As students, we have all had that feeling of hearing the last school bell and leaving school one last time until another school year presents itself. For many, it feels as if an imaginary weight (or a real one in the form of a backpack) has been lifted from their back.
Unfortunately, many teenagers face extensive burnout throughout the school year, which only grows if it is not properly fixed over breaks. Bottled-up stress from assignments, tests, and extracurricular activities needs to be released for students to ultimately become a better version of themselves. Considering that many students feel pressure to do well in school, students are entering an age where they see things as a competition and try to be better than everyone else.
So, the million-dollar question is, how are you supposed to relax? How are you supposed to reset and repair yourself for another school year? If you want to detox, read the rest of this article for strategies.
What is Detox?
Before diving into the practical steps, let's first understand what mental detoxification entails. Similar to physical detoxification, where you cleanse your body of toxins, mental detoxification involves purging negative thoughts, emotions, and patterns from your mind. These can include self-doubt, negative self-talk, resentment, anger, and anxiety. Pay close attention to your inner dialogue and emotions, and make a conscious effort to recognize any harmful patterns.
Developing positive habits can greatly contribute to your mental detoxification journey. Surround yourself with positive influences, supportive friends, and inspirational content. By consciously choosing positivity, you can gradually replace negative patterns with empowering ones.
1. Unplug and reconnect
After a school year of studying and constantly being on our computers to finish assignments, we might feel like pulling out our phones and relaxing, right? No!
We must avoid the urge to continue our mindless screen time routine and reconnect with friends and family. This doesn’t mean shutting down your phone and computer for the summer, but it means spending less time on social media and games that drain your mental energy.
Unplugging from devices and relaxing can be vital to achieving a full body and mind detox experience. With the constant pressures of social media, emails, and school nowadays, it might be challenging to disconnect and take the time to relax in the summer months.
However, taking a break from devices and spending more time in nature, with friends, or reading a book can significantly reduce stress levels, improve mental clarity, and promote healthy habits.
Studies show that spending time with loved ones releases serotonin and endorphins, which can relax the mind and reduce stress. Moreover, it’s always important to check up on people you care about, and spending time with them can allow you to discover or continue hobbies. After reconnecting with people in your life, find a healthy balance between setting time for yourself on your devices and maintaining relationships with those around you.
2. Relax
Making time for relaxation is crucial to overall well-being. It's essential to take a break from the hustle and bustle of life and find ways to unwind. Some great relaxation techniques for teens include yoga, meditation, deep breathing exercises, or just simply taking a few moments to sit and reflect. It's important to remember that everyone is different, and what works for one person may not work for another.
Maybe try out a few different strategies, like reading, music, and sports, and ask others for advice. Once you find something you like, use it to take attention away from stressors in your life. The important thing is that you’re not stressed about studying for your next test, and you don’t have anything to worry about.
3. Nourish
Another thing you can try to do is nourish your body - not necessarily with food, but with whatever you feel like you’re missing. Maybe you want to make a change in your diet. Maybe you feel like you need hydration. The point is, eating balanced foods and drinking adequate fluids will stimulate your growth and development, as well as make you feel better about yourself.
Often, teens don’t get enough sleep. And now’s the perfect time to fix that. Once summer is in full swing, you can make up your sleep debt and ensure you feel well-rested. Sleep has a plethora of benefits, ranging from improved mood and better physical performance to active cognitive function and focus.
It’s also very important to take care of your environment, which means decluttering. Having a clean environment is conducive to being productive, enjoying whatever you’re doing, and helping you relax. Regardless, take a step back and look at what you’re missing out on, and give yourself exactly that.
4. Set goals and intentions
Once you’ve started feeling less burnt out, you might feel like you’re not being productive or the summer’s a waste. However, this time is essential to ensure you can mentally reset. After this period, you’ll be eager to make progress on whatever it is you want to do. And this is where goal-setting comes into play.
To make meaningful progress, you need to set goals for yourself to achieve and a way for you to measure progress and stay accountable. You must do this to set your priorities and analyze your strengths.
One way this can be done is by using some sort of planner or organizing platform. I recommend Notion since it lets you manage different tasks and lists, and can serve as a journal, calendar, to-do list, tracker, and much more depending on what templates you want to download into Notion. One piece of advice I would give is to stay consistent with whatever you do and find goals which orient with your passions.
5. Ease into a routine
Detoxing lets you reset yourself entirely; by doing so, you can weed out bad habits or stop wasting time. You might want to start preparing for school once it gets closer to the school year. This could mean altering your sleep schedule slightly every day, starting to review or preview material for upcoming courses, doing work for extracurricular activities, or cleaning and organizing your work materials. Whatever it is, detoxing is about making healthy changes for yourself that will endure the test of time.
If you’re preparing for a specific test or trying to build a project, following a rigid, unforgiving schedule is unnecessary. Instead, carve out sections of time for yourself to be productive when you can, and always start slowly. It’s easier to increase your workload gradually each day than expect yourself to pick up where you left off.
One thing that can be helpful is establishing a routine or a general order when you do certain things at different times of the day. This might mean exercising in the mornings or doing your studies in the afternoon. This lets your body get used to doing things when they are supposed to be done, similar to how your sleeping schedule works.
Hopefully, these strategies seem appealing to you, and you can incorporate them this summer. Remember, the key is to find a balance between relaxation and engagement. Listen to your needs, prioritize self-care, and allow yourself the time and space to recharge. Detoxifying yourself during the summer break will help you return to school feeling refreshed and ready for new challenges.
