How to Ease Back to School Blues: Being Happy is a Choice

Are you back in school and feeling blue? Feeling blue is common in September, as returning to school often makes students feel that way. Parents and teachers may feel that way, too. At times, it can be a masked or hidden depression, but it may also be a seasonal affective disorder.

How to ease back-to-school blues is something many students ponder, as each experiences feeling the blues differently. Parents and teachers need to know how to help students cope with back to school blues, as well as how to deal with the blues in their own lives.

The article, “Dealing with the back to school blues” offers suggestions for parents and their children, who are feeling blue when returning to school.   

Seek positive, pro-active goal orientation re school:

Whether you are a student or a teacher returning to school, having a positive, pro-active, academic orientation, will help you to focus on what you are doing, rather than on yourself and your feelings. It is easy to slip into a poor me pity party mode if you are self-oriented. Be aware this is an emotional trap.

Parents, focusing on their children and teenagers, rather than on themselves, are more likely to get past back to school blues. Sometimes, it is not easy for parents to see their children or teenagers starting or returning to school. When they leave home, it is like a premature empty nest syndrome for them. 

Parents returning to school may have to deal with financial concerns and other issues, like day care for small children. Baby boomers and seniors seeking up-grading, may feel depressed because of having to work to survive financially during a time of high unemployment rates. 

Become a school leader:

Students who are leaders at school, seldom have time for the blues, simply because they are too busy; it is more likely to be the followers who feel blue. Taking on the challenge of becoming a leader at school is not necessarily easy, because it means overcoming your own thoughts and feelings first, then dealing with the blues of others. As a student or teacher, you can become a leader by actively choosing to do so. Parents can seek leadership roles in school settings that will help them overcome the blues.      

Maintain a healthy lifestyle:

Regardless of whether you are a student, parent or a teacher, if you and your family consistently maintain a healthy lifestyle, the blues will give way to thoughts and feelings that are more positive. It takes time and effort to make and eat healthy meals, get sufficient exercise and do what is mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually healthy. Everyone needs a healthy life style, particularly during the early school year.  

Include people you enjoy in your life:

Students, parents and teachers find that the relationships they build and the company they keep helps to determine whether they have the blues when back at school. For example, if a student is associating with positive, happy people, he or she will relate to their attitude in his or her own life.

As a student, you can avoid being with those who continually bring you down. The blues are not contagious, even though it seems they can be. Seek ambitious classmates who inspire you and are engaged in doing things you enjoy, for example music or artwork.

Getting to know others is important in terms of your own emotional support, whether you are a parent, student or a teacher. In other words, expand your social horizons.    

Be happy:

If you are determined to be happy, you will likely seek to do the things that make you happy. Others will recognize your happiness.

“We are all so blue,” someone may comment. “How can he or she be so happy?”

Being happy is a choice. In other words, you choose to be happy. You can choose to enjoy being back at school and to become active in planning or participating in annual or special school events. Helping others with special needs can help to re-orient your own life.    

Depression, major and minor, open or hidden, is part of what students and teachers, as well as parents, experience when summer ends and the school year begins. At times, seeking professional counseling may be necessary, but generally making a proactive, positive effort to be happy will help to eliminate the back to school blues.