I’ve seen a few (fabulous) posts about dealing with school and mental illness, but I’m hoping mine will be useful to people with more severe forms of mental illness, who might need slightly different advice. That isn’t to say all mental illness isn’t difficult to live with, just that I don’t really see posts for people like myself. Another disclaimer: this might not be true for everyone, but it is true for me. Read lots of guides and find out what works for you!
1. Communicate with your professors
I know how hard it is to talk to your professors sometimes, but it really is so helpful. If you’re having trouble completing work on time, speak to the ones you feel comfortable with in person, and to the ones you don’t feel comfortable with (this may be all of them! That’s okay.) feel free to shoot them an email asking for help. It’s still scary, but it’s better than living in a pit of unfinished work. (I have a prof who lets you text her and it’s so much more comfortable for some reason!)
2. Do NOT take break days
This seems counter intuitive, but in my experience, mental health days quickly turn into mental health weeks, which are not good for your long term mental health or your GPA. What I would suggest is taking lighter days. Always try to complete at least one goal. That goal can be small or large, whatever you feel you can handle. The important thing is to stay in the habit of working, so that even if you hit rock bottom you maintain that habit.
3. Prioritize high value assignments
So you’ve got 50 pages of reading for a lecture tomorrow, vocab to study for a ten point daily quiz, and a paper due in two days. That reading might be really important, but it isn’t immediately important to your grade. Work on your paper first. Even though you have a few days to get it in, it’s a big stressful project and it’s better to break it into chunks (however many you want). If you still have time after a reasonable amount of work on the paper, study for your quiz. Prioritize high value assignments first. One of my biggest mistakes was trying so hard to get absolutely everything done during bad periods.
4. Get your chores done/practice good hygiene
Chores don’t seem like a top priority, but just trust me. You’re not going to feel very good if you’re unshowered with your teeth unclean as you trudge into a kitchen that smells like rotting food because of the giant insurmountable pile of dishes in your sink. Just do a little bit each day, like with the studying. I even micromanage my hygiene and daily chores using Habitica. I find this incredibly helpful. You want that check box filled in so you don’t have to see a three day streak of not having your teeth brushed. Embarrassing.
As you may have been able to tell, I’m a big fan of micromanaging. I have a planner for school assignments and Post-It to-do lists. Planners are for accomplishing assignments, and to-do lists are for when you’re actually at your desk and breaking an assignment/other coursework down into parts. It’s motivating to see a visual representation of all your hard work, and the system also makes me want to tick off all the boxes.
6. Get ahead if at all possible
This might not be possible for everyone. I have bipolar disorder, so I have good days and bad. The most important thing you can possibly do is work hard now so that you don’t have to on bad days. Falling behind sucks. It’s extra stress that might trigger more of your symptoms. We don’t want that! Don’t treat yourself like a slave, but aim to work daily.
Hopefully some of that was helpful/will be relevant to some of you! Feel free to send me any questions or comments or to add on your own tips. <3
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