How to maintain your grades whilst suffering with poor mental health and depression?

Hi, it can be difficult to maintain grades along with mental health issues. First of all, I want to appreciate you for your efforts. They really matter. ❤️🌻

Then I would like to share some tips. They may or may not work but you can definitely consider modifying them according to your own personal experiences.

First, let's talk about the burn out part. It's very common specially with mental health issues because getting yourself together with them can itself take up a lot of energy.

1. Efforts to save energy and asking for help - I know when you're a perfectionist it's very easy to fall into the trap of making everything perfect. But, when you're facing a burn out then it's not very healthy or time efficient to try and do everything perfectly. You're totally allowed to cut out that time and do things as much as required and not putting additional efforts for some time. Also, it's totally alright to ask for help from other people even if we feel like doing it all ourselves. Using different resources and tools can be helpful too.

2. Keeping more time for breaks - Sometimes we get very rigid with our schedules but when we're already struggling, we should keep it slightly flexible. I personally preferred to do work more when I'm actually in a state to do it. Otherwise I would take a break and get back to it after some time. You can't do that when you have deadlines but other than that you can definitely relax and not push yourself too much.

We're way more efficient when we give ourselves enough rest. Never feel guilty of it. Your body needs it. Take a walk, sit with a person you feel comfortable with, read a book, get enough sleep etc,.

3. Realign goals - Make sure that you readjust your goals weekly or monthly according to your health so that it doesn't get messy and hard to keep up.

4. Break the tasks in smaller parts - You can break your tasks in smaller tasks so that it doesn't get overwhelming. I have a special tip for this. I break a task and spread it in a week. If I want to get something done and its deadline is not around then I spread it over a week. For instance, If I have to make a project then I'd search for the topic one day and find material the next day and so on and finish it in a week. Doesn't matter at what day I'm doing it. That helps me take care of my health better.

5. Focus on one day at a time and prioritising - Sometimes we can feel very exhausted and are not able to see beyond what we're in the present. At that point of time, we can make small to - do list for a day including only the necessary tasks and eliminating the rest. That can give us a clear picture of what we're supposed to do and make us feel less overwhelmed.

6. Building a support system - It can be hard but if you have people around you that are good then you can definitely talk to them sometimes. Talking to people can really help sometimes.

For study purposes, sometimes I'd study with 'Study with me' videos on YouTube because it makes me feel someone's there studying with me. So, group studies can help reduce anxiety too.

7. Forgiving yourself - It's totally alright to take a day off or not being able to work as hard as you usually do. So, forgive yourself on those days and try again next time. That one day shouldn't define your next. Treat each day as a new one. You're doing enough and you're enough. You're only human and we all fail to keep up sometimes.

Lastly, eat and drink healthy. Have enough sleep and make sure to cut off toxic people. Include some daily enjoyable activities and make sure to not shy away from asking for help.

Hope this helps a bit! ❤️🌻