Staying Healthy Through the Six-Week Dip
Words by Cileme Venkateswar (she/her)
For this week’s line-up, we all saw it coming, making its dreaded reappearance twice a year, now welcoming to the stage: The Six Week Dip (The Dip™).
No matter how much you try to stay on top of things, weeks five and six humble your assumption that you’ve got it all together. Week six will always be a sucker punch, like an unmoving fixed point in time. While uni stress might be inevitable, staying mentally and physically healthy through it all is possible by fortifying your life outside of uni to support you through The Dip™.
When faced with mountains of assignments, test prep, lectures, and tuts, your instincts push you to put the tiny amounts of energy you have left into uni alone. I’m here to tell you the opposite. If your tank is empty and you’re powering full steam ahead on the thing that’s burning you out, you’re going to break down before you reach the finish line. If you do make it to the finish line, your frazzled, flustered state will come through in the work you’ve produced. Your body will pay the price too. Working yourself to the bone can make you more susceptible to illness once you slow down. With five million bugs going round this winter, that’s definitely not how you want to spend your break.
Taking intentional time away from uni actually helps you cope with it better. Now, I’m not telling you to replace the four hours you had blocked out for study with taking a nap or scrolling through TikTok. Intentional time away means something that refills your cup, that eases some semblance of balance back into your life, and keeps you recharged to tackle studying. For me, this looks like doing things with friends that don't require a lot of energy—movie nights, meals out or at somebody’s flat, or spontaneous drives to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Even in winter, catching the bus to the beach with a book and drinking a coffee made me feel calmer, giving me the time and space to sift through all the uni-related thoughts and anxieties in my head. Taking intentional time to recharge ensures that when you return to whatever essay or test study you’d left behind, it’s with fresh eyes, a calmer head, and more focused energy to give.
Once you’ve made it through The Dip™, make similar, conscious plans for break. Between well-deserved sleep-ins, Netflix binges, and TikTok scrolls, schedule ways to recharge for the second half of Tri. It could be a flat deep clean, a family hike, or spending time cooking (that is not meal prepping or cooking for your whole flat). Recharging may also include reluctantly sitting down and figuring out your game plan for the next half Tri, planning out assignments and readings, or signing up for a Manawa Ora Wellbeing Workshop to help you stay healthy (😉).
Rough parts of uni are unavoidable. But your time as a student doesn’t have to revolve around stress. All the other parts of life are just as important and fulfilling. Putting time and energy into those is a rewarding way to stay healthy and balanced amidst the chaos of week six.