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Spring Break Offers Temptations and Tough Decisions

Published by David Fallavollita on March 2, 2020

Spring break means more free time, which means more time to yourself or with friends and family.

But it can also lead to more temptation in the form of drugs or excessive alcohol.

Before you dive into your spring break plans, think about a few things that can help make the break more truly enjoyable.

Temptations

There are several reasons we may over-enjoy during spring break.

  • Our friends or family members are doing it and invite us, encourage us and make fun of us if we don’t participate.
  • We don’t want to be left out or feel uncool.
  • We get bored, restless, lonely or unhappy, so over-enjoying seems like the easy way to deal with not being happy.
  • We don’t like making tough decisions.
  • Once we start enjoying, it becomes difficult to know when we’re over-enjoying.

Consequences

There are costs to over-enjoying life during your time off.

  • We get physically sick and spend precious spring break time recovering instead of having fun.
  • We make bad decisions and have to spend precious spring break time dealing with it or making up for it instead of having fun.
  • We don’t take care of things we need to be doing for work, school or family.
  • We hurt our relationships with people we really care about.
  • We feel like we let others control us, which makes us feel weak and look weak.
  • We do things that make folks we care about respect us less and respect ourselves less.

Resistance

So, what can help us resist those temptations?

  • Hang out with people we know won’t be over-enjoying, so we won’t feel pressured into pushing the limits to impress others.
  • Plan fun things to do that don’t rely on over-enjoying.
  • Tell folks that the way we prove we’re tough and in control of our own lives is not to do things just because other people want us to or try to get us to.

It’s not easy saying no to our friends or family — or to ourselves. But sometimes, what is smart is better than what is easy.

This spring break, think about having fun you really enjoy. Consider activities that won’t leave your bank account hurting like your skin during a bad spring break sunburn. Think about actions that won’t hurt or embarrass you or waste your time.

Need someone to talk to before spring break is here? Each DCCCD campus is home to a professionally licensed counselor who’s available to talk about your mental health openly. Our friendly team is always just an office visit, email or phone call away.

This material was written by a DCCCD licensed counselor. All views expressed in this piece are their own and do not necessarily reflect DCCCD.

DCCCD’s Professional Counselors

The colleges of DCCCD have dedicated, licensed counselors who are always ready to listen. And it’s free to meet with them! Just visit or contact the Counseling Center on your campus.

Community Mental Health Resources

If you feel the need to speak to someone outside the district, please explore the many community mental health resources available in our area:

  • North Texas Behavioral Health Authority can help pay for community psychiatric, mental health and substance abuse services — please call 214-366-9407.
  • Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas — please call 214-828-1000.
  • National Veterans Crisis Line — please call 800-273-8255 and press 1.
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline —please call 800-799-7233.
  • National Sexual Assault Hotline — please call 800-656-4673.
  • Message 741741 from anywhere in the United States to text with a trained crisis counselor. Standard messaging rates may apply.

Remember, it’s Okay To Say. If you see something that could be helpful to someone else — spread the word and share this information. Even if you’re not dealing with a specific mental health issue, chances are someone you know is.

Published inUncategorized