Dealing with stress in college, my situation....

[Posty McPostface]

Hi, I suffer from bad anxiety and depression along with ADD-PI. I know I sound like a basket case; but, have the greatest amount of enthusiasm for furthering my education. I'm in my late twenties and have dropped out of college due to the above issues. However, the curiosity is still unrelenting and I thrive off of intellectual topics and understanding the world better.

With my makeup, I understand that I don't handle stress well and try to avoid it like the plague. However, college is a stressful environment that just can't be avoided unless I do some online college courses instead of physically being present at college. I do have an issue with online education, in that I don't believe it's as deep and thorough as being physically present in a classroom and following the train of thought proposed by the lecturer. On the upside, once I'm in college as opposed to sitting at home and dwelling over my deficits, I feel much better and free from said concerns. A change in environment really makes a world of difference. My intended major is economics with a possible minor in philosophy or psychology after a concentrated effort in medicine and dabbling with engineering while at CC. (Is the minor just redundant?) I maintained a decent GPA prior to dropping out and know I can do better. I'm also on the right medication for my issues and try and practice CBT along with taking some simple supplements for anxiety, such as lavender extract and bacopa. I'm also aware of the resources available once at college, such as CAPS, to support me in possible times of need.

However, I still have deep concerns with 'functioning' and not getting into a funk while being exposed to stress. This has left me with a core belief that I'm somehow inadequate or not up for the job. This is really bothersome because there's no way to disprove that belief, only prove it. It could be a cognitive distortion of some mix of overgeneralization/magnifying the negative/black and white thinking/and, disregarding the positive. I also take things too seriously in life, which is something most college students probably do to some degree, and often oscillate between giving up or giving it my best. 'Giving up' seems to be the default attitude when facing adversity, and that definitely needs to change...

Anyway, as you can see, I am aware of my issues; but, am still hopeful about the possibility of overcoming them. I would appreciate any tips or advice that others in a similar boat or situation have gone through.

 

[Choppy]

Well for starters it seem like you have a handle on your situation. You're getting help with it, you have techniques for dealing with the anxiety, and you're aware of the resources that you have available to you.

Remember that your goal is to get an education, not to jump through a set of academic hoops for a set of numbers. An education is not really something that you're "adequate" or "inadequate" for. So long as you have to capacity to understand the material, you have no reason not to further your education. It's really just a matter of figuring out how best to do that for you, given your specific challenges.

Make sure you take good care of yourself. It's always easier to meet life's challenges when you're well-rested, eating properly, getting exercise, etc.

 

[MrElculver2424]

I'm glad I came across this, and I just want to share with you that I have similarities to your situation.

I'm only 22, but I, too, have dealt with depression and anxiety throughout my life. However, I am not on any medications or treatments, and in fact, I hide my depression and anxiety from everyone. No one...not even the closest family members or friends...understand my true situation.

I've changed my major several times, had to work a lot at my job just to make money since my family doesn't have much to help me with, and therefore have fallen far behind the standard 4-year bachelor's academic plan. But you know what? That doesn't matter. It's not to late for either of us to figure out what we love and then go do it.

I also often struggle between giving things my best and giving up. I'm an extreme perfectionist (and perhaps I have a mental issue going on that I don't know how to demonstrate or how to diagnose) and often times if I don't feel like I can do something to the best of my ability, then I won't do it at all and will avoid it entirely. I've had days where I seriously wish I could just give up on everything, but other days, I still have things I want to work on in my life.

So you're not alone...I'm not either...and it can be good to spend some time away, to reset, refocus. Then determine what it is you really want to do in life, and then get to work. At least that's what I'm going to try as well.

 

[Posty McPostface]

I'm only 22, but I, too, have dealt with depression and anxiety throughout my life. However, I am not on any medications or treatments, and in fact, I hide my depression and anxiety from everyone. No one...not even the closest family members or friends...understand my true situation.

Sorry if I come off as too frank, just sharing some opinions formed throughout the years about the psyche, but, I wholeheartedly suggest that you not internalize your feelings too much or try to hide from them. They need to get talked about, and this doesn't necessarily mean with a psychologist or psychiatrist. It can be a friend or family member. I say this because I've always tended to internalize my feelings which doesn't really help. I don't have a solution for some means of externalizing my emotions. I guess I like to intellectualize a lot to dissociate from the negative emotion.

I've changed my major several times, had to work a lot at my job just to make money since my family doesn't have much to help me with, and therefore have fallen far behind the standard 4-year bachelor's academic plan. But you know what? That doesn't matter. It's not to late for either of us to figure out what we love and then go do it.

Awesome positive attitude. Don't ever let that get underappreciated or neglected.

I also often struggle between giving things my best and giving up. I'm an extreme perfectionist (and perhaps I have a mental issue going on that I don't know how to demonstrate or how to diagnose) and often times if I don't feel like I can do something to the best of my ability, then I won't do it at all and will avoid it entirely. I've had days where I seriously wish I could just give up on everything, but other days, I still have things I want to work on in my life.

As I understand it, perfectionism is something like reason without emotion, where it's hard to decide what shoes to wear and no decision can be made on the matter on a purely intellectual basis. However, at the same time it can be reasoned with in terms of *do I want to get this task or job done, at all, or just accomplish nothing over trying to do the perfect?* That's how I at least think about perfectionism. Kind of sounds like Zeno's paradox if you ask me.

So you're not alone...I'm not either...and it can be good to spend some time away, to reset, refocus. Then determine what it is you really want to do in life, and then get to work. At least that's what I'm going to try as well.

Yeah, thanks for sharing, I hope I could have been of some utility to your situation also.