As a freshly almost graduated college senior with depression, anxiety, and ASD (and I suspect ADHD), PULL BACK ON ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. I am so burnt out from doing everything. I am a double major in biochem and physics; was president of 2 clubs; tutored; planned, coordinated, and hosted large events; pushed myself to do the best at everything I do; and then it all went to shit.
- My boyfriend got very sick early spring semester of last year, so I took care of him a lot for a few months and was constantly scared that he was going to die (he's alive, they finally figured out what was wrong with him).
- About the same time, my body started rejecting gluten and I had to suddenly cut it out of my diet
- This past fall semester my migraines started getting way, way worse. I was having them for multiple days, nearly every week.
- my mental health was on a slow decline since the beginning of last year, but it completely tanked last fall and into this spring
I ended up having to withdraw from classes, accept poor grades, and ultimately have to take another year just to finish up 2 classes.
While the migraines and BF situations were out of my control, I was not working on myself, and FOR myself, like I should have been. I didn't know my limits and I was crushed when my abilities were being outmatched by my expectations.
My advice is to please, take care of yourself in whatever way that looks like for you. That might mean pulling back from involvement in so many things in order to make time to do things that nurture you. If that's the case, be ready to accept that that also means you might be giving up on things you've been doing. Only you can make the call on what is going to help you and what won't. Accept that you will make mistakes and that you will make the wrong call sometimes. Learn from that and hone your self-awareness even more. Eventually, you can build a solid meter for knowing your limits and abilities.
I have complete faith in your ability to grow and adapt and find your way. From one stressed out college student to another ❤