- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Hi! Literally in the EXACT situation. I finished my first year of medical school and my OCD went out of control and became debilitating. I got really frightened by the end to start the school year. I got on meds and things have eased up and I had the choice to begin but I decided to take the year off and learn better coping skills. I moved countries and live back with my parents. It was a little hard and at times I have some regrets but in the end I'm so happy I did. What's the point of life if your mental health isn't good? Sometimes life needs you to slow down and you just need to be in tune with your mind and body. OCD is tough and stress makes it worse. Remember medication is just a tool but CBT/ERP are what will make the change happen in the long term. One semester off for better ways to cope for a life with OCD is worth it. In the end, one semester is nothing and I'm sure it will make your family happy.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Yeah I have a week or 2. I’m sending an email now. It’s just a tough choice to make because my thoughts are getting out of hand and friends give a good distraction but I know that my college town has limited resources with mental health and that’s why she wants me to go. But thanks guys! I’m going to talk to her more about it
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thank you?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Not at all... I have a unique story but I wasn't the typical applicant - I didn't have much experience in medical field and applied wth an art degree. I went back to get a post bacc in science and I never even finished it. I explained it all during my interview - I couldn't finish some classes due to financial reasons. Although my application lack the standards, I had other strengths they admired. If you can't finish the courses or theirs a gap, just strengthen your app in other ways. Being unique is just as important. I applied to med school at 28 and have so many gaps and period of time I took off cause of OCD/anxiety - and that's ok! I just realized during med school that at this point in my life - I need to take off time to really handle stress and do better with OCD so that in the future I won't have to take as much time off. So take time for yourself and heal your soul. Med school will be there but your mental health might not be. Don't be afraid. Your doc and therapist are trying to help you. Now it's time for you to help yourself. You could always tell the med schools that you took time off to make sure you really wanted to go to med school - they appreciate that kind of stuff because they don't like people rushing in and not realizing the sacrifice.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Ok, thank you? The university I’m at right now is almost 3/4 premed and extremely cut throat. Like I’ve had ppl take advantage of me bc I couldn’t bring myself to be like that to them. It just makes me feel that if I’m not excelling in things, I have no chance of getting in. If you don’t mind my asking, what medical school are you at, or which ones did you apply to where you thought that the interviewers could see past the medical problems?
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I'm at Auckland medical school and yes I had the same problem with other applicants. I just didn't care. You kind of can't care because in the end, they are making it harder for themselves to be so cut throat. I would say maybe not to mention any sort of anxiety, unless you've really handled it and have some sort of success story. I know that sounds not enticing but I never told the interviews about my anxiety because I didn't want them to think I couldn't finish. I just told them about my financials and how used that time off to work in a non profit. Unless you want to be a psychiatrist but again, I wouldn't mention OCD unless you have really fully handled it.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
In the end, if you want something, you can make it happen. It may not be linear but nothing in life is. You'll have setbacks and other problems that may steer you in other directions. You'll get to where you want to be in the end but the most important is to enjoy the journey and try to accept the uncertainty.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Ohhh ok. Yea I’m not sure what I should say about the time off, considering I wouldn’t be working or volunteering, or anything, I’d be in residential. Good advice, thank you:) You are going to be a great dr❤️
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thank you. That's very kind. You'll figure it out. Just take care of yourself first.
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Tell your therapist that you are worried taking time off from college and hanging with friends as it you believe it would make the OCD worse. See what your therapist has to say afterwards
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Can you also ask your psychiatrist what they think in terms of your improvement? Or discuss with your therapist options if you don't go to the clinic? Being with friends is hugely helpful to my mental health so I get it. When do you have to decide by? Maybe you can wait a bit and see
- Date posted
- 6y ago
My dr and therapist are both saying I need to go to residential treatment and drop my classes for this semester. Like every time I go they spend the first half of our time trying to convince me to go? I am premed and I’ve already had to drop a couple classes in the past because of OCD, so I’m really scared that if I drop this semester that I won’t be as strong an applicant. OCD has taken so much from me and I think I’d crumble if it took away my aspirations to be a dr. I just don’t know what to do. I know @waterlady, you said you took time off, but you were already accepted. Do you think that dropping before acceptance would make me less competitive?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w ago
I have a question My OCD has felt almost invisible the past few weeks and now that is starting to stress me out a lot. Right now I am at a point in my treatement where I was asked if I would like to take medication. I told my therapist this week that I would like to try the medication based on how miserable I feel in during OCD flare ups. But now my brain always tells me that I only go throught this treatement etc. to seek attention and that I am just dramatic and should be ashamed of myself for wanting to take this medication. So now I am doubting if I should take the medication or not. Any advice?
- Date posted
- 21w ago
Does anyone know of any rehabilitation centers for mental health? My ocd has gotten bad today to the point where I feel like leaving :( and desperately get help . Ever since I began medication months ago I been feeling fine but all sudden I feel like my episodes are rapidly coming back. I’m more responsive to them. I find myself ruminating more and engaging in compulsions. I feel embarrassed that my family would have to know if I considered making that choice of leaving . It’s never gotten to this breaking point , or at least I don’t think. I’ve been through this a billion times and each time it feels like it’s the worst and it’s gonna be the one that will permanently take over me and my full control. I’m from Elkhart, Indiana. Or if there’s anyone here that can talk to me I’d appreciate it I feel so alone right now and I’m more vulnerable because I’m home alone and I don’t have many friends. I’m scared that I’m gonna lose touch with myself. I don’t wanna lost my values or stop feeling my normal self. It feels real and scary. I want it to stop.
- Date posted
- 19w ago
hi. so one big factor of my OCD is rumination. i met a guy who i have a crush on the idea of (idea bc there are red flags). my biggest fear is not finding true love, my ex told me no one else would deal with what i have (my ocd, specifically reassurance seeking and getting overstimulated after intimacy). a few weeks ago, my friends and family all gathered and tried to give me advice that sounded like “you’re shy and you’ll never find someone.” after that, i’ve felt off. i’ve been using an unhealthy coping skill, daydreaming, and i’ve just felt unbalanced. my ocd makes everything feel different sometimes, i can’t explain it. life, myself, almost like being in a dissociated state. has anyone else experienced that? i don’t know how to remain balanced during my off times and i know pms exasperates it all. i take ashwaghanda and omega 3s in a multi vitamin daily. i take them all together in the evening but i’ve missed three days recently and also messed with my rocky sleep schedule because of fun times with friends. i hope these supplements work, because i don’t know if i’d be brave enough for medication. i had a bad reaction on prozac and often am forgetful. i just have been battling my OCD consciously for almost ten years now and unconsciously for longer. i am so tired, as my mental health extends beyond my OCD. i’m in talk therapy with some cbt aspects but i only see her twice a month. i’ve broken down so many times and promised myself id get on track or that certain things would work, but it’s like i am stuck in a circle that gets smaller when i’m able to help myself. i just want to be normal. i want to be able to mess up my sleep schedule to enjoy good times and not suffer horrible consequences or fear that i will be entirely thrown off balance. i don’t want to worry or doubt or feel so dissociative that i squint my eyes for a moment and wonder why i feel so unreal. i will never understand why god has allowed me to go through this. i cannot let it be for nothing but i don’t know how much more to bend and contort my body and brain to get somewhere stable but how lovely it would be if i could. i don’t have much of a schedule right now, i get apathetic and give in with things from time to time. one thing can trigger me and i am back to square one wether in a week or month. any advice, any and all is so helpful. your stories, your thoughts. maybe feeling less alone and knowing what has helped you is exactly what i need right now. thank you 💗
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