Getting through University with Panic Disorder

Hey Guys,

I wanted to write this because I have difficulty talking to my family and friends about my mental health for fear of judgment.

I just wanted to see if anyone else is having a lot of trouble with school because of their anxiety issues. I have panic disorder and I usually have a panic attack a few times a week. I'll tell my story and others should tell their stories and if anyone wants to drop some advice that would be great.

I'm currently a sophomore in University and I almost am positive I am not going to graduate. The first semester of my freshman year was fine. I got mostly B's, made great friends and was really enjoying being an architecture major. Through out that semester I pulled a lot of all nighters to juggle the extremely time consuming program with a semi-normal social life. I didn't fully complete a few assignments because I'm not the most organized person and I would sometime leave to much work to the last minute. I always showed up to class though. Even if i was only partially finished with a project because my professor was great and understood that it's hard to allocate time freshman year. I also felt like I was quite good at it and I thoroughly enjoyed the subject. I maintained a B right up to the final and finished with a B-.

All the problems started at my final review for the first semester, which is a critique of the final project. At about 24 hours before the review, the idea that I wasn't going to finish crept into my mind. I had trouble comprehending the reproductions of what would happen if I didn't finish. All I could think about was the disappointment and judgment my professor and peers would have for me and I found it almost imposable to get work done. This triggered my first panic attack.

Everything turned out okay and I did fine in a review held 2 days later. My professor was completely reasonable and helped me calm down. He said he would take the fact I presented late into consideration for my grade but that it was seriously not a big deal and it was just a learning experience.

Since then I have been having lots of difficulties in academics. If I didn't fully complete a project I didn't show up to class for a week because I was so afraid of my panic symptoms and facing the consequences of my actions. Ended up withdrawing from school in the last few weeks of the semester because I couldn't cope with it all. I also lost a job over

Sometimes you need to take a break for awhile from everything when it gets this bad. You can always go back. I have a 2 year degree and I left college and went back a couple of times before I was able to complete it because of my agoraphobia.

I understand completely that fear of being shamed for not finishing your work. I've been shamed in front of a class and it's extremely humiliating.

I don't have a lot to say besides that, but I hope it helps you know that these kinds of things are hard for a lot of us.