hello daydreamer. welcome to ds.

gentle empathy on the difficulty of staying any course with mental illness. college isn't the only course i've tried and failed to run to the finish line. i relate to that proverbial rabbit who starts out strong but always needs to nap before i cross the finish line. i never seem to wake up until the proverbial tortoise has inched past, collected the trophy and inched on home. my theraputed approach has been "setting a pace i can maintain." my therapy peer supporters are a valuable tool in that quest. the emotional support and reality checks are priceless.

yea, i think anxiety has been the most global pandemic in coronaville. the fact that i already had my anxiety management tools in place before march, 2020 is, more and more, helping me feel like the sanest runner in the masky dask. at least i **know** i'm crazy and have the works in progress.

what's hiding behind **your** mask?
never mind. . . keep your mask on, my socially distant friend. surgical mask, too.

Welcome! Good attitude! When I was in college, mental illness hit me and I dropped out. I could not concentrate. That was around 1977 or 78. Now I am on disability and trying to get my confidence up to start applying for a part-time position. I'm with ya!

@arfie Thank you so much for the welcome! I know, pandemics of schools shootings, coronavirus, mental health, it's like the world is crashing down slowly. But what I've done research on is societal collapse, which is what were heading for. It definitely might be a good thing, because our society needs new laws and major changes. I hope it just won't cause a great recession too. I'm starting more mental health groups and found some on livewell foundation online support groups to help keep me on track.

@GreenEyes727, Hi and thank you for the welcome! I've tried applying for disability but I always get denied and I applied 5 times. I'm in the midst of trying to get on SSI. Any tips if anyone has any? Yeah, I'm thinking about working from home, I've worked from home since before covid and I enjoy the freedom. There's a great company that pays well and increases pay overtime with performance. It's like a customer service phone position, but it's easy and fun. Good luck on job searching, there's plenty of jobs now since so many people quit their jobs. I don't blame them, especially if a lot is going on in their lives, but it helps the economy a little so others that do want to work can :)

Some suggestions,

1. Plan when you're calm. So you know you're going to run into some tough times, create a plan about you'll deal with it.
2. Recognize grades are not critical. Be careful of a perfectionist tendency, my wife has been diagnosed with it (that's why I'm here), you feel you must get A's get some problems, be disappointed, challenged, and drop out. Instead, recognize that B's are fine, the goal is to finish the semester, and have modest expectations.
3. Get exercise, particularly during the semester.
4. Figure out what makes you happy. I went to a top 10 graduate school, exams were close, someone said where you're going, oh, I'm skipping class and playing pool. I felt I need some downtime and took it, so don't push yourself too hard. Good luck.

Hi Daydreams,

I would suggest that you connect with the disabilities office at your current college. I teach at a university and since the pandemic began we have seen a huge increase in the number of students needing accommodations due to anxiety. Depending on the individual’s needs the accommodations might include extra time for exams, requiring a quiet space in which to take exams, being allowed to record lectures, or using special note taking programs. These services are intended to help students be successful. I would encourage you to ask about this avenue as it might actually reduce the amount of anxiety you feel.

I commend you for trying again to take courses:)

@Bobby5000, Thank you so much for the suggestions! I think that will help a lot and also some things I can work on with my academic counselor. I am definetly a hardcore perfectionist, so I will try to remember not to drop out and finish the course. So far in school I'm doing great for my 2nd day in summer quarter. I appreciate the tips! :)

@Seaglass25, Thank you for the tip! I was thinking about using the disability accommodation, I think that will help me a lot. I defintely would need more time for the exams due to anxiety. I will look into that. :)

Thanks for the nice comment. Try to distinguish between productive and unproductive pressure, You'd like to get good grades and too well and study, fine things are working. You feel you have to get perfect grades, you can't do it, its stressing you out, go to leave, that's bad stuff.

When the perfectionist train comes recognize its not going to help you do better. When there's a Super Bowl, coaches don't say this is the most important game of your life watched by over 700 million people, , but say this is just another game and try to prepare like any other one. ,

Bill Belicheck is probably the most successful football coach in history. The job of a football coach is to have his players perform as well as possible.
He tells them 3 words, do your job.