Dropping out

[Cathie]

I made a very difficult decision today. I decided to drop out of uni and redo the year starting in october. This is due to my anxiety problems, with lectures and emetophobia. I had missed most of the lectures in the semester and had exams coming up, and didn't have any hope of passing them.

I'm gonna use the time to get better, learn to drive and get a part time job. I just hope I'm better by the time I'm due to go back, otherwise I don't know what I'm gonna do.

I'm currently using the Anxiety Management course of CDs, hopefully theyll help me get better. And I think I'll look for a counsellor once I'm home.

Anyone got any tips, as I have 8 months to myself, what would b best to help me get better?

And do u think I did the right thing?

Cathie
xx

[scatmantom]

seek help darling

its gonna help u no-end, a psycologist will be of great help

go to a gp and ask for a refferal and i promise u wont regret it

im sure u can do uni, its ur mind thats stopping u, and therapy will help u to realise this

[shoe]

Cathie, do what you need to do. I had to quit work for a long while to recuperate, and it helped out.. but yeah, definitely seek out a counselor and try to do your best to find a way to overcome those hurdles :) You'll get back into school and finish later, no reason to worry about the choices you made. Just do whats right for you :)

[Sephiro499]

Wow I had the same thing happen to me in 2004. I fought long and hard to make through my junior year at the local state school. My body gave in and I had to request a medical withdrawl. Angry didn't even begin to describe what I was feeling for having to drop out early.

My roommate which I had at the time was a real stickler and I was way too afraid to confront him. Before he would come home I would leave the house and sit in the parking lot of the nearby grocery store until he either went to sleep or left the house. If the door opened and I was home I would sit, motionless, in the basement with the light off until he would return to his room.

After examining what I have just wrote it's painfully obvious that I need some kind of help. I think it's one of those things were attempting to rectify the reasonings behind your behavior is so emotionally challenging and damning that you just try and get by day to day instead of utterly crashing (dealing with the problem).

All in all I'm sorry about your school troubles. Just wanted to chime in with my own experience. Take solace in the fact that you aren't alone :unsure:

[BenAlbany]

Hi Cathie,
I had a lot problems with social anxiety, generalized anxiety and OCD when I was in college. I started taking an SSRI to combat these problems, but it only made them worse. I started having panic attacks and dropped out mid-semester. I tried many different medications (all of which ended up not working for me) while I took some classes non-matriculated.

Talking to a psychologist or social worker is usually helpful if for no other reason than to communicate what you're going through to someone else as well as focus it in your own mind. I found therapy to be more useful than medication which didn't work for me at all, but a lot of people seem to do well with medication.

Anyway, I never fully overcame my anxiety problems during my college years, but I did get myself together enough to go back to school full time. I ended up graduating a year later than I would have if I hadn't dropped out, so it was really no big deal in terms of getting a degree. I would have liked to go through college the normal way in terms of socializing, but that was not to be. Anyway, dropping out of college for awhile is no big deal, and I'm sure you'll get back on track. What's emetophobia by the way?

Ben

[soJACKedup]

I dropped out for a semester the third semester I was in college. My grades were horrible, and my anxiety was ridiculous. I couldn't arrive late to a class, because I would get too embarassed. I couldn't concentrate. Do I regret dropping the semester? HELL NO. I just worked a lot the rest of the year.

When I went back, I starting seeing a counselor at school regularly (I couldn't afford therapy.) I also started taking meds, but decided to go off them.