No one said college was easy.

Trying to balance classes, extracurriculars, going out, and studying for graduate school is hard. Throw in trying to eat healthy, staying in shape and sleeping enough, and you’re walking a balance beam six feet of off the ground. One thing gets thrown off and you’re headed straight to the ground. Put some chronic illnesses into the mix and the beam gets a whole lot thinner.

You have something constantly trying to throw you off. You are expected to do the same work, keep up with your peers and do it all flawlessly. Except they have a balance beam and you have a tightrope. They’re six feet off of the ground and you’re twelve. I’ve been doing this college thing for a while now and the chronic illness thing even longer. I’m far from having it all figured it all out but I have learned some important lessons along the way.

Here are the essentials for surviving college with a chronic illness

1. Talk to disability services and your professors

Every school has some kind of office for disabled students. Make sure to get in touch with them and figure out what they need to verify your conditions and accommodations. Have a meeting to go over procedures and how everything will be implemented. Once you have done this, make sure to clue in your professors and TAs. They can’t help you if they don’t know what’s going on. if you don’t want to give details, that’s fine. Just make sure to keep them up to date. Having a relationship with your professors is helpful in more ways than one.

2. Take advantage of your services

If you have disability accommodations, you have them for a reason. Don’t take a test in a crowded lecture hall if you don’t have to. Your accommodations are specifically tailored to your conditions. They are there to make the playing field even. Don’t be embarrassed about them either. In most cases, professors cannot ask you about your disability or why you have accommodations. Furthermore, you don’t owe your peers any explanation. If someone asks and you are comfortable sharing, go for it. It’s always good to raise awareness. If you don’t want to explain, then don’t. People who judge you based on your accommodations most likely don’t realize everything you go through. They aren’t worth wasting your time. Your accommodations are there to help you, so make sure to use them.

3. Take a break

It’s okay if you need a nap, or a snack or a semester off. You wouldn’t be the first and you certainly won’t be the last. You know your body and your health better than anyone else. If you need to stop and sleep, then that’s what you have to do. If you have to eat protein bars every 20 minutes while studying, then do it. Not listening to your body will lead to a decline in your health and grades. Many chronic conditions are triggered and worsened by stress. College is basically all stress, all of the time. You have to know when to step back and take care of yourself. If your health is worse than it normally is, make adjustments. Cut back on activities, study in smaller chunks or talk to your doctor about adjusting medication. If you have to take a semester off to take care of yourself, then do it. Plenty of healthy people take longer than 4 years to graduate. It’s okay to do things on your own timetable. Taking care of your health has to be priority #1. You can’t get that 4.0 if you can’t get out of bed.

4. Take your medicine and follow your rules

You’re not the normal college kid. Don’t try to be. Doing something you know your body can’t handle will only end in disaster. If you can’t eat gluten, don’t binge eat waffles with your roommates. If you can’t have alcohol, don’t drink the jungle juice. Skipping your medication or playing off symptoms and pretending to find never works out well (Believe me, I’ve tried and failed). Park in the handicapped stop if you have to. Carry around the Benadryl and rescue inhaler. Go to bed at 8 pm so you can get your 14 hours of sleep. Spend your Saturday getting your IV saline at the infusion center instead of at the frat’s house day party. Pretending to be healthy won’t magically make it happen.You have to keep up with your health routine to make it through the semester. No one needs a trip to the ER, especially when it can be prevented.

5. Don’t push yourself too far

People with chronic conditions know their limits a lot better than others. They also know the consequences of what happens when they push too far. I rarely go downtown or drink during the semester because I know I can’t handle the repercussions. I went out two weekends in a row last month and have been paying the price ever since. I’m behind in homework, have a cough and cold I can’t fight and have been sleeping 15 to 18 hours trying to get better. If you know you can’t handle something, don’t do it. Try compromising with yourself. You can go to the party but you have to take your own car so you can go home early. You can drink at the pre-game but not any more after that. Pushing yourself over the edge is not worth the fall, trust me.

6. Know when you’re in over your head

Asking for help is sometimes the hardest thing in the world. You tell yourself that if you try a little harder or work a little longer it’ll be fine. Especially when a chronic illness is involved, things can go from bad to worse quickly. If you get the feeling that four classes are going to be too much, then drop one. If you feel a cold coming on, go to the health center before it turns into pneumonia. Talk to the advisor, go to the counseling center and stay in touch with the disability office. Everyone is there to help you. A chronic condition is a unique situation that requires a lot of adaptation and help. Things can change at the drop of a hat and you can’t figure it out on your own. Use the resources at your disposal and the semester will go much more smoothly.

7. Don’t be embarrassed

You’re going to be on this campus for 4 years. Chances are, something embarrassing related to your illness is going to happen. You won’t be the first person to leave campus in an ambulance or throw up all over their dorm room. Campuses are big enough that no will hear about or even care. Everyone is so wrapped up in their own problems that they aren’t going to notice yours. If your campus is small and people might hear about it, you’ll be old news in a week, tops. Something is always happening, so you making a scene in public is not as big of a deal as you think. Crazy medical things happening in public comes with the territory of being a spoonie. Just roll with it.

8. Last but not least, find your people

I cannot stress this one enough. Find your tribe and keep them close. They don’t necessarily have to be on campus. It can be your best friends from high school, your coworkers or your mom. Find the people who love, support and understand you and your situation. Some people won’t want to deal with everything that comes attached with a chronic condition. Maybe they just want to be your friend when you’ll drive to the party but not when bedridden on a bad pain day. Find the ones who are there no matter what. They can be hard to come by, but they’re out there. No one can get through life alone but you especially need people when dealing with a chronic condition. Find your people, love them and stick with them. If you do, you can get through anything.