I have decided to drop out of college now. It’s finally clear to me that it’s the only thing I can do now. I feel like such a failure tho but luckily I have the best and supportive parents that agree with my solution. I am going to lie to the people in my class and roommates about it, I just have to say I got sick or something because it’s so embarrassing to me. I suffer from depression, intense anxiety (hocd and social and generalized). I have personality problems and I look forward to go to a therapist and start recovery and start to be myself and healthy again, because it’s a very long time since I was myself and completely mentally healthy. What do you guys think about my decision? I struggle a lot with quitting college but I don’t think the program was for me anyways so that’s a good thing. I am 19 years old and I have many years to decide what I want to do, don’t I?

I think you're doing what is best for you at the moment. When I was fresh out of highschool I had no idea what I wanted to do, so like you I picked a program that I did not like just to get it over with. And lime you, I ended up dropping out of it. I just graduated with two associate degrees with honors :) There is absolutely no shame in taking your time to figure things out. With a sound mind, it'll be so much easier for you to do so as well :) And yes, you're only 19. I wish I had someone telling me that I had sooo much time when struggling with choosing a career/major. There is no rush!

I think it’s a good decision for now and you can take time to get better, I think it actually shows strength of character to prioritise your health.

I went to university (UK) whilst unknowingly struggling with what I now realise was OCD and I completely lost myself, if I could go back I would have done the exact same thing as you. Good on you for putting yourself first.

When I had just turned 19 I also dropped out. The thing about college is u have a lot of time to go back, your entire life actually. Lots of people like to imagine it going perfectly like 18-22 then I'm done, but it doesn't always go down that way. And it's the right move definitely if you've determined recovery and school to be too much at once, and that's normal lol, most people can hardly balance a min wage job w their education so jt makes sense u need a break.

Having a mental health issue arise IS becoming sick—you're not lying to anyone by saying illness is why you had to stop your education for the time being. Try to be gentler on yourself 💕 You're going through a rough patch and you're making decisions to be well again. That's really responsible and smart of you to do. 💕

So I also dropped out of my master's program last month, but it was also for something I was never interested in even when I did my bachelor's. You know your circumstances/situation better than anyone else. Don't need to feel like a failure at all because hey maybe one day you'll feel good to go back. Maybe you'll find something better than college in the meantime. To speak for myself, I'll say it didn't improve much for me. I'm at one of my lowest points right now. But instead of the hours spent for school each single day, I have time for myself. I use this time to take walks outdoors, have tea outdoors, word searches, coloring books, and puzzles. Mental health hasn't improved as I stated earlier, but I have time for myself now. Time for yourself might help you?

Oh that's great, time yourself and your hobbies feels great. Time with family is even greater. I'm glad you're reaching out for help because mental health is just as important. I turned 27 in Aug. I'm a nurse now. I was working on becoming NP.