Are you wondering how you can get through the semester successfully with your impairment? How do you balance your studies and private life? What strategies help you to stay connected and learn well? How can you strengthen your resilience, even in stressful life circumstances? Where can you turn to and how can you look after yourself when things aren’t going so well?
For many students, their years of studying are a time of upheaval and change, an exciting and challenging phase of life filled with new experiences. They inevitably bring with them a number of stressors: a new spatial and social environment, increased demands on self-organisation, unfamiliar pressure to perform, examination situations, and navigating university structures. Multiple burdens such as a psychosomatic illness, caring responsibilities for children or relatives, financial insecurity or a strenuous part-time job can be an additional burden. Feelings of helplessness and anger in the face of the worrying state of the world are also understandable.
If you also have an impairment such as a mental illness or neurodivergence, which brings its own unique challenges with it, you can quickly find yourself floundering. This is completely normal, and all the more reason to use helpful strategies, resilience and your personal resources. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution – each person experiences these challenges in different ways, and the solutions for overcoming them are just as diverse. Experiment and adapt the strategies to your circumstances. What do you need to get through the semester in good shape? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
We have compiled a list of personal resources for more resilience here.
Take time for thorough planning
Studying brings a lot of freedom, but also many new challenges, especially if you live with mental illness or neurodivergence. Without a clear structure and effective self-organisation, this can quickly lead to excessive demands, stress and orientation problems. Perhaps you don’t yet have much experience with academic work or you find it difficult to prioritise individual tasks according to importance and urgency. How much structure do you need? Does it help you to plan your days meticulously or are you better off sticking to a weekly schedule that leaves room for adjustments? Find strategies and routines that work for your study programme, your capacities and your brain.
Make a note of university dates such as exams, deadlines for exam registrations and cancellations, and submission deadlines in your calendar right at the start of the semester. Create daily and weekly schedules in advance that leave enough room for relaxation and free time as well as for medical and therapy appointments in addition to fixed study times. Routines and small rituals can help you to switch clearly between work, study and leisure. Fixed study times, regular meals and short breaks give your day structure. Listen to your internal clock and use the peak periods of your productivity for demanding tasks; you can save the easier tasks for times when you’re less focused.
Also remember to build enough time for breaks into your weekly schedule.
These times are not negotiable! In order to study successfully, you need to take regular breaks from learning and give your system the opportunity to regenerate. Organise your breaks in a way that is good for you: short breaks such as airing the room, stretching in your chair or breathing exercises can help in between. You can use longer breaks for walks around the block, a bath or meeting up with friends in the cafeteria.
And very importantly, even if you are motivated at the beginning of the semester: try not to put yourself under pressure with unrealistic expectations of yourself or compare yourself with students without impairments. Always include your mental illness or neurodivergence and its effects on your everyday study life in your planning. If you are finding this difficult at the moment, seek support from fellow students or the counselling centres at your university.
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Set clear and realistic goals
To succeed in your studies, it is important to set goals and deadlines, be it for specific exams and assignments or for long-term plans for the future. Formulate these goals realistically and with clear framework conditions, for example using the SMART method. Break large tasks down into smaller steps so that they feel doable for you – even Mount Everest is climbed in stages. This also prevents procrastination and overload. Realise the purpose and importance of the tasks: if you know what you are learning for, you can motivate yourself more easily. Check your planning regularly so that you can make adjustments to the timing or content if necessary. Celebrate the big and small successes and reward yourself regularly. Every intermediate goal you complete will give you security, motivation and self-confidence for the next steps.
Create your ideal working environment
You know best (or are finding out now) how to learn well. Do you prefer a tidy desk, music in the background or creative chaos? How often do you have to get up and stretch, how much light, rest and snacking improves your concentration? Are you more productive in the morning, afternoon or evening? When does the effect of your medication wear off? Are you better off studying at home or in the library? Alone or in a group? How many breaks are good for you? Are there cafés or quiet rooms that you can visit regularly? It is worth making a note of these findings so that you know what you can adjust if things are not going well.
Design your working environment in a way that minimises disruptive visual, acoustic and sensory factors and stimuli as much as possible. For example, you can set your mobile phone to do-not-disturb mode, wear earplugs, close streaming apps on your laptop, make your workspace at home more ergonomic or sit in the library with your back to the room. If you also need resources on campus, such as noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys, skills or medication, pack these things in a small bag that you always carry with you to uni.
Find learning techniques that suit you
How you learn is crucial for studying. With the right learning strategies, you can work more efficiently, enjoy learning more and retain your knowledge better. It is not enough to simply read texts and hope that the information somehow sticks. The key is active learning: intensive engagement with the material. This not only allows you to absorb and process the information, but also to gain a lasting and deep understanding of the subject matter.
For example, you can read texts out loud or create visual aids such as mind maps or sketches to make complex contexts easier to understand. Or try the Pomodoro technique and set yourself a clear time frame: concentrate on a task for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. After four rounds there is a longer break. The short, focused work sessions help you stay focused, and the regular breaks ensure that you don’t overwork yourself. And each time the timer rings you get a small sense of achievement.
It is often easier to learn together. Form study groups or partnerships with fellow students. This creates commitment and motivation. Developing questions together and explaining concepts to each other promotes an even deeper understanding of difficult content. Body doubling can be extremely helpful for neurodivergent students in particular: the presence of another person helps them to concentrate on tasks. You can set a timer and do a short check-in at agreed times. Go to a café or library together, this also works from home via video call or online communities created specifically for this purpose.
Take good care of your body
Especially in stressful phases, it is particularly important that you take good care of your body and its needs whenever possible. A healthy, varied diet, sufficient sleep and exercise keep you balanced, give you energy and strengthen your immune system.
Everyday student life can be quite hectic: lectures, seminars, part-time job, exam stress. This often leaves little time for a healthy, varied diet. However, this is particularly important during stressful phases, as an unbalanced or irregular intake of food impairs your mental performance, leads to loss of concentration, tiredness, reduced performance and headaches. Symptoms of mental illness or neurodivergence can be exacerbated. With a balanced diet, you provide your body with the necessary vitamins and minerals and ensure that your brain metabolism functions optimally. The best way to support yourself is to keep your blood sugar level as constant as possible throughout the day. This is achieved through regular, light meals. If you don’t like the food in the canteen, want to save money on lunch or have intolerances, you can also meal prep at home for several days in advance. Don’t forget to drink enough – preferably water or unsweetened tea. Coffee, maté or energy drinks help in the short term, but should only be used in moderation.
Sleep is a key component of your physical and mental well-being. While we sleep, the body regenerates tissue, builds muscles and produces important hormones. The brain in particular uses the night to sort out impressions, process information and recover from the stresses of the day. So it’s no wonder that a lack of sleep quickly affects mood, concentration and performance. Sleep problems are particularly common among students – and a stressful everyday life or health impairments such as depression and anxiety disorders can also influence sleep behaviour. The good news is, good sleep can be trained. With consistent sleep hygiene and small routines, you can improve the quality of your sleep in the long term. Find out what you need for restful sleep so that you can switch off better in the evening, even during stressful periods, and start the day feeling fitter in the morning.
Exercise promotes blood circulation and supplies the brain with more oxygen, which improves concentration, attention and memory. At the same time, exercise relieves tension from all the sitting and boosts energy levels. When you exercise regularly, you feel more balanced, can focus better and remain more resistant to strain, stress and exhaustion.
This shouldn’t turn into an exhausting quest for self-optimisation – even a walk around the block, ten minutes of stretching or a few yoga exercises can have a positive effect. If you lack drive and motivation and find it difficult to get up on your own, you can arrange to go jogging with your flatmates or go for a walk in the park with your fellow students after class. Pay attention to what your body needs at the moment – exercise or relaxation – and find small, feasible routines that you can incorporate into your daily studies. You can also make use of body therapy services such as osteopathy, shiatsu or acupuncture, which can be particularly beneficial in times of crisis.
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Make use of prevention programmes
Even before the usual semester stress catches up with you, you can take small steps to strengthen your physical and mental resilience and get through the semester in a more stable state.
Many universities are now focusing on health promotion programmes and student health management (SGM), such as HAW Hamburg with CamPuls. It’s also worth taking a look at what your health insurance company offers – there are often financial subsidies for mindfulness or exercise courses, or free apps and online courses on topics such as stress management, sleep hygiene and mental health.
Adapt your studies to your possibilities and needs
There are likely opportunities at your university to ensure equal access that you aren’t even aware of yet. Examples include part-time study, reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities or chronic illness, or periods of leave. Informal individual arrangements with teachers and adjustments to course selection, deadlines, or exam conditions can also be options. Tutoring, emotional support dogs, or the use of special study or quiet rooms can provide additional support.
Many students are simply unaware of these opportunities, or they are hesitant to take advantage of them. Take the plunge – with a few small adjustments, you can make your academic journey more manageable and self-determined and make better use of your potential. The counselling centres at your university will be happy to help you find the right options and get you on track.
Get support
You don’t have to do everything on your own. Support can look very different – friends and family are not always the right people to ask for help. Perhaps you don’t want to worry them or they don’t even know about your impairment. There are professionals who have the necessary emotional distance and are trained to support you. Even if this step takes some effort, it’s worth it.
If you have problems and questions regarding mental illness and neurodivergence, you can contact the counselling centres at your university before or during your studies. You can also find support there if you are unsure whether your subject or a degree course in general is still the right one for your current situation, if you simply need someone to talk to or if you would like to be referred to other counselling services. Some universities also offer self-help groups, study groups, peer counselling by students for students or free workshops (e.g. on topics such as exam anxiety or time management).
You can also put together your very own support team outside of the university, to provide you with practical help, support and encouragement: therapists, psychiatrists, social workers, self-help groups, family and friends.
Helpful links
We have compiled a list of personal resources for more resilience here.