Life while in high school can be stressful. You have to figure out how to balance school, sports, friends, family, and just life in general. It’s all a matter of figuring out what you prioritize.

Often when you think of your priorities, you think of any of those things or even your goals for the future. But there is one thing I believe should be prioritized even beyond those: Your mental health.

While everything else is just as important, you can’t do well in school and athletics if you are not mentally there. You can’t be there to support your friends and family if you can’t support yourself.

Keeping yourself mentally healthy can make a lot of difference in your day-to-day life. But in our current society, it isn’t always easy.

In today’s world, social media and social “norms” can take over you. You always want to fit in but don’t want to disappear in the crowd. It really can take its toll on your mental health. Similarly, school communities are great, but they are often where the most pressure to fit in is found.

Sometimes, you just feel like you need a break. You just want to get away from the chaos of school. Which makes you wonder: how much are schools actually encouraging and supporting mental health efforts?

Studies have shown that when students are in a better state of mental health, they focus and perform better not only in school, but in athletics and extracurriculars too.

Schools educate students about their mental health, tell them to prioritize it, but don’t actually help them to do so. If schools not only educated about mental health, but gave students more ways to prioritize their own mental health and build their protective factors, it would greatly improve the situation.

While schoolwork itself may cause stress, being around other people and pressure in a school environment can often have the biggest negative impact on mental health.

Prioritizing your mental health doesn’t mean you have to be perfect all day, every day. It means you put yourself first and do what is best for you in the moment. What is best for you in the moment will help you in the long run.

You can still prioritize your goals and schoolwork and sports and relationships, but consider putting mental health (and yourself) first, since schools often don’t.