Our mind is very powerful. When we think of something, be it good or bad; Whatever it is, we will be immediately influenced as if our thinking has a life of its own. We act and materialize. They said we all have two wolves living inside of us, the good and the bad. And our perception of reality depends on what we are feeding the most. When we’re jealous, depressed, stressed, frustrated, and struggling with anxiety, we’re feeding the bad guy. But when we are loved, happy, grateful and hopeful, and we think of something positive, we are actually feeding the good. It all depends on us, our perception of reality. Our ultimate defense at times like this is through positive thinking and managing our mental health.

There have been a growing number of suicide cases of students struggling to cope with and embrace this “sudden and major shift” in academic learning. Common reasons include: financial problems, lack of devices for the online class, poor and unstable internet connection, and pressure to participate in the online class.

Recently, a 21-year-old student from Sta. Elena, Iriga, Camarines Sur committed suicide due to financial problems and pressure to participate in online classes. According to the investigation, the parents of the victim are not aware of any personal problems other than their problems participating in an online class due to the unstable network connection in their area and the lack of technological resources. This is the third case of an education-related suicide case. The first was on June 16, from Sto. Domingo and the other came on August 15 from the same place. The 19-year-old high school student hanged himself on June 16, after worrying that his family would not be able to afford the electronic equipment necessary for him to study online for the next academic year. This anonymous student told his parents how sorry he was to have caused “additional expenses” for his already struggling family in Albay province, south of Manila.

“Depression and emotional breakdowns among students and parents are likely to occur in the midst of this ongoing health crisis, because many students in public schools are from poor families,” Gilbert T. Sadsad, principal, told reporters. from the Local Education Department office. Furthermore, despite all the complaints and frustrations from students and educational institutions, the Secretary of the Department, Leonor Briones, urged students to be resilient to avoid education-related deaths.

Similarly, studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression, and insomnia in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Ahmed et al. Conducted an online survey of 1,074 Chinese and found high rates of anxiety, depression, harmful use of alcohol, and decreased mental well-being. Rates of anxiety and depression were higher among 21- to 40-year-olds compared to other age groups.

All of these are rooted in our most commonly overlooked aspect of our health, so consulting a psychologist and other mental health experts is unlikely and expensive. Those suicide cases reported in the news did not refer to the problem itself, but how we handle it is the main question of whether it is healthy or not; acceptable or not.

Here are 10 tips to help you manage your mental health during this pandemic, especially for students struggling to adjust to their current situation.

1. Be open to others

Your family, relatives, friends or someone special are always there for you. Everyone loves you more than you think. When you’re in trouble and you feel like you’re already giving up. Talk to them. Don’t be afraid to share your load.

2. Surround yourself with people who are good for your growth.

They said, “birds with the same feathers gather”. So be careful who you choose to be friends with. Choose upbeat people who can lift you up when you are depressed. Choose people with the same interests as yours. Accomplish things together.

3. Do healthy activities and minimize the use of your phone

In your spare time, try healthy activities like painting, writing poems, playing musical instruments, reading books, etc. It will lead you to discover more about yourself. Cultivate and develop talents. You don’t have to update all the events of your life on social media and listen and be influenced by superficiality and people’s opinions.

4. Spend more time with yourself

Talk to yourself about those important things that happened in your life. Acknowledge your mistakes. Evaluate yourself through SWOT analysis or knowing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in a given situation. To be more productive, we must first know ourselves and what we can do.

5. If possible, do some meditation.

Meditation has been shown to have many health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, alleviating confusion, managing depression and anxiety. It will help you see the problem and how to solve it. When a person meditates, his mind will have a reset button pressed that would help him to see more clearly and solve the problem efficiently.

6. Choose positive music

Positive music will allow you to feel powerful whatever genre it is. When you listen to music that talks about overcoming struggles and the inspiring stories behind the lyrics, you will feel empowered. Studies show that people are influenced by the music they listen to and we can tell a person by their choice of music.

7. Exercise

Not only to our physical body, but when we exercise it we create positive vibrations. Your body releases endorphins that relieve stress and improve mood before and after exercising, which is why exercise is a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and depression.

8. Help someone

Helping someone with their problem and struggles and seeing them after you have helped them is one of the invaluable expressions you can see. You will feel lighter.

9. Has or knows its purpose

No matter how bad the situation is, as long as you know where you are going and what you are in, nothing can stop you. Fall 10 times but get up 20 times.

10. Take a break

If it seems like you are drowning in your problems. Take a break. Take a walk on the beach. Sleep well. Treat yourself to your favorite dish. Buy yourself something. And after that, get up and fight again.

Here’s a piece of wisdom for you: never let yourself be defeated without even trying to fight.