6 Ways to Ensure a Successful First Day Back to School

The start of a new school year can bring mixed emotions - excitement, nervousness, and a touch of uncertainty. Ensuring a successful first day back not only sets a positive tone for the academic year but also contributes significantly to your mental well-being.

Here are six effective strategies to make your return to school a mentally healthy and successful experience:

1. Prepare Ahead:

Proper preparation can alleviate anxiety. Organize your school supplies, pack your bag, and lay out your outfit the night before. This simple act can ease your mind and ensure a smooth morning routine.

2. Establish a Calming Morning Routine:

Begin your day with activities that promote calmness. Whether it's a few minutes of meditation, a light breakfast, or a short walk, these rituals can set a positive tone for the day.

3. Positive Affirmations:

Start your day with positive self-talk. Remind yourself of your strengths, capabilities, and past achievements. Repeating affirmations can help boost your confidence and reduce self-doubt.

4. Connect with Friends:

Reconnecting with friends can ease the transition back to school. Social interactions provide a sense of belonging and support, which are crucial for mental well-being.

5. Set Realistic Expectations:

It's normal to feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. Remember that nobody has a perfect first day. Set realistic expectations for yourself and focus on the progress you make rather than striving for perfection.

6. Practice Self-Care:

Throughout the day, prioritize self-care. Take short breaks between classes to stretch, practice deep breathing, or simply relax. Stay hydrated, eat balanced meals, and ensure you get a good night's sleep afterward.

Remember, a successful first day goes beyond academics. Prioritizing your mental well-being contributes to your overall success and happiness throughout the school year. Approach the day with positivity, self-compassion, and the belief that you have the tools to handle whatever comes your way. 🌟📚 #BackToSchool #MentalHealthMatters #PositiveStart

4 Ways to Maximize Your Study Habits

As we all get back into the flow of things during a new school year, we need to find ways to help us study in a more efficient way that will allow us to stay grounded and prevent unwanted stress. You may be wondering, how can I successfully study and retain information without over stressing?

Here are a few tips to help you within this next school year and hopefully the rest of your life!

1. Space out your studying - We are all guilty of cramming for exams the day before. However, this is not the best way to study for exams! It’s best to space out your study sessions over a longer period of time. A great way to do this is to schedule an hour a day or every other day until the day of your exam. Flash cards is a great way to do this.

2. Practice! - When you look at a musician at a concert, do you think that they simply woke up one morning and knew how to play as seamlessly as they currently do? Of course not! It took them many years of practice to master and hone in on their skills. Why would you be any different? When learning a new subject practicing is VERY important. Make sure you practice as much as possible. The more you do it, the more it’ll become second nature.

3. Don’t just re-read books and notes - You may think that simply re-reading material is best and will allow you to retain the material, but it’s no different that memorizing the answers to an exam. Actually read the material and notes to understand them. If you understand what you are reading and learn how to apply it you will have a higher success rate on your exams.

4. Test yourself! - Once you are done studying and practicing as much as you can, test yourself! If you think it’s better to have someone test you instead, ask a family member or even a friend. A great way to test yourself is to use Quizlet’s flash cards or even their testing options! This will allow you to see how much you truly understand and have retained.

Following these steps will allow you to formulate a routine and healthier studying habits and in turn reduce the amount of stress as exams get closer.

Our Therapists Share How to Revamp Your Routines

Why are routines hard to start and hard to keep up with? They can be tedious but we know that once you are able to hone in on specific goals, routines will be an integral part of maintaining these goals.

Routines are helpful in giving us a feeling of control over our lives, even when it may seem like control is the last thing you have. Routines can also be helpful in coping with change, forming healthy habits, and reducing stress levels. 

Morning routines can be a great way to get your day started on the right track. Sometimes, getting out of bed is a struggle and it’s important to understand that you should not feel bad for skipping a morning routine. Though, having a routine may make those days a little easier. So, we can almost look at this like preparation for difficult days or weeks, while also setting us up for success on our good days.

It is also important to note that everyone’s lives are different and therefore the recommendations that I may have for a good morning routine may not fit into your life. It is up to you to determine the best way to start your day because consistency is the real key. 

The best step, in my opinion, for a successful morning routine is to simply let light in. This alone will increase those feelings of wakefulness, making the rest of this routine a little easier. After we let the light in, it is proven to be helpful to make your bed. By completing a task, first think in the morning, you can increase your own self-confidence and may be more inclined to complete the rest of your daily tasks.

Drink water and eat breakfast! Dehydration and lack of nutrients can decrease your daily cognitive functions, so don’t forget that banana! Starting your day with a meal can also boost your metabolism to help you with any meal routines you may set for yourself throughout the rest of your day.

Lastly, before you leave the house, it may be helpful to set 5 minutes aside to either meditate, set your daily intentions, stretch your body, or write down your daily goals. Beginning your day with just 5 minutes of focusing ONLY on yourself will pay off, in terms of your mental health, in finding your center and creating stability in your day. If your day seems to be straying from your comfort zone, you can fall back on those 5 minutes and refocus your day. 

Night routines can be just as important as morning routines. Shower, focus on your skincare or haircare, eat dinner, and refocus your intentions for the day to come by taking 5 more minutes, just for you. Just like a morning routine can set you up for the rest of the day, a night time routine can help to wipe the slate clean for the day to come. It can give you an opportunity to thank yourself for making it through one more day. 

As we finish up our nightly routine, lie your head down to go to sleep, remind yourself that tomorrow is a new day and you can conquer anything you put your mind to. 

Go out and conquer your day!

Goals to Help You Mentally Succeed

This month, we are still talking about the pressure of change. How is it that when January rolls around, the whole world seems to fall onto us at once? Change your eating habits. Get out of that relationship. Get into that relationship. Exercise more. Get more sleep. Write in your calendar…. And the list could go on.

Most of these changes are pressures we place on ourselves, visions of a better future or a better version of ourselves.

Though we can remove these pressures with positive self talk and practicing self-care,  some of these changes may be unavoidable.

Maybe it really is time to change those eating habits or increase your exercise routine and it took the “new year, new me” phenomenon to decide now is your turning point?

If these goals are necessary and they do simply contribute to making you a better you, we can talk about how to set the right goals and how to achieve them with ease. 

We can learn, at home, how to stare that daunting new task in the eyes and overcome the obstacle without breaking a sweat (unless your goal is exercise, then maybe we achieve your goal with lots of sweat!). 

We can do this by creating SMART goals (because everyone loves a good acronym)! 

S in SMART stands for SPECIFIC: These goals should be simple in nature to allow for an easy transition. This goal is ultimately created to help us achieve something, it is also important that this goal is sensible. We do not want to put effort into a goal that is not benefiting us. Lastly, this goal should be significant. Even though I said this goal should be simple, it should also be important. For example, if your goal is to get more exercise, for S, our goal should be something specific, simple, sensible, and significant: Going on a walk. The exercise at hand is specific, walking, and it is not difficult to squeeze into your schedule, but still has purpose and aids you in getting closer to a healthy lifestyle.

M in SMART stands for MEASURABLE: We want to be able to track our progress, so “going on a walk” may be too vague to meet our M goal. This should also be meaningful and motivating. A good example of an M goal, for our same example, would be: Going on a one walk a day for at least one mile. 

A in SMART is ACHIEVABLE: Our goal of going on one walk a day for one mile, is a specific and measurable goal, but is it motivating? Does it seem too difficult too quickly? We want this goal to be meaningful and if it is not motivating enough, you probably aren’t going to do it. We can adjust our goal to be more motivating: Going on a walk every day starting with one lap around the block and increasing by one lap, each week. 

R in SMART is RELEVANT: Can we go on a walk every day? In Florida, yes probably. In Buffalo, NY, there are blizzards and snow and truly no, we probably could not take a walk every day. But, if we live in Florida, and we are okay occasionally getting drizzled on, then our goal can remain the same because it is reasonable. 

T is SMART is TIME BOUND: Making goals that work within your schedule may be the most important because if our goal fits in all of our SMAR reasons but we can not manage to take that time out of our day, we will never get around to reaching it. If we work a 9-5, maybe take the time right after dinner to take this walk with your family. Have a back-up option for days that time may be limited. For example, if we can track our steps during our walk around the block, we may be able to walk around our house days that we can not make it outside to receive a similar step-count to get close to your goal. 

Setting and carrying out goals can be difficult, believe in yourself and make sure your goals are realistic… and smart… we can make reaching those goals possible. You have got this!

Therapists Share Your First Semester at College Survival Guide

As a high school senior you were on top of the food chain. You probably knew your school like the back of your hand and best of all you were comfortable. August is finally here and the fall college semester will begin soon. Some of you are heading to schools where you will be one of thousands of students, others are heading to small schools in which you will be one of hundreds. Either way it is a BIG change and college anxiety is real. 

Here are some ways to ease your mind and look forward to your first day of college: 

1. Purchase the essentials: Aside the typical dorm items, remember to purchase school supplies and your books. Show up to class prepared and ready to take notes (even if it is the first day of class). In college professors will expect you to always be prepared to learn, there is no movie day or freebie. 

2. Go explore the campus: Learn where your dorm is, the nearest dining halls and where your classes are. Learn to take the bus and time how long you take to reach your destination. This will help you plan how much time you have between classes. 

3. Get to know your professors: No, you do not have to take them to lunch, but introduce yourself during a class break and research their ratings on www.ratemyprofessor.com or a similar website  (this will make you aware of their teaching style and personality).  

4. Get to know your roommates: Spend time together, talk, go out to eat and learn what you have in common. Your roommates can be a great part of your college experience (they still are a great part of my life). You will be living with them so make the best of it and work on building a friendship. 

5. Have a schedule: Write down and plan out your day (from start to finish). This will help ease your stress and increase your timeliness. You can add lunch, time with friends, work out time, study hours and quizzes to all fit your schedule. 

6. Have fun: Take the time to join clubs and make friends. College is not just about your studies. It is a great opportunity to make social connections (future work connections are always great) and explore the things that really interest you. This will help you find your identity, which can help you choose a career that aligns with who you are. 

Prepare yourself for a year of learning, fun and exciting new ventures! College is what you make of it. Remember to take one day at a time. Patience is key to learning your way around, adapting to a new environment and surviving your first semester.