Problems with University.

[lemonhuff]

I'm currently 3 terms in to my first year of study at a university campus in my home town, and so far I am failing almost everything. It's not so much an attitude of laziness or disinterest, far from it. It's the anxiety I get when on campus leading me to not concentrate and having no idea what I learned by the time I get home. My anxiety is getting so bad that I'm avoiding school. I didn't go to school (or didn't leave the house at all, for that matter) for 4 weeks in May-June this year. I am currently seeing a counselor on campus about my problems, though it is debatable whether or not this is helping.

My underwhelming results at school have led me to question if on-campus learning is right for me. Thing is, I am being funded by the government to go to school, so reducing my study load to part-time study isn't an option unless I get a job, and a job is the last thing I need right now.

I have found a uni in Sydney that can take me on as a student as early as November via online correspondence, and what classifies as full time study there is only half the load I'm doing now, so I can lighten my workload and still be funded. My previous study record isn't taken into consideration, so it will be a fresh start completely.

My only concern, though, is that if I start studying online, will this enable my avoidance behaviour? At this stage, I can only make predictions, but if I don't HAVE to leave the house to go to school, will I bother leaving at all?

If anyone has any opinions on this, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't know, at this late stage, what the alternative would be for my study options. The only alternative i can think of is to gracefully fail this year and try again next year on campus, but I won't be any better off and my GPA will fall.

Thoughts?

[Anxiety beater]

If you think you are starting to avoid situations because of your anxiety, you need to nip this in the bud right away - a really important part of any therapy for anxiety is finding ways to face up to situations that you want to avoid and learning how to overcome your anxiety. The more you avoid the situations you fear, the more your anxiety about them will increase - the slippery slope into a vicious cycle of avoidance and increasing anxiety. I'd strongly advise you to seek help to start tackling your anxiety - if you succumb to it by avoiding the situations you fear, it will start to take over your life - please don't go there!!! Anxiety CAN be beaten, but it will take some effort on your part and some courage to face up to your fears. Don't leave it until you're middle aged like I did - get help now while you're young! Good luck with your studies!