Mental illness is an odd thing. It affects one in four people in the world, but does not affect any of those two people the same. For me, it is a Molotov cocktail of depression and anxiety. My life is now a balancing act; balancing my mental health and my overwhelming need to overachieve.

My entire life I have been an overachiever; I was walking, talking, and potty trained before I was one; reading and writing at three. I even had a college reading level in elementary school. However, now I am in high school and I cannot find it in myself to do anything.

My depression makes all aspects of my life difficult. I am drained of energy from the time I get out of bed in the morning--if I can even get out of bed. This article alone took me way too long to write, simply because I couldn't find the motivation to put pen to paper.

My anxiety holds me back from doing what I want to. It makes it almost impossible to make phone calls, go into crowded stores or even have conversations with people. Over the past couple years, I have learned a myriad of ways to help manage my balancing act. Consider this my "Overachiever's Guide to Underachieving."

1. Accept Your Reason

Everyone has heard the saying, 'acceptance is the first step toward recovery.' While there is not really a way to 'recover' from most mental illnesses, accepting the fact that you do have a mental illness makes living with one much easier than living in denial.

2. Asking for Help

Even the best of us need help, and asking for it doesn't make you weak. Tell someone you trust, a good listener. Going to a therapist if you have no one else to talk to is perfectly fine. Even needing to get medication to manage your mental illness, much like asking for help, does not make you weak.

3. Try Not to Overwhelm Yourself

This is true for everyone, but is imperative for those with mental illnesses. In high school and college, student are expected to fill their schedules with extracurriculars: clubs, sports, student government, anything and everything.

With mental illnesses, it's best to do a few things the best you can, as opposed to doing a lot of things poorly. Try to keep a balance of academic and elective classes. Find one or two extracurriculars that don't overlap too much.

Keeping your academics and extracurriculars to a minimum will ensure that you will have enough time to focus on everything without making yourself dizzy with work.

4. LISTS

I can't speak for anyone else, but my depression makes it very difficult to focus on tasks when I have a lot to accomplish. However, by making lists of what I need to accomplish in a day, week, month, or even by a certain time, I am better able to focus on each task I have to do without becoming completely in over my head.

5. Accept Failures

No one likes to lose, but those with mental illnesses can feel as if every little failure they have is detrimental. Beginning to understand that not everything is in your control is a good step to accepting your failures. A single bad grade or missed assignment is just part of being human.

6. Take Time For Yourself

The term 'mental health day' gets thrown around quite a bit, but it should not be disregarded as a legitimate form of mental health care. If you feel like everything is beginning to become too much, take a step back.

Stay home, if you can, take a bath, read a book, watch tv or just lay in bed all day. Just make sure that you remember you will have to return to reality and face all of your responsibilities at some point...sorry.

Everyone handles their mental illness, or illnesses, differently and there is nothing wrong with that. Remember that your mental illness is yours and no one else's. This list is a guide on how I have learned to deal with my mental illnesses and is not how everyone deals with their own. So, while this does work for me, it will not work for everyone.