Before I even knew what anxiety was, it had taken over my life. Moving to college can be a liberating new experience, but it can also come with crippling new emotions. Through many moments of introspection, I have found my way past those moments of feeling trapped in my own mind and have fostered a beautiful safe place in my head.

What jump-started this positive mentality for me, was realizing all that society teaches us to disconnect from. I’m talking a disconnect from nature, from our true emotions, from our health- mental and physical, from all that is required for human dignity.

As a product of nature, humans need this connection to be reinforced. This is why we get that rush of euphoria when we’re in the ocean or at the top of a mountain. But it’s not very easy to surrender to this feeling when we’ve been conditioned to be frightened by nature. Once I made the connection to the aesthetically pleasing scenery of nature to my true happiness, it was a game-changer. Luckily, Gainesville is full of magical preserves to recharge during any season, so I didn’t have to search too far for that feeling.

Often, when I was at the lowest of lows, it was due to my overwhelming emotions. Emotions are chemical reactions to our thoughts, and we can’t just wish them away. Instead, it takes some interpretative tools to get to the root of the problem. But first, it’s important to remember that all thoughts and emotions are valid and should be expressed instead of suppressed. Some tools I’ve developed to handle even the most overwhelming of emotions include yoga and meditation. Sitting with these emotions gives me time to process and tie them back to the triggering event or behavior. Then I have the power to change these behaviors and protect myself from events that trigger my negative mental health. These can be little behaviors like scrolling on my phone for hours, which encourages self-doubt; or big life-changing behaviors like adopting a vegan lifestyle to remove the hypocrisy I felt from causing harm to others.

This lead me right into understanding my physical and mental health. Education is so important for freeing yourself from anything. There are so many illusions in our world that are designed to reinforce the negative self-perception. Learning about social psychology has changed my life. But of course, not everyone can do so, therefore I want to highlight a few things. Everyone has a different depiction of our world in their head, there is no point in assuming anyone sees what you see. In other words, what others think of you is only a reflection of themselves and not you. Another concept that has freed me from the grips of society is understanding which behaviors of mine are a product of conformity. Exploring this can be very different for everyone but for me, it has been though abandoning over consumerism, growing out body hair, ditching bras for good, exploring my sexuality, taking control of my health via the food I consume, and basically embracing a natural lifestyle unapologetically.

One of my favorite professors at UF (Dr. Ron Chandler in the psychology department) has developed a theory surrounding the idea that before we can achieve a sustainable society, we must first achieve basic human dignity. He ties this into a few different classes like the psychology of sustainability, social psychology, and positive psychology (take those classes!!). Essentially, human dignity is unwavering self-love. It is so so important for all humans to not only meet basic rights but to heal from the world we are born into. After all, you can only pour from a full cup. So, find the tools and make the time to fill your cup before you try to fill others.

A few lessons I’ve learned from self-love:
how to appreciate the present moment
how to attract connections with like-minded humans
how to communicate clearly
how to set boundaries
how to remain open, honest, vulnerable and unapologetically myself – always

Love, Sydney, a UF Student