Back To School....... Scared.

[OKRADLAK]

I am about to go back to University. I am really scared.

In my head is that voice.....you CAN'T! This is laughable! You can't!!

But I have already been accepted and already have financial aid. No barriers exist. And I am panicking

HOW do you all do it? What do you do when you panic? How do you manage with the memory loss and when I get blocked, I can't write papers very well at all.

Please share any insights you have. It's making my brain ache!

 

[intothelight]

Hi Okradlak,

One thing I do when I am feeling panicky over a new situation is to write out everything I believe is going to go bad or wrong. I write it and then I walk a way from it for a while. When I come back, I look at it item individually and break it down into its proper perspective.

A lot of time I can eliminate most of the fears. The ones that remain are pretty realistic and then I work on ways to cope with them. So if they happen, I am prepared.

Hope this helps.

Debbie

 

[Sethe]

I am now learning to praise myself (didn't get it much as a kid). I work on recognizing what I have achieved and I try to focus on those things.

When I look at your post, I see several achievements.

1. You got into school. You were ACCEPTED. They WANT you.

2. You have financial aid. They must think you're DESERVING.

I know it's hard. I've been there. It took me a long time to start believing in myself and I still have my days. I think most of us do.

But, not to put any pressure on you, when you're in a tough spot, try to remember that:

1. You're only human. You will make mistakes and it is OK.

2. You can only do your best.

3. Try to accept the moment and appreciate it and yourself.

When you have assignments, you may want to try to break them down into manageable bits. Try writing just one paragraph a day for a paper two weeks before it's due. You'll be done in time. Or try working on the paper for 30 min to 1 hr a day. Just do a little bit. Don't try to do it all at once and beat yourself up.

We've been beaten up enough!

Appreciate what you have done. Praise yourself.

If you panic, then ALLOW yourself to be upset (this has been hard for me as I was taught that being upset was 'bad'). ALLOW yourself to be human. This too shall pass. You'll get through it. You may make mistakes, ok, you will make mistakes, BUT they do not need to define you as a person. YOU are NOT a mistake.

Lists are a good idea too. You can survive the worst possible thing on the list.

You can do this.

 

[Sethe]

Does that help?

 

[Heather]

Hooray for YOU! OKRADLAK and yes you can!:D I believe in you. Now you just have to believe in you. I LOVE what Sethe wrote. Breaking it down into manageable bits is a brilliant idea. Don't wait until the last moment to get assignments....

Way too overwhelming. Especially with what we're dealing with. Take one thing at a time and you'll do AMAZING! I just know it!

Congratulations!! You inspire me. Hopefully one day if I can get my emotional house in order as well as you have I can go back to school and get my degree too. You are my hero!

Hugs. Heather

 

[BrazenBull]

Honestly, I don't do anything to help myself in my university, maybe besides study occasionally.
but im in a nursing course and my classmates have like a naturally caring attitude and I've told them online that i have PTSD
and they ... well not exactly force, but encourage me to go eat lunch with them (at first i would sit in classroom alone and not eat)
I guess I just got lucky meeting people like them (I transfered from another university and course)

 

[OKRADLAK]

You guys are so inspirational!! Yes indeed it does help, Sethe! In fact, I am going to do that. I am going to try to take one semester at a time. And Heather, you are so nice! You are a wonder woman yourself!! Yyup, it is many months away and I am on it all NOW.

I am not sure if I should register as a disabled student because of the embarrassment, but I do need extra help so I will probably bite the bullet and do it. In 30 years if I do this, I will remember my degree but not being a disabled student. :D

 

[sindy2u]

Wow,I wish you the best! I took some classes at a local community college last fall and had anxiety so bad ,but kept going and showing up and made it through three classes /my gpa is 3.58 . ..( I took these same classes three yrs ago and withdrew out of fear,and now just because I stayed with it I have made some progress ,so it can be done even when we are afraid. Courage would not be possible if we didn't have fear. Stepping out even though we are afraid is couragous. I think it is so great that you had the courage to apply and get the finacial aide and now you are ready for the next step. You will succeed as you stay the course. Best wishes:)

 

[Moony]

Heya,
I know how you feel :) I started university this year. I didn't mention my PTSD to anyone, but I've been thinking about doing so next year (this Sept). There's nothing wrong with asking for a bit of extra help. That's what they're there for. I didn't do it this year because I was afraid of the reaction I would get but I wish I had. This year's been a struggle (I had a substance abuse problem) but I've pulled through and hopefully my exam results will be enough to pass :)

I also have to split my work up. I wrote about 100-200 words a day for a fortnight. It just makes everything easier to cope with. When I panic over assignments, I close my laptop, take a few deep breaths and maybe go for a little walk/take a break until my head clears. Afterall, you've already done half the work getting a place in uni.I wish you the very best of luck :)

 

[Rydia]

Okradlak,
Congrats on going back to university! I'm going back to school in September myself!
Right now I'm going to focus on the challenges I have with my therapist, and try to prepare emotionally for all the problems I ran into before, prepare for the worst case scenarios and just work on developing better coping mechanisms. I think working through the fear and going to class anyway is going to be the biggest challenge, but then you hear stories like sindy2u's and you start to believe amazing things can really happen if you just keep pushing yourself!

Brazenbull, I just wanted to say I think it's so brave of you to tell classmates about your ptsd. I want to do the same thing but the thought is kinda scary.

You guys are all so encouraging and inspiring!

 

[Nicolette]

I'm sorry I'm late. I'm only going to say well done (and not good luck) as I believe you can do it Okradlak.

 

[Kintsugi]

I take everything one day at a time. I kind of get tunnel vision. Just one day at a time.

And I try to keep in mind that I am going to school for myself, and that school is about me, and it is to benefit me.
It's all about you.