If you came back from winter break and wondered, why do I feel so gloomy all of a sudden? The following may be helpful to you.

Returning to campus this semester turned out to be much more difficult than I had thought it would be. As I packed during the days leading up to my return to school, I felt as though I was more than ready to return and start the new year right. I returned Monday morning, giving myself the day to reset and prepare for my new spring schedule. I caught up with some of my friends, who I had looked forward to seeing all break, and we recapped the last couple of weeks.

However, when I returned to my room alone, as a result of my roommate’s flight being canceled, I felt a deep sense of sadness that I brushed off by telling myself to take some melatonin, go to sleep, and wake up refreshed and ready for a new semester. That didn’t happen. I gave myself some time to be flexible with the way I was feeling but it lasted the entire first week of class. I continued to write it off because I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why I felt this way. I mean I was more than ready to leave home, so why was it hitting me so hard? Well, the rainy and gloomy days definitely didn’t help my moodiness, but, now, even after the shopping period has ended I am unable to pinpoint where this feeling came from, but with the help of my friends and some self-discovery I have noted two things that have allowed my “blues” to subside. Both these things weren’t planned but just happened and afterward, I realized “Oh wait, I actually feel better right now.” 

The first one, I hate to admit. Exercising. Who would’ve thought that all the people on the internet telling you how exercise is good for you were actually right? I do think it is important to do something you know you will enjoy participating in and to do it with a friend, not only to hold each other accountable but also just to have somebody else suffer with you. One of my friends has been doing yoga for years and once she found a studio here, she asked me to go with her. I went on a Friday morning two weeks ago for the first time and left the class feeling amazing. Now I go several times a week and can rely on it to boost my mood. 

The second tactic is very simple, blasting your favorite music (preferably with headphones) and dancing around your room. I have done this before, but either it didn’t affect me much before or I simply didn’t notice, but it is probably the best and most effective form of stress relief ever. I even use it as a reward for when I’m done doing any sort of work, I can put my noise-canceling headphones on and give myself around 10 minutes of a “break” and then get back to work. 

I by no means discovered these two methods and this really isn’t new information but I didn’t really how much these things had truly pulled me out of my funk until I thought about the emotional rollercoaster that was syllabus week. It really is all about the little things that make us feel better.

Image via Bwog Archives