As finals approach there is something that students must remember, and I’m not talking about chemistry formulas. It’s mental health.

This goes far beyond sleep, or the lack of, and is something that many students sacrifice for the sake of a good grade.

Please remember that nothing is worth more important than your mental or physical health.

If studying is literally costing you your mental health, then you need to stop.

Put the book down and turn the computer off. Go sit in a quiet place and just close your eyes.

Clear your mind even if for 20 minutes.

Your body will thank you.

Many people forget that it’s okay to take a break every once in a while. You are supposed to clear your mind for at least 20 minutes for every hour of studying.

Not allowing your mind to rest is just going to tear you down mentally and physically.

You know the feeling of working hard, studying all night and allowing your studies to become the center of your world that happens around finals? Or for some, all semester?

Then you tell yourself that it will all be okay because as soon as winter break hits, you can finally relax.

You look forward to that moment after you finish your last final, and it feels like the entire world was just lifted from your shoulders.

It’s a great feeling.

But how great can it really be after the breakdowns and stress rashes that lead up to it?

It’s not healthy to let yourself get to that point. So don’t be afraid to go to the counseling center.

More of your friends go there than you think, and there is no shame in it. No one is going to judge you for taking that step in the right direction of getting better.

Anyone who does make you feel bad about it or tries to convince you that you don’t need to is someone you don’t need in your life.

But sometimes those people can be your family and not everyone can just push family out of his or her life.

Yet at the same time you can’t let the pressure from your family get to you.

Over Thanksgiving, if you don’t want to talk about school or grades then tell them.

Your happiness comes before their approval.

Don’t ever think that what you are feeling isn’t serious enough to seek help. If you have even the slightest inkling that you may need to visit a counselor, then do it.

It’s better to go as soon as possible rather than wait until you get even worse, because that’s when you think you deserve help.

That’s a toxic way to think and treat yourself.

School is difficult and you’re allowed to be upset about it.

You are allowed to be upset about anything you want to whether you are male or female.

Don’t stress about failing a class. It happens and we have all been there.

All you’re doing is working yourself up and destroying yourself not only mentally, but also physically, over something that will be so insignificant to you five years from now.

That may sound like bad advice now, especially when your GPA and TOPS is depending on your algebra grade, but in the long run you will understand how much more important it is to remember your mental health.

You can’t enjoy that 100 percent if you can’t enjoy your life first.