Anonymous
- Date posted
- 1y
Getting through school with OCD
Has anyone felt very anxious from OCD and still successfully gotten through school? If so do you have any tips? (I’m an engineering major in college)
BoosbootsBoosboots
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
it’s all about learning about yourself and who you are and about finding a career / school/ major that best suits you’re needs and wants especially as a person with OCD. Also all schools should have a Disabled Student Services and OCD is under that. They do differently accommodations to help with that. Also you’re school work !! this can be an upside i like to look at with ocd is i am very organized use that power and channel it into something that is good something that is positive. I organize everything when it come to my school stuff! As well as note taking! Look and find different note taking app or tools and try to find the once that best fits your needs and classes. maybe take a care and life exploration class at your college ! School hasn’t always been easy for me mentally but oh boy did i graduate with 4.2 Gpa! i’m currently getting my masters in psych ;)
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 1y
@Boosboots Well I’m a third year in civil engineering and I’ve had internships already. I have it figured out and I like it. It’s just recently somehow going through a negative thought cycle which I guess is OCD and it’s made me anxious and not focus in class. Then I worry if I’ll not be able to do well on tests and I have two tests coming up this week I’m not ready for yet bc I wasted time being anxious. I also don’t want people to notice that I have an issue. But that’s great you graduated with a 4.2 gpa, congrats!
madeleckmadeleck
- Date posted
- 1y
Hi!! I am in a similar position. Definitely a battle, and I find my symptoms get worse during high stress periods like exams. It is distressing but I’ve found that as much as you’re able to, leaning into school can actually reduce symptoms: obviously it reduces stress to accomplish tasks, but also, it gives your mind something else to focus on. That said, it’s not always possible, and it is incredibly important that you’re kind to yourself during these times. If you need to drop a class, or take an extra semester, that is 100% okay. People do it all the time for all kinds of reasons, including physical and mental health issues, but also just stress buildup! STEM degrees are incredibly demanding, and there is truly 0 shame in needing to take breaks or lighter semesters. I find it helpful that many of my neuroscience professors talk about their ‘failures’ — poor grades, semesters they took off, not getting into graduate schools. Having a hardship like a mental illness does not mean you won’t succeed.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 1y
@madeleck It is good to stay busy and focus on school. In the past I had to drop classes because I lost confidence from being depressed and anxious. I’m taking a lot of credits now but my classes aren’t as tough as before except a couple of them. I don’t really wanna take longer but I guess if I have to I will. Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it. Because I feel like this will ruin my life and it will never end. I got an internship with a company I really wanted and I hope by the time I start I’ll feel myself again. What’s your major?
madeleckmadeleck
- Date posted
- 1y
@Anonymous I study neuroscience, so different for sure but still very demanding. I get that completely — sometimes it feels like if I can’t succeed in school there’s no way I’ll succeed in a job. This isn’t true! School, especially STEM I find, had an odd and incredibly demanding structure and little immediate reward — the feeling of getting an A lasts about 5 minutes before you have to start worrying about the next assignment. Jobs have financial motivation, much much much more teamwork and communication, and you already know what has to be done a lot of the time — applying skills instead of acquiring them. Honestly, of all the successful people I know, very few of them were straight-A students. Things happen. University is a complicated time of life. I am taking 4 courses/semester and taking an extra semester because I found I was ALWAYS overwhelmed with 5, and my mental health is more important than a timeline I made for myself in high school. Take time to decompress after the semester and I’m absolutely sure you’ll feel up to the internship by the summer. PM me anytime if you want to talk more!
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 1y
@madeleck Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it. How do I DM you? Im so tired of noticing these sensations and it’s shifted from breathing to noticing my heart and I barely slept last night because of it. I have a test tomorrow and idk what to do with this. I wanna get rid of it.
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- Date posted
- 25w
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Gmoki
- Date posted
- 21w
How do you manage OCD in school with avoidance?
I had avoided a lot with school specifically, but I did do it in other areas of life as well. School for some reason has been the biggest trigger that sends me into avoidance and it has been for the longest time. Does anybody relate? If so, what did you do to help besides therapy? In high school I used to sit in the bathroom stalls for hours so I could avoid going to classes. I was struggling to keep up because my OCD makes me perfect my school work so much so to the point where I’d never turn it in because I’d never be satisfied with what I’d produce. I’d get so incredibly frustrated with myself and the fact that I could never meet my own standards, never mind the rubrics given. I took ages analyzing all my writing, all my answers, all my google slides and I burnt myself out. So I stopped trying. I stopped turning in work because I’d never be satisfied. I’d cry because I felt I wasn’t good enough. Then I’d be missing assignments, getting them done but not submitting them because I was too ashamed. So, I avoided classes because I’d be in trouble or be called out for not getting anything done. Unfortunately this habit bled into my first year of college last year, and OCD coupled up with depression, made going to the dining hall and attending classes even worse. So I avoided it all together. It’s so hard being a freshman in college, so so hard. I unfortunately failed out of that school but I tried to medically withdraw either semester. No, I wasn’t partying, or drinking or smoking or hanging with the wrong people. I was a college freshman struggling with ocd and depression. I’m trying to not make excuses for myself either because I’m well aware this is my fault and I’m trying to reverse it now at community college. Right now I’m trying to get those Fs turned into Ws from my old school so I can fix my gpa. I want to transfer, I want to be a forensic psychologist, I want to be independent, I want to be ok. It’s gonna take me so long to transfer from community college but that’s on me. I’m willing to put in the work. I’m so embarassed, please help me.
jhhhhh
- Date posted
- 17w
Should I drop out?
I am a freshman in college diagnosed with OCD, anxiety and depression. I have been on medication for 2 months but I do not see any improvement yet. College has become an anxiety fuel now and I can’t study because I am too anxious and sometimes I cry when I try to. I can’t perform well in classes and the workload is stressing me out. During the first exam season I was a wreak but I wasn’t yet on meds and that’s when my depression appeared. The thing is I can’t really do the normal routine things and I don’t find happiness in the things that were my hobbies. I don’t know how I’ll be able to tell my parents if I do it because my mom is really on about the fact that I can do it cause I’m strong and now I just feel like I will disappoint her. If anyone that went or is going through this let me know your experience.
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