written by: Lauren Kinchen

Mental health is something that we all have struggled with at some point in our life whether we can admit it or not. And for some reason people hate to talk about it! Mental health can run through stages of positive and negative cycles. In my experience you cannot appreciate the positive times with out experiencing some bad!

There are so many channels of life that have caused us to put on these mental roles to battle through the anxiety-filled days as well as the super fun times. The bad times have been just as authentic as the good times.

The key to maintaining a positive mental state is to assess and analyze what makes you feel a certain way and then either incorporate those into your life or avoid those certain things.

We’ve got this!

Here’s some of my story:

My mental health has been something I have been able to develop and work on throughout college.

I am lucky enough to be able to manage my emotions quite well now, as opposed to my freshman year. Let’s all think back to freshman year and stressed we all were! My freshman year was an overwhelming mess of feelings that I had no idea how to control, but now I am a senior and understand the power of thought and routine in my daily agenda. How we think has the power to control our emotions. 

It is crucial for me to maintain a positive mental state. When I am not intentional with my thoughts and attitude, I experience very sad days… All it takes for me to maintain a healthy mental state is to remain positive about my situation and optimistic! There is always a way for me to get a better perspective on life and when I do, the outcome is marvelous.  My mother has struggled with her mental health for several years, yet she has been the greatest model to me of fighting through the negative with a positive outlook. I have seen her on her most frightening days smile and I have listened to her admire how blessed she is. In watching this take place, I could see a tangible change in the atmosphere and suddenly, what seemed so bad was so trivial in both of our eyes. This mantra has saved me on many occasions, and I can thank my mother for that!

Here is a day I experienced and survived recently……

I am a senior design student and was experiencing a very emotional day in studio…

IT HAPPENS!

On this day I was absolutely overwhelmed to the point of crippling anxiety. I am a perfectionist and have many days where I am usually overreacting when I have no reason to be. I allowed this competitive environment to completely control my mood.

Once I started feeling blue, I closed off from my studio friends and disconnected from the world.

Thankfully, my peers each experience days like this and we have each learned how to pull each other out of these deep, dark negative moods that we all have experienced.

They immediately forced me out of my desk chair and said “We are going outside and taking a break, this is so minimal, do not get down about this. Let’s go get some good food and spend some time outside, it’s so pretty today! Let’s go, Let’s go!”

The happiness and energy they radiated was immediately projected onto me, and I made it through with their help and was instantly in a MUCH better mood! 

There are so many variables that have the power over my mental health. I remember the positive and negative emotions and the things that make me feel those certain ways. In knowing the root of these emotions, it is so much easier to implement ways to better my moods and allow me to be there for my friends and family. If I do not control and become intentional with what I do daily, my positive mental state will slip away, and my mental health will search for relief any way it can. 

I want to encourage everyone to fight it at the forefront and be there for one another! Remind the people in your life to put themselves first and to prioritize positivity. Implementing positive outlets into your life is absolutely necessary. Mental health is neglected and should be prioritized. Remember the positives and avoid the negatives.