With the lockdown and everything being online in the past year, long-term sadness and depression have been creeping into our lives. I have been compiling advice about this over quarantine that has been helping me and I have information from Mrs. Davidson on the resources available at the school. A video I found recently that takes a different approach to motivation and being happier is “7 Ways to Maximize Misery” by CGP Grey. This video is a great reverse-psychological guide to being happy. The seven steps are “Stay Still, Screw With Your Sleep, Maximize Screen Time, Use Your Screen to Stake Your Negative Emotions, Focus on VAPID goals, Pursue Happiness Directly, and Follow Your Instincts.” Those steps are the ways to maximize your misery but in order to be happier, you should do the opposite of each step.
Staying in one room and not moving around a lot can be hard on your mental health and with quarantines and online school, this may have been hard to avoid during lockdown. The best way to combat this is to keep yourself moving. Take breaks from schoolwork every now and then to go out for a walk or just go get a drink of water and stretch. If you can, try going somewhere else to get work done. Maybe go outside and sit under a tree or go to a
cafe and work. Try going out with friends more often if you can or spending time with your family. Spending all day in the same room can be really hard on your well-being and getting up and moving is the best way to combat it.
The next step is screwing with your sleep. The opposite of this step would be trying to go to sleep and wake up at the same, reasonable time every day. Waking up at a reasonable time can help with motivation and getting enough sleep can keep you in a good mood for the day. A good app for waking up on time is Alarmy. In this app, you can set the off button for your alarm to be doing math problems, shaking your phone a bunch, taking a picture, or even scanning a set barcode. This, of course, needs to be supplemented with going to sleep at a reasonable time. Staying up until 2 AM some nights and then going to sleep at 10 others is not reliable or good for you. Going to sleep at a set time every night and getting enough sleep will be very helpful. You should also be eating as best as you can. This doesn’t mean counting calories or anything as drastic as that but making a healthier choice every now and then can also really improve your mental health.
The next two steps involve using technology obsessively and using it to stake your negative emotions, meaning focus on things you can't change and be upset and angry with how little you can change it. The ways to increase your happiness dealing with screen time is to try to limit it as much as possible and try not to focus on negative media a whole lot. The news nowadays can be very depressing to pay attention to so in some situations it may be better to take breaks from the news. Limiting your screen time and going outside to get fresh air and sunshine can be helpful as well. This doesn’t mean you should be overly hard on yourself for spending a lot of time on a device, just take it one step at a time.
The next has to do with VAPID goals. VAPID stands for Vague, Amorphous, Pie in the sky, Irrelevant, and Delayed. This is in contrast to SMART goals, or Specific, Measurable, Achievable, for which you are Responsible for, and Time-bound. You should be focusing on completing SMART goals. “I will get all my school work done this week” is a VAPID goal while “I will complete two note-cards for my English report right now” is a SMART goal. Instead of cleaning your whole house today, do that pile of laundry that has been sitting around for a while instead. Take everything one step at a time rather than making a goal so big that you’re setting yourself up for failure. SMART goals are a great way to get more confidence, motivation, and a sense of accomplishment once they’re done.
The final two steps that Grey listed are to pursue happiness directly and follow your instincts. A happy person is not always happy, everybody goes through ruts and times where they may not be doing the best. Imagining being happy as always feeling the best and full of euphoria can be detrimental. It is an unrealistic view of a good mental space and makes happiness an unreachable goal. When trying to be happy you should be focusing on improving yourself and the environment you’re in. Rather than pursuing happiness directly, you should do other things that you enjoy which you will feel better for doing and happiness
will come naturally. The final step is to follow your instincts. Your instincts will lead you back into a poor mental state. It is easier to do nothing than to do something. You will need to work to be happy but you will be thankful for it.
You can find the video I have been referencing here or in my sources but be sure you are doing the opposite of the steps talked about in the video.
If you are struggling with your mental health you should know what resources the school provides for you. After talking to Mrs. Davidson, this is what I gathered:
To start there is the Student Assistance Program or SAP program. This consists of a team made up of Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Becker, a teacher representative (Mr. Weger), the administrator (Dr. Guarante), a representative from Perry Human Services, and a representative from Teen Line (Holy Spirit). If a student needs assistance from someone outside of the school they may be referred to the Perry Human Services or Teen Line representative. A student could be referred to these representatives by any faculty member. If a student is struggling with drugs and/or alcohol they would be referred to the Perry and Human Services representative while if they need assistance with their mental well-being they would speak with the Teen Line representative. These representatives will also provide resources to your parents or guardians if you meet with them. All members of the SAP team are here to help students and are available to talk, as are faculty and staff at the school. Contact information for the SAP team can be obtained from Mrs. Davidson.
The school also provides information on counselors. There is a counselor who has an office at the elementary and works through Newport Counseling Center. Students can get contact information from Mrs. Davidson, but they have to schedule appointments on their own. Newport Counseling Center can be reached at 717-567-3524. They also provide virtual counseling that is covered by most insurance companies. Some insurance companies have waived co-pays for telehealth or virtual health services, but not all do. If you need to know if your insurance would cover counseling you should talk to your insurance company. Students can also get information on other counseling centers from Mrs. Davidson.
CGP Grey’s video shouldn’t just be taken at face value, after all, it is listing how to be miserable. If you watch the video be sure to do the opposite of what it recommends. If you would like more information on counseling options and people to talk to, all of the staff at Greenwood are great people to talk to and more information can be obtained from Mrs. Davidson. I personally wish you the best of luck in anything you may be dealing with and if you need to talk to anyone there are plenty of options available to you so don’t be afraid to ask.
Sources:
Mrs. Davidson
댓글