Mental Health Tips I Wish I’d Been Given before Starting University

Helping someone suffering from depression

This is for everyone who is seeking help on how to help someone suffering from depression. If you are dealing with this illness, please show this to your friends and family. Showing love and support can make a difference. Here are some tips:

1. Thank you for educating yourself

I know that having a loved one suffering from mental illnesses is very hard. You are not to blame. And you are doing the right thing by trying to educate yourself on how to help them. I am so proud that you are there for your friend, child, girlfriend, boyfriend, mother, father etc. Things will become better eventually and you can greatly impact your loved one's mental health.

2. Understanding depression

Depression is a real illness and its seriousness should not be underestimated. Do not blame your loved one for being drained from motivation and energy even if you do not unterstand the reasons. Do you blame someone suffering from cancer for being exhausted, for example? No.

Do not take it personally when your loved one says hurtful things. This is a common sign of depression. It is the illness talking and not your loved one. Please show compassion. I understand that this might be hard sometimes, but it is crucial to show your support. Otherwise your loved one's guilt might consume them which will feed the depression.

Saying things such as "But your life is totally fine.", "Just snap out of this!", "Why can't you be happy? I'm doing so much to help you!', "Oh, stop being lazy!" etc will NOT cure a serious illness. It will do the opposite.

You can help a depressed person, yes, but however hard you may try, healing someone else's depression is not possible. Still, offering your support is crucial to help your loved one to recover!!!

Know that this illness can lead to your loved one losing his, her, their life. Do not panic. Just know that this is serious and that they need all the support they can get.

3. recognizing symptoms of depression

Here are some examples:

Eating way less or even nothing or eating too much

Sleeping way less or sleeping too much

Abusing alc*hol or dr*gs

Having a negative outlook on life

Having little to no interest in anything anymore/ no motivation

Not wanting to leave the house/ the room etc.

Not being emotionally available

Saying things such as "I can't do this anymore!", "I am so exhausted!" etc.

4. Talking to someone about depression

Please show compassion and make them understand how much you love them. Do not blame your loved one for being difficult etc.

Please do not make this about yourself. Yes, l know you are suffering as well because seeing someone you love in that state is awful, but telling this to your loved one might only make his, her, their depression worse.

Giving advice might sometimes not be the best way to approach things at first. It might put too much pressure on your loved one. Showing love and understanding the illness will do way more to help the healing process.

Be persistent without pressuring them. People suffering from depression tend to withdraw themselves from other people. Show them that they can talk to you - without regretting it in the end.

5. How to start a conversation

Do something nice for them. For example, make their favorite food, bring them a snack, etc.

Sit with them for a while and start the conversation. Here is an example:

You know I love you, right? I've been noticing that you haven't been well lately and I'd really like to talk about that. I want you to be happy because you mean so much to me.

6. Examples of things you can say to your loved one:

I love you and I understand that this is not your fault. I will always be here for you!

You do not have to go through this alone. We are together in this.

If there is anything I can do to help you, I will do it immediately.

You can always come to me. Tell me anything.

No matter what, I will help you heal. I will not get mad when you withdraw from me or get angry at me. No matter what you do or what will happen, I will never abandon you.

Is there anything that happened to you and left you feel this way? (Trauma has to be talked about!)

Would you like to see a doctor? Would you like me to come?

7. Understanding the risk of suic*de and self harm

Always encourage your loved one to get professional help as the risks are too high. Here are some signs the person might be suic*dal:

- Talking about self-hatred, hopelessness, not seeing a point in existing anymore - Saying that their trauma is too big to ever heal and that things will never get better - Looking for things that can harm them and e. g. hiding them somewhere (for example a piece of glass) - Suddenly becoming very calm!

As treatment might sound pointless to your loved one (a common sign of depression), be persistent! Do not give up on them. Make appointments, tell them you will take care of everything.

8. Take care of yourself

Please do not neglect your own health! Thank you so much for helping your loved one. You are doing the right thing and there is so much hope! I am so grateful for anyone who is currently doing their best to help their person's healing process. You are saving a life! Thank you so much.

As always, if you are struggling right now and would like to talk to someone, please join our #selfhelpforstudents server on Discord.

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Love, Sophia

Happy march everyone!💖🌷

Getting stuff done on a rainy day~ ✨📚

What are you up to today?😊

Tbh I’m currently thinking about starting a study youtube channel, but I’m still hesitated bc I’m scared of what other people will think about it. + I don’t know if I can post consistently on there, because making videos is a whole lot of work. I’m glad that I’m able to post on here somehow regularly😅

I’m really uncertain about what to do…😵‍💫

What do you think about this? Would you enjoy watching some kind of study vlogs? Or “study with me”?🥺

Just love this kind of aesthetic✨️🤍

i’m so tired of school, i’m homeschooled so it’s pretty self paced and chill for me. but all time energy lately has been into schoolwork and by 2 i’m so tired and unmotivated that i’m just craving to sleep.

maybe it seasonal depression? idk maybe you or could provide some motivation 💕💕

Dear Anon!💖

I can completely understand how you feel. These unmotivated phases are something everyone goes through, especially lately with Corona and all the lockdowns...

Studying from home is not easy and requires a lot of self-discipline and if that's not at its peak for once, that's totally fine!✨

Just keep in mind why you are studying and what your goals are. And remember: hard work always pays off❣️ Whether it gets you a good grade or just enriches your own life and attitudes!

Even in difficult times, never forget to believe in yourself! But also listen to what your body is telling you. Take it easy! Take your time and especially give yourself some breaks!💖

When I feel lost and unmotivated, I always write lists full of the things I want to do. Whether that's related to playing a game, crafting or studying.

You should write everything down to be aware of what you want to do. After that you decide which things you want to do today. There should definitely be some bigger tasks, like summarizing a chapter for school, but also some smaller tasks, like painting your fingernails!✨

Gradually, you'll come to grips with your goals and when motivation seems to wane, tackle one of the smaller tasks!

Either way, at the end of the day, you'll be proud of yourself for getting a lot of things done, and it doesn't matter if you've completely finished your list!

You should just be proud that you did something at all, that you made an effort not to be unproductive.

Be aware of yourself. Be aware that you can do everything you want to do and above all: be proud of yourself!✨💗

Evening study session ft. my new phone💖 It works so smoothly in comparison to my old one👀 Looking forward to make more videos like this!!♡

Every time I look at my keyboard, I suddenly get a lot of motivation to study!✨ I’m glad I bought this keyboard!!🥰💖

Welcome to the studyblr community and good luck with your Abitur!💖 (And I feel honored to be one of your fav study blogs!🥰 Feel free to dm me anytime if you need any help or encouragement! I know that the last year of high school is rough sometimes)

Introduction 🌸

Hi! I wanted to introduce myself to the community, so that I can hopefully make some moots and that you know roughly who I am. :>

Classes started today here! So I decided to start a studyblr to motivate me to actually study regularly and to keep me accounted. Feel free to interact, so that I can check out your studyblrs ;)

About Me ♡

Name: May (just a nickname~)

Age: 19

Pronouns: she/they

Grade: 13 (senior in high school)

Queer

Germany

Classes

Hobbies

I study AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP English, Math,

Religion, Politics, German and Japanese Culture~

Although I will only be taking the first 5 classes in my A-Levels (Abitur) :)

I love to read! Especially fantasy novels and queer novels~ Further, fan fictions are a guilty pleasure of mine. Feel free to recommend me either :) (even if my to-be-read pile is continuously growing)

Cozy video games help me unwind from my day. Currently, I mostly play Breath of the Wild or Stardew Valley (always open for more reccs)~

I also spend most of my days just listening to music! My taste ranges from songs from musicals to 50s rock. So very varied xD Again, feel free to recommend me more! I'm always open to expand my taste :>

Occasionally, I also turn into a grandma and crochet haha. Although, pretty sure I've only actually finished like 3 projects- Oops~

Goals and Dreams

I am preparing to study medicine at university. While my grades are good, they aren't good enought to get accepted. But I'm planning on taking the TMS (basically the German medicine test) after my A-Levels and also gaining experience through internships.

I also want to focus on improving my mental health and my relationship towards myself. I recently got diagnosed with depression after finally seeking help so I'm trying to adjust.

I hope to improve my grades this year especially in Chemistry and in written Biology.

I want to read more generally as it has always been a great help to me especially mentally.

What to expect

weekly study updates

reblogs

occasional pictures

daily updates (might not be as regular?)

My favourite studyblrs ❤️

@stillinthelibrary @medstudentblues @mal-studyblr @wecandoit @apoetsparacosm @ckmstudies @sub-at-omic-studying @live-musingly

Now before I tell you about some of my favourite studyblrs that inspire me, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to get to know me:> Always feel welcome to slide into my messages and chat with me!

I've been on and off on Tumblr so most of these blrs are ones that I've only followed recently~

So beware of the @

I hope you have a great day and thanks again for reading~

Let's study!♡

Make sure to checkout my twitch! I am streaming regularly♡

Twitch

live_musingly - Twitch

My statistics exam is in less than a week. I’m studying nonstop and just want to pass that exam es good and fast as I can. It makes me nervous and exhausted all the time🥺