May 27, 2025

Nurse Notes - May

Our School Nurses

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and your school nurses want to promote positive mental health for our HPS family.  

What does the term mental health really mean?  Mental health can best be described as how one thinks, feels and acts as one copes with life.  Good mental health is described as a state of well-being that allows someone to be productive, have fulfilling relationships, cope with difficult circumstances and adapt to change.

One important way that we can promote and attain positive mental health and wellness is by learning what it means to be resilient.  Resilience is the ability to bounce back during or after difficult circumstances and getting back to feeling as good as before.  That may be easier said than done but there are ways you can build your resiliency and most of these ways are simple life hacks you can adopt. 

When we cultivate healthy habits, we have the capacity to withstand the daily stressors of life.   There are several ways we can do this including 

  • engaging in consistent daily physical activity that you enjoy.
  • eating real food like fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, chicken, nuts, legumes and whole grains and avoiding highly processed/prepackaged food.
  • finding ways to reduce your stress and set some time each day for relaxing activities like taking a walk after dinner, reading a good book or engaging in a hobby you enjoy.  Everyone needs a little down time!
  • Aiming for 8-10 hours of sleep each night so your body can work on repairing itself.

But let’s not stop!  There are proven ways you can become a more resilient individual such as practicing gratitude, forming friendships and connections with others in your family and your community, knowing when to ask for help as well as helping others in need, learning from your past mistakes and understanding that we all have strengths and weaknesses and practicing an optimistic outlook on life’s challenges.  

If you want to learn more about resilience, click here for more tips.

As you head into the summer months, take some time for you and your family to recharge, relax and work in some new habits and routines that will strengthen your resilience superpower!

Share