Disclaimer: This topic was requested through The Student For Life Instagram account. These self-care tips are what I personally use or ones my colleagues in academia use to maintain mental health, decrease stress level, and attempt to enjoy this PhD journey.

What is self-care to me during the Ph.D. process? Self-care is making sure I know my limits and boundaries with tasks, people, work and more. I think having those healthy boundaries in place helps reduce stress, which as we know can definitely impact our mental health, especially when working towards a big goal, such as becoming a Ph.D., an MD, J.D, or whatever that goal is for yourself.

So with that being said, let's get into it!

1. Emotional Support Animal

If you follow The Student For Life Instagram page, you'll notice Jade, my 7-year-old pitbull makes an appearance here and there. Although she is not officially an emotional support animal with all the paperwork, she's there's when I need her. It helps taking her for walks to clear my head and destress if I'm getting frustrated with my work and after a little play time with her or a walk, I'm in a much better mental space. I know some universities have dogs come to campus for students to play with during finals, or you can volunteer at your local animal shelter to play with the dogs so they have constant human interaction. You'll be amazed at how well you feel afterwards.

2. A Day or Night Out

My best friends and my sister get on me about this one all the time. They push me to disconnect from work and school at least twice a week so I don't become overwhelmed. And honestly, it's a great suggestion. Your day or night out can be anything you want, like going to a coffee shop in the morning and people watching, going to a dog park and sitting there relaxing while your dog burns energy off, a Target run (because let's be real, who doesn't love Target), trying a new restaurant or wine bar (or whatever you prefer to drink if you drink), or even going out for a night of dancing. Just get out of the house and/or office to take your mind off your work for a bit.

3. Get Active...as in exercise

Getting out in nature, the gym or an exercise class can definitely have its benefits. Since I have Jade, going for walks and hikes is my choice of getting out, along with going to the gym. In my case, when I take Jade for hikes in the park that is literally behind my house with creeks and everything, you forget you're in the city and focus on the environment around you, which has multiple creeks, little waterfalls, and wildlife. So you're able to relax as you walk along the trails. Going to the gym and/or a class can assist in releasing any stress or frustration you may have, maybe lifting weights or a boxing class would be a good idea if you're really stressed and tense!

4. Get You A Support Group

Let me tell you about my tribe! My tribe consists of my best friends, my sister, my cousin, my mentor/close friend, online friends I've never met, online friends I've met thanks to residencies for the university I attend, and they are absolutely amazing! They speak to support and praise into me, while providing constructive, and yet, positive feedback and push me to do better. My friends allow me to be super vulnerable to them and just break down when I feel overwhelmed, and they challenge me to change my perspective while uplifting me. Get you a support group that holds you down, pours into you, and supports you on this journey!

5. Alone Time

If you're similar to me, I value my alone time. My alone time allows me to decompress from the day, human interaction, workload, and recharge. A lot of times I do my alone time, I'm more than likely on my couch watching a movie with a glass of wine, attempting to focus on something besides my research or work. It feels amazing to just lay there and not touch research, even though you have things to complete. Again, disconnecting at times does your mind and body good. What I've learned about myself is going to concerts solo was a great way to disconnect from school and work, while allowing me to focus on the present instead of what I need to get and the constantly growing to-do list. Just a suggestion, check out Damien Escobar, a violinist who incorporates hip-hop, R&B, jazz, and classical and was well worth giving up the study time.

You could also spend your alone time cooking a new dish for yourself, sitting back drink hot tea, color in an adult coloring book, practice your artistic skills like painting, I guarantee you'll feel better when returning back to your work.

These were my top 5 tips on self-care during my Ph.D. process, I'm sure they may change as I work through comps and my actual dissertation research, along with defending.

Do you guys have any self-care tips you use during your journey? Let me know in the comments!

@TheStudentForLife