r/vce • u/ZestycloseLanguage65 • 13h ago
General Question/comment How To Make It Through VCE With Mental/Physical Health Problems
I’ve seen a lot of posts on here about people struggling with VCE because of mental or physical health issues, so I thought I’d put together some advice that I wish more people had told me. First of all, your health problems are not due to personal failure. You’re not lazy, stupid, weak, or “bad at school” because you’re struggling to function while dealing with health problems.
VCE can be demanding even when you’re completely healthy, so if you're not, it makes it even harder. Here are some things that I find can help as a person with both mental health issues and a chronic illness:
TL;DR
Tell someone at school.
Look into special considerations.
Don't treat rest as something you need to earn.
Lower the bar if you need to.
Get your priorities straight.
Break down big tasks into smaller ones.
Don't compare yourself to your healthy classmates.
Keep your teachers and other staff updated if you can.
Utilise your good days.
Have a minimum viable study routine.
Don't sacrifice your entire life for an ATAR.
Ask for help before you're at breaking point.
...
Tell someone at school e.g. year level coordinator, wellbeing team, VCE/senior year coordinator, teacher or other staff members. They can't help with problems they don't know about, but you don't have to disclose every personal detail either.
Look into special considerations and school based support as soon as you can. Don't wait until the last minute to ask for support so your school can let you know what VCAA support is available for your situation.
Don't treat rest as something you need to earn. Resting isn't procrastination. Sleep, appointments, eating and exercising well (if you're able to) or even just taking a break is all part of getting through VCE.
Lower the bar if you need to. If you're not coping, turn "I studied for hours and finished everything" into "I sat at my desk and submitted the important task". It's not giving up, it's adapting to the amount of energy you have.
Get your priorities straight. You can't always do everything, so work out what is actually worth your time and energy. Some tasks are less important than others, so if you're struggling, ask your teacher what you should prioritise.
Break down big tasks into smaller ones. "Study Biology" is overwhelming, while "Read 1 page" is not. Once you start, it's easier to do more.
Don't compare yourself to your healthy classmates. Just because someone else can study for six hours after school doesn't mean everyone can. Compare yourself to your own circumstances, not someone else's.
Keep your teachers and other staff updated if you can. If you disappear for two weeks and then suddenly email asking for extensions, it's much harder for everyone. Communicating early makes things considerably easier.
Utilise your good days. If you happen to have a day where you feel more motivated, you don't necessarily need to spend all of it catching up, but doing a little extra preparation can give you some breathing room when the bad days come back.
Have a minimum viable study routine. For example, on a really bad day, maybe your goal is simply to attend school, do one important task, eat something, shower, and sleep. On a better day, you can do more. Having different expectations for different levels of functioning can make things much more sustainable.
Don't sacrifice your entire life for an ATAR. Obviously VCE matters, but it is not worth destroying your physical or mental health over. There are pathways into university, TAFE, apprenticeships, further study, and careers that don't depend on getting one particular ATAR.
Ask for help before you're at breaking point. Friends, family, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, doctors and other professionals exist for a reason. You don't have to prove that you're “sick enough” to deserve support.
Most importantly, your VCE results are a description of how you performed during one particular period of your life, they aren't a measure of your intelligence, your worth, your future, or how hard you tried.
