I have to admit, I'm not the best person to advise on mental health. A friend once told me I needed therapy, but I'm no snowflake!

When I was a kid, I studied karate. Unfortunately, I picked up some unhealthy habits along the way. On the one hand, I was very fit and valued physical health. But on another level, I completely neglected myself. In karate, if you get taken down or hit, you deal with it and keep fighting, ignoring any injury. I've treated my mental health the same way, like I'm in a battle where I ignore all my wounds. Unfortunately, you can only ignore injuries for so long...

In small ways, I try to strengthen my mental health. I reflect on my day in a journal. The good and the bad. If you have ADHD/ADD like me, it's impossible to remember everything. It's really nice to look back a few years and see that things weren't so bad and that you got through it. Also, when I write I’ve discovered it ends the vicious cycle of negative thoughts and patterns. I find praying beneficial. Not everyone believes in God, but I find comfort in giving my worries to someone bigger than me or this world. It’s also a valuable time for reflecting and asking the best for those around you.

Sometimes, when it comes to mental health, I hyper-fixate on myself. What am I doing wrong? What do I need? Me, me, me. In the past, I've found that helping someone else has improved my own mental health. Whether it's something small like a compliment or a gift, it probably brightened their day as well as mine. Just remember, there needs to be a balance. If you have nothing left in you, you can't help others or yourself. Take care of yourself first.

Nobody talks about this, but as a student at Fanshawe for almost six years, I've learned you need to set boundaries. It can be really difficult juggling a bunch of assignments. Sometimes, it feels like fighting a group of people, all trying to beat you up at once. If you were working for someone else, would your employer expect you to bring your work home and keep working? Thankfully, that's illegal. Unlike work or high school, college assignments are perpetual. If you don't set boundaries on school time, you'll burn out.

Lastly, surround yourself with people who uplift you and encourage you to be your best. There's nothing worse than being in a room full of complainers and pessimists. So hopefully at this point I haven’t steered you the wrong way. I hope you can learn from my mistakes and make healthy changes that will improve your life. I know that wanting to make a change and actually doing it can be tough, but I believe in you. Take it one step at a time.