Many people think if you exercise and eat right, you’re living a healthy lifestyle, but there is more to living a healthy lifestyle than just how much you work out a week or what you’re going to eat with your salad.

The most important thing about living a healthy lifestyle is taking care of mental health. If you’re anxious or depressed, you typically won’t make the healthiest life choices, such as not getting up and going to work, not getting up and going to class or you might not sleep well and eat like you’re supposed to. If you do eat, it might just be junk food, which means you gain weight and gaining weight leads up to depression because you suddenly feel unhappy about your appearances. Sometimes people with depression tend to want to be alone. Being alone is okay to a certain extent. It’s okay to socialize with your friends, it’s okay to be alone, but it’s not okay to always be surrounded by someone or to always be alone. It’s self-care, really. You have to have a happy medium. You might not want to talk to friends or family. You need a connection with a friend or a family member so that when you are depressed or having an anxiety attack, you’ll have someone there to calm you down.

Friends play a very important role when it comes to a good healthy lifestyle. Shana Franklin, a counselor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University stated, “If your friend group makes good and healthy choices with their life like going to class and not skipping or making it into work instead of calling in sick, then it makes you want to make
good decisions and do good in everything that you do.” 

Have you ever heard that saying “You are who you hangout with” or “Birds of a feather flock together”? Well, it goes the same way vice versa. If your friend group is making negative choices like drinking and partying all the time, skipping class, calling into work to go out, smokingweed or other substances, then it is probably time to find new friends and surround yourself with positive vibes and people who want what is best for you and for them. You can’t ever notice a toxic person at first, whether if it’s a friendship or a relationship. 

Franklin said, “At the beginning it’s like a “honeymoon phase” where everything is great and then suddenly things start to change. Usually the non-toxic person won’t notice it, but your friends and family will and when they notice it, that should be the first two red flags, and then you start looking for those signs and begin to understand why you have changed and felt so lost or confused.”

Sage Smith, junior science major at the University of Oklahoma, had a roommate in her sorority house last fall and she didn’t get to choose whom to live with, so she was kind of stuck with her. This girl had a terrible reputation, but Smith wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and decided to be her friend. After the “honeymoon phase”, Smith's roommate became very controlling over her and was stuck to her hip. She started taking advantage of Smith's boyfriend and his friends, even their house. “She is the girl who rubs her parents’ money into your face without even flinching”, Smith commented. Finally, Smith had enough and decided to move out to keep distance from her. After she was away from her old roommate she realized you don’t have to be friends with everyone. 

“There are so many people out in the world that will build you up and celebrate your success instead of worrying about what tears you down all the time, and it’s not worth the stress." strongly stated Smith.

Joani Margaret, junior mathematics education major at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, met a girl her freshman year of college and became best friends instantly. 

They ended up getting an apartment together and during the time of living together, Margaret realized her friend always made everything about herself, she liked the rush of the mood swings making everyone around her either miserable or feeling sorry for her. 

“She was very self destructive when it came to things going good in her life. It took us many ups and downs for me to realize how toxic she was to my life” Margaret commented. 

When Margaret excluded her friend from her life, she started feeling happier and wasn’t constantly putting up with drama. The outcome of this was better for Margaret's mental health. Her mood was always being drug down and she was becoming a bitter person. 

“I was her crutch. Someone who was used to make me just as unhappy as she was and when I cut her out of my life all of that changed” Margaret ended.

As it is very important to keep your body in shape and healthy by eating and exercising, it’s also very important to pay attention to your mental health and who you surround yourself with in life. Stay away from negativity. You are what you let into your life. End toxic relationships. Nobody should allow anyone in their life if all they do is bring you down. Stop caring about what other people think of you. Opinions of others are irrelevant. Be who you want to be, not what other people want you to be. Live the life you want to live, just in a positive, happy and healthy way.

Karley Freeman

November 15, 2019