goals up into smaller steps and give yourself deadlines and a schedule accordingly.

Consider how long each portion of a project will take you and give yourself ample time to get each step done. Don’t forget to schedule in time to relax, unwind, and hang out with friends.

If it adds to your stress, don’t treat your schedule like it’s set in stone. Allow yourself some flexibility – you just want to make sure that you stay on track to meet your goals.

Keep Up with Your Physical Health

Mental health and physical health go hand in hand. If you’re not eating well, hydrating, or sleeping properly, you’ll feel it mentally and emotionally!

Stepping away to go on a walk can be the break you need to work through problems you might get stuck on. Fresh air and sunshine can also improve your mood, so you feel refreshed when you get back to it. Physical exercise that gets your heart rate up can also be a great way to blow off some steam.

It’s easy to get lost in the grind, but don’t forget to stop for water and eat something nutritious and filling. Use them as built-in break times to keep your working session effective and prevent burnout.

Create Boundaries and Stick to Them

Setting boundaries is a crucial part of self care that many of us often forget about. Setting limits on when and where you work, the time that you’ll spend on something or someone are all boundaries. Boundaries can sound like:

“I won’t do any school work after 7pm, so I have time to decompress.”

“I’ll only do my work at my desk so I can focus on dinner at the dining table or relaxing on the couch”

“I can’t hang out this weekend because I want to spend some time on something else.”Setting boundaries can involve telling people “no,” which can feel scary. But boundaries are meant to keep you healthy and happy. People who care about you should be open and willing to respect them.

Set Realistic Goals

Setting goals is a good way to keep track of your progress and continuously improve. But this only works if you set realistic and achievable goals for yourself – this goes for your mental health, school work, and anything else that you hope to pursue.

Aiming high is a good way to push yourself, but if these goals are unrealistic for a given time frame, or require unreasonable sacrifices in time and energy, you’ll be setting yourself up to fail. It doesn’t feel good, and it makes it seem like what you’re reaching for isn’t achievable.

Instead, treat bigger goals and dreams like a roadmap to guide your day-to-day. Your goal is to set boundaries around limiting extra responsibilities you pick up for your school club? Start by saying “no” to a few that you’re not excited about.

Do you want to be more comfortable speaking in public? Start by raising your hand and participating a little bit in class discussions.

This way, you can build up to reaching larger goals without overwhelming yourself.

Explore Your Creativity

If it speaks to your soul, creative projects can be a good outlet for how you’re feeling.

Along with breaking up the routine and giving yourself something to look forward to, activities like painting, writing, or anything else that catches your interest can help improve your creative problem solving abilities.

Creative activities are also a great way for you to put your feelings out into the world while hanging out with your friends. You can host a small paint night with friends or sit down with someone and spend a few hours trying to learn a new craft. 

Be Patient with Yourself

Mistakes are bound to happen – we’re all human. As you try to implement some of these tips, you may find that some of them are causing more stress, or maybe you drop the ball here and there.

Give yourself a little grace when you make mistakes. Acknowledge the mistake, figure out what led to it so you can avoid it, or try and see if there’s another solution.

Think of taking care of your mental health like a marathon, not a sprint. There’s no final destination to get to, just a long journey toward understanding.

Talk to Someone

Talking to someone you trust, whether it’s a friend or a mental health professional, will help you work through what you’re going through.

Putting a name to a feeling can make it easier to identify and deal with the circumstances that led up to it. Getting a trusted opinion can also provide a new perspective to help make the situation more manageable.

Whomever you talk to, make sure you both set your boundaries and expectations. If you’re reaching out to a friend, make sure they know whether you’re looking for advice or an opportunity to just lay it out there.

If you’re working with a therapist or other professional, make sure they know what you’re hoping to get out of working together and you understand roughly what your plan of care looks like.

Understanding and dealing with your emotions and mental health can feel daunting, but you don’t have to do it alone.