Blog: Prioritising your mental health during assessment season
Hi, I'm May, and it's been a year since I left my home in Ghana to study Film and English at the University of Birmingham. As the end of my first year quickly approached, I came to a realisation: taking care of your mental health is one of the most important things to learn as you grow into independence. While I always understood the importance of physical health, it was during the main summer assessment season that I really came to understand the importance of prioritising my mental health too.
Since then, I have instilled these five habits which have proved particularly helpful:
1. Exercise!
I have found that life at university can be quite sedentary as you spend hours in seminars, lectures, and studying at your desk. So, to combat the detrimental effects to my physical and mental wellbeing, I took advantage of the University’s free Active Residences programme which includes all sorts of activities from football to yoga. I especially enjoyed Pilates, yoga and tennis! Squeezing in a quick workout – or even just taking a walk around my neighbourhood – released endorphins that kept me motivated and alert throughout the exam season.
2. Feed your body with the nutrients it needs
During exam season, life can feel increasingly overwhelming. This has always been the case for me as, when deadlines draw closer, I forget everything else and spend hours hunched over my laptop and textbooks. Back home, it was my mom who made a point of providing me with fruit and snacks in between meals. Now that I’m living alone, it’s easy to resort to takeout and instant noodles when time feels finite. However, taking an extra five minutes to cut up some fruits and vegetables didn’t rob me of good grades. On the contrary, the healthy balance of carbs, protein, and fibres gave me the energy to work without suffering from burnout.
3. Study with friends
Everyone has good days and bad days. For me, there were days where all I wanted to do was crawl under my covers and stop the clock from ticking. Whenever that happened, my friends picked me up and breathed life back into me. We would work together in the library late into the night, with a promise of a sweet treat at the end of the study session – this was a great source of accountability that no doubt increased our productivity. Sometimes though, all we did was talk over coffee, cook together and just be there for each other. It was during this time that I realised an island is no fun without a community.
4. Rest is productive too
It’s easy to dive into the haze of productivity to the point where it consumes you – and that is why I work using the ‘pomodoro’ technique (which involves working for a set amount of time (usually 25 minutes) and then taking a short break). After two hours of studying, I make sure to take a 20 minute break to allow my brain to rest and my body to recharge. Spending 20 minutes on the University’s Green Heart space– watching the ducks bask in the sun, or the clouds float in the deep blue sky – puts into perspective my place in the universe. I am, after all, a human being … not a machine.
5. Remember that you are so much more than your grades
Growing up, I believed my value as a person was dependent on the marks I achieved. This was instilled in me throughout my childhood as I was called “gifted” merely because I scored highly on tests. Now, however, I believe I am gifted because I wake up filled with love for my friends and family. Before anything, I am human and I am blessed to be alive.
These five lessons were incredibly important to learn for both the assessment season and life in general. Even during the summer, I tried to stay active, eat healthy and prioritise my friendships! I have found that especially now, it can be easy to pressure myself to tick off a page-long bucket list.
If you are going through a hard time, please reach out to a friend or reach out to one of UoB’s free wellbeing services. Remember, you don’t have to go through it alone.