It can be challenging for introverted college students to practice self-care! There are always social plans or deadlines to meet, projects to finish, and meetings to attend. It can feel like the days are just passing you by, and you’re not able to keep up.
When I was in college, I struggled a lot with remembering to practice self-care. I was constantly overworking myself and pushing myself more than I could take. I wanted to get good grades and do well in my classes, but I wasn’t taking care of myself in the process.
It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I really started implementing self-care into my weeks. I was having trouble making friends, I was lonely, and I was feeling overwhelmed with school. I knew I had to do something, so I began implementing some self-care into my life.
Self-care can look a little different for introverts than for extroverts. Introverts may enjoy solitary self-care activities, while extraverts may enjoy social self-care activities. The aim of self-care is to take care of yourself and prioritize your own needs over others. So it is essential to find what works for you!
Test out different self-care activities! Find what brings you energy and lifts your mood! If people say that self-care is going for a walk or seeing friends, but those activities exhaust you, that doesn’t need to be your self-care!
The way we take care of ourselves is so subjective. You may not relate to anything I say in this blog post, and that’s okay! However, I hope that this blog post gets you thinking about what you can do to take care of yourself!
Here are some of my favorite self-care practices that I used as an introverted college student! Many of these activities and concepts are solitary, but there are a few social ones too!
Journal
Journaling is an excellent form of mental self-care because it’s a good opportunity for you to reflect on your feelings and experiences!
Journaling can be great form of self-care for introverted college students because it allows you to express your thoughts and feelings without actually talking to other humans! You can share what’s on your mind and what you’re feeling in your journal, and you won’t experience the energy drain you may get from talking to people.
You can also write about any of the stresses you are experiencing as a college student!
Is your partner for a group project not pulling their weight? Write about it!
Are you stressing about which major to choose? Write about it!
Feeling confused about which major to pick? It doesn’t matter as much as you think, read more HERE!
Writing about your stresses may not solve all your problems, but it can help you clear your mind! It’s a great self-care activity for you to collect your thoughts and lessen the stress you may be feeling!
Interested in journaling, but don’t know where to start? Check out THIS post for some of my favorite journal prompts!
Read
Reading is a great escape from whatever stresses you may be feeling from college. Reading allows you to enter into different worlds and explore new ideas, so it is one of my favorite escapes!
Students do a lot of reading in college. From textbooks to academic papers, I felt like I was constantly reading something. Therefore, I found it difficult to read non-fiction books during college. I enjoyed fiction books much more during college because they really gave me that escape element and allowed my mind to focus on something other than school.
Reading is also a great solitary activity for introverts to use as self-care. It lets you calm down, relax, and focus only on what you are reading!
Social Media Detox
Social media can cause a lot of feelings of comparison and overall negative effects on your mental health. I think it is particularly tough for introverts.
Social media can be overwhelming with the amount of posts and information thrown at consumers. It can be a lot for anyone to handle, but especially introverts who are a bit more sensitive to overstimulation. For this reason, it is beneficial for introverts to take a break from social media once and a while.
But there is also the social aspect of social media.
I was an introverted college student, and I would always see my friends from home going out with friends and having a fun time socializing in college. I would spend most of my time alone in my dorm room or apartment, wondering why I wasn’t having as much fun as them. It was hard for me to accept that I didn’t get the same energy from hanging out with friends.
I found it beneficial to delete social media from my phone to stop comparing myself to other people. I learned what activities actually brought me energy and joy, and I started to incorporate them more into my life!
You don’t need to do what other people do on social media to have fun. You can find activities that you enjoy and make them a priority! Taking a break from social media can be a wonderful form of self-care for introverted college students!
Want to know more ways to guard your mental health on social media, check out THIS post!
Learn When to Say “No”
I think we’ve all fallen into the mindset of saying “yes” to every opportunity that comes our way. But that can sometimes lead to exhaustion and burnout. If you’re saying “yes” to every social opportunity or every school opportunity that comes up, you may have no time for yourself.
Learning to say “no” is an essential skill for any college student, but especially for introverts. Introverts typically need their alone time to recharge, and learning to say “no” will allow you to have more alone time! Knowing when to say “no” is a great form of self-care for introverted college students!
Reach Out to Friends & Family
An easy way to stay social in college is to keep in contact with your friends from home. Reaching out to friends from home helps remind you that you have a support system in place. This can help you feel less lonely if that is something you are struggling with at college.
Another way to practice social self-care is to reach out to your friends in college and get together with them. Hanging out with friends in college can help you feel less alone and less stressed about the schoolwork you have.
You can also reach out to your family to talk with them. This can be helpful to remind you that there is a world outside of college!
Talking to close friends and family doesn’t exhaust me as much as talking with acquaintances and groups of people, so when I feel the need to socialize, I always go to them first!
Are you struggling to make connections in college? Joining college clubs can help! Learn why in THIS post!
Create a Recharge Plan
A lot of introverts need time to be alone and recharge after a lot of socializing. This can look different for everyone, though.
A helpful action to take is creating a plan for yourself to recharge after social events.
Maybe you like reading or taking a bath, or going for a leisurely walk around your neighborhood. These are all great ways to recharge after socializing!
There are endless possibilities for what you can include in your recharge plan, but make sure that it works for you!
For example, after a long day of socializing, I like to shower, listen to relaxing music, and then read a book in bed. But your recharge plan may look completely different!
Self-Care is Subjective!
If you take anything from this blog post, I hope it is that self-care is subjective. The way you take care of yourself will be different from how other people take care of themselves, and that’s okay!
You are in charge of your own self-care, and finding ways to recharge and relax that work for you is the most important thing!
Want to learn more self-care practices? Check out THIS post!