You know those times when the whole week swamped you off your feet, but you are still pushing through?

At some point, you start to burn out, developing a fever from all the accumulated stress without rest. Yet, when your friends tell you that story, you immediately advise them, encouraging them that classes and university don’t hold value when their health is in question.

But the question is, do you follow that advice or go to those classes like it’s nothing?

The core problem lies just here, in a fast-paced life that doesn’t take your well-being into account.

The topic of health might be worn out by now; however, with time pressure and neglect of your own needs, there are more and more serious consequences.

The Fine Line Between ‘Knowing’ and ‘Doing’

Most students know what’s right and what’s not, but they still bend under pressure.

This is becoming a bigger issue as time passes by. Some even study these topics, learning about how our bodies show us when something’s wrong, and all the issues that arise from ignoring them.

That being said, the goal isn’t to educate you all over again, but to raise the awareness of the trap many fall into.

When It’s Someone Else It Feels Urgent

We have all been in situations when someone close to us gets sick, and all focus shifts towards them. Sometimes it is more than needed, but are you listening to what you are saying in those situations?

That is the exact moment you apply everything you have learned and read over time. That’s when it hits you how important vitamins and supplements are, going hand in hand with physical activity and rest.

Not to mention, if it’s a more serious condition. Taking elders or grandparents as an example. As this is the most sensitive group of people, they are prone to many illnesses, so in that moment, you look to provide them with everything; especially so if they’re placed in a nursing home – you want them to have the best care possible.

Naturally, you do research on how serious things can even take you to worst-case scenarios. It’s not because you want something to happen, or because you’re paranoid. You just want to be informed.

Better to have a plan and never use it than not having one when you do need one, right?

So, what you do is you do research about how long sepsis can take to turn fatal, the leading causes, what happens if the initial reasons escalate – things like that.

When it all passes, it may cross your mind to implement those things into your own life, but it never lasts, does it?

All care and worry put into others should find its place in your own life too. The best way to shift your mindset is by reminding others to be better and take care, and showing that through your own example.

The Point Where Urgency Starts to Fade

Opposing the situations mentioned above, the person students take care about the least is themselves.

This neglect starts lightly, as just a quick recovery on Sunday, and then goes back to your packed schedule on Monday.Every time you say it will pass, or I don’t have time for rest, it leads to creating avoidance patterns.

On that note, what once seemed like a one-time decision to pull all-nighter studying, followed by sleep deprivation,brought a series of side effects.

Now, your reality looks hectic, full of postponed checkups and painkillers just to go through the day.

To make things even worse, many aren’t aware of the consequences accumulated stress has. Meaning that you might not develop something now, but it will have a significant influence later in your life – if not taken care of at the right time.

And the most contradictory fact of all is that students are very well informed, but just cannot match their behavior with their knowledge. It is more of a systematic effect, making university obligations the top priority. When in reality, no one sets recognizing patterns and improving health as the major goal.

Downsizing the importance of class attendance when you feel bad, and overall putting things before yourself, is something each student has to learn over time.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that neglect didn’t come as a sudden and urgent thing; it came quietly, affecting us negatively.

Unfortunately, it is no one’s fault, as it became more of a negative trend in society. As the academic stress continues to be normalized, it is up to you to change the way you handle your mental and physical health.

The thing that could help in this change is spreading awareness and gentleness towards ourselves.

Following your body and reacting to first symptoms can be a step closer to breaking patterns and introducing preventative behavior.

So, the philosophy of taking care of yourself as you would care for your best friend has a completely new meaning now.