By: Chloe Trellopoulos
March 30th, 2023
Students and Staff Entering E&S Building
With many students and adults coming back to school or work in the fall of 2021 from the lockdowns, there has been a spike in mental health crises, including the deprioritization of self-care.This isn’t just happening at Carver, it’s happening to everyone around the globe due to the after effects of coming into contact with bodies they’ve lost touch with due to being isolated for a prolonged period of time.
Self-care is often not given the light it needs, especially during a time like this. Self-care plays an important role in how you treat yourself and others. For example, your attitude, how you wake up, how you go to sleep, what you eat, how you treat yourself, and how you treat others. Prioritizing self-care may seem to not be of importance, but it gives huge impacts, these huge impacts contributing majorly to medical aspects.
“I believe that you accomplish learning who you are,” says Ms. Kara, who’s been a school nurse at E&S since November 2021. “You accomplish learning what affects, what triggers you and you accomplish a sense of a better well being.”
Our daily lives are affected by the amount of time we get to appreciate ourselves. That appreciation shapes our life and the decisions we make in the long run.
“You basically, you know, want to know how present you are, how you're feeling,” said Ms. Julie, a mindfulness mentor here at Carver who’s been teaching mindfulness and contemplative practice for over 20 years. “If you know those two things, then you have a choice about what you want to do about it, if anything.”
We’ve forgotten how to truly relax and what it really feels like to achieve inner peace. Self-care is at the center of many scientific studies, especially psychology.
“People often take refuge in social media on their phones, which can be self-soothing, but is actually self-damaging in the long run,” says Joseph Dougherty, a psychology teacher here at Carver September of 1994. “In psychology one learns how one develops their personality and what factors influence how they think, feel, and behave. Self care would improve a person's physical health, would improve their mood, and would improve their cognitive abilities.”
In a 2021 study, it has been shown that anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders are on the rise.
Students in Cafeteria at Carver Engineering and Science
“Students are still being affected by the lockdowns, they’re still being affected by missing school,” Ms. Kara said. “They’re still being affected by coming back and being overwhelmed at coming back and getting that ball rolling with all the work that they need to do.”
There are large amounts of neglect when it comes to self-care and what benefits it can really bring into your life when given the attention it needs.
“If you don't give time to yourself, then you can't fill yourself up,” said Ms. Julie. “And if you can't fill yourself up, you can't support others or yourself.”
Screenshot of Kooth Website
We need to switch our attention from these irrelevant external, and perhaps internal, forces and appreciate ourselves more deeply because at the end of the day, you only have yourself, and if you can’t take care of yourself, who’s going to do it for you?
“If you feel emotionally or mentally drained, then you need to take a step back, and then recharge yourself, and then try again,” said Nari, a senior intern for Ms. Julie.
All of us bringing appreciation to ourselves will make the world better, will make everyone better at enduring a society that continuously pushes us to not acknowledge that our bodies need attention and care.
“Self care isn't just like taking care of your physical aspects,” Nari said. “So, take care of your mental and emotional aspects.”
If you want more information about how you can pay more attention to your mental health, check out Kooth, a free app to all school district students to help those struggling with their mental health talk anonymously to a community and receive feedback.
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