Month of wellness

Claire Doll
MSMU Class of 2024

(5/2025) We have made it to May! Blue skies, longer days, sunsets pleading to go on into the night. Grass, bright and green, and the sweet chirping of birds. The delightful, everchanging scenery I witness on my commute to work: soft, delicate pink skies, and the smell of lingering rain, and windows down, letting the seven-in-the-morning warmth in. May is a beautiful month. A wonderful month.

But it is also a very busy month.

May means spring fever, endless tasks in preparation for summer, and not a single day off except for Memorial Day. There is a restlessness both inside and outside the classroom—a longing to be outside and enjoy the newfound weather, the sunlit days. It is a month often overlooked, often spent anticipating the next season. Do we ever take a moment to stop and smell the flowers—literally—and take in the month of May? Do we ever pause to clear our minds, to practice wellness?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The understanding and practice of mental health is extremely important in being a teacher, a student, and any individual striving to live in this world and reach his or her goals. I don’t think there is a more fitting month than May to celebrate and bring awareness to this significant topic.

According to Mental Health America, "Mental Health America founded Mental Health Month in 1949 and has led the effort every May to promote mental wellness nationwide" (mhanational.org/mental-health-month/). These next 31 days prioritize the education, background, and understanding of mental and behavioral health issues. How do we reduce the stigma? What resources exist for those struggling? And what steps can we take to better our own mental health?

As a teacher, I take my mental health very seriously. It is important to take care of myself so that I can be fully present and educate my students. Below are some steps I take to value my mental health as a teacher that truly improve my days inside and outside the classroom.

Taking Walks

One of my favorite text messages to receive is from my friends on a warm, beautiful morning: "Should we go for a walk after work?" I love working out, and I love going to the gym, but there is something so special about walks outside, being fully immersed in nature.

In college, I would often walk the Mount St. Mary’s trail near the ARCC in between classes, early in the morning, or right before dinner. I loved weaving through the forest, passing the wide, open field, and watching the horses across the road. Even writing about this right now makes me miss the views! I’d either play some Taylor Swift, call my sister, chat with some friends, or just listen to nature fill my intentional silence. That last part—that’s the hardest. It’s difficult to set yourself up for one, two, or even three miles without some sort of background noise, something to focus on. This invites thoughts way too easily, and for the stressed and anxious person, this is not always wanted. However, setting time for yourself to walk in nature is one of the top activities to support your mental health.

As the weather grows warmer, I tend to end my days walking with my friends. While it’s not the gorgeous Mount St. Mary’s walking trail, our path at the local park boasts some great views, including the sunset over a hill and a loop through the forest. I find that I wake up with a relaxed body, a clearer mind, and a positive outlook for the day. Walking—especially outside—is a wonderful outlet with several benefits for your mental health.

Journaling

This is one of my favorite things to do! Journaling boasts several benefits, from externalizing thoughts and managing stress to pushing creativity and gaining new insights. At the end of a long week, journaling helps me highlight the positives, reflect upon the negatives, and overall release my emotions into a safe space before I turn the page.

My tips for journaling include ensuring that you have plenty of time and enough space for yourself. Sometimes I push myself to write for fifteen minutes before I go to bed, but this often doesn’t work, and it doesn’t serve my mental health. I prefer taking a long Saturday morning to write. However, this might work differently for you! If you’d rather begin journaling in smaller doses, maybe at your desk or in bed, that’s completely fine. If you’d like to take an entire afternoon in a café and fill pages upon pages in a journal, that’s great too! Journaling has numerous benefits for your mental health, and spring is the perfect time to get outside and bask in the sunlight with some pen and paper.

Yoga

This is something new I’ve tried. While I took a couple classes in college, I’ve finally found a groove in my schedule to be able to do yoga in the evenings with my friends. We take classes at our local gym, and the types of classes range from restorative yoga (lying down in different poses for five minutes at a time) to more active, dynamic yoga (focusing on your core and strength while moving through poses). Each type of yoga has left me feeling amazing, especially at the end of a long day. There is truly a mind-body connection that yoga cultivates within you. Stretching your body, listening to slow music, and being immersed in the low dim of a wide, open studio does wonders for your mind.

Hobbies

Reading a good book, taking an art class, and hiking in nature are just few of the many hobbies you can pursue in favor of your mental health. As a college student-turned-teacher, my free time has significantly altered, leaving me with evenings, weekends, and breaks. Therefore, I have to plan my schedule every week to ensure I have time for myself. While this does take some extra steps, it is truly important in maintaining your wellbeing. As the saying goes, you cannot pour from an empty cup!

To celebrate this month of wellness, try some of the above steps, and do some more research on how to prioritize your mental health. For more resources on mental health, visit the National Institute of Mental Health (nimh.nih.gov). Make the most of the beautiful spring season, and as a teacher, I can promise we will make it to summer!

Read other articles by Claire Doll