Ptsd And School Performance

[Mallaky]

Hello

This question is directed to those who got PTSD a bit earlier in life.

How was your school performance? Mine was very bad. I could not study at home, I could not concentrate at all. So I read book and played videogames and...no that was pretty much all I did. I still got my a-levels but it was very difficult and I got abysmal marks. Also in school I had intense trouble concentrating.

I am very interested how school was for you all.

 

[lala]

I developed PTSD in high school. (Mine was actually caused by the social environment of school, but that's another story).

Because I didn't feel safe at school, I had problems with attendance, focus and motivation. I was fortunate to have support at home (my sister helped me with homework) and teachers who let me basically complete classwork from home and only show up for tests. I think they were aware of my difficulties.

I was able to cope in college because the social atmosphere was different. I did really well.

In graduate school, I found myself in a very small group that had a social feel of high school and my symptoms resurfaced. I made it through with the same attendance problems, I also started drinking heavily to cope :(

I don't think I could have gotten through if I wasn't naturally bright. I have often been accused of "not trying very hard" which is true when it comes to course work. That was easy for me. What people didn't know is that is took a lot of work and energy to manage my PTSD symptoms well enough to make it through.

 

[Leah123]

I was very fortunate that I managed school well. I was mostly an A student, but that was because I had an excellent memory and school was my safe space, so I was HIGHLY motivated to please my teachers. I did not have any study skills and could not concentrate on homework for long. Luckily, I was a fast worker.

However, I had a lot to deal with in high school and a number of symptoms (that I didn't recognize at the time) overwhelmed me. I dropped out of high school in the middle of my senior year, took me 15+ years to finally get my GED in conjunction with an Associates degree. Only now am I finally working on my B.A.

 

[rightkindofme]

I went to 25 schools before dropping out at 16. I usually had a high B level average (that's pretty good) without studying or doing any homework. I didn't see any point in studying. Higher grades wouldn't mean anything to my life. It made graduate school much harder because I didn't have study skills. I ultimately failed out of graduate school because I couldn't hand write very fast. It's kind of ridiculous.

I have gotten by because I am brilliant. I had my IQ tested when I was 8. The proctor said if I was less intelligent I would not have been able to learn given the way my life was. With one hand they give and with the other they take away?

 

[radicalgratitude]

I was tested for learning disabilities a couple of times and nothing was discovered. I spent a lot of time in the resource room though. I really struggled and had no motivation. I faked sick a lot and didn't see the point in paying attention. School felt irrelevant to life. Then in college, I started going to therapy. For the first time in my life, I had a desire to learn. I ended up graduating cum laude. I am frequently complimented on my intelligence. I don't think school would have a problem for me if my home life was better.

 

[Jen93]

My school performance has been fine. I got diagnosed in grade 11; and now I'm going into third year of university. Aside from the fact that some of the physical places in school is triggering and some of the subject is heavy, I actually have done pretty well in school. I also have ADHD, and the medication helps. It's only when my depression hits that my grades start to fall- like someone else said before me, motivation keeps me in school. It's a love/hate (mostly love) relationship with learning. I've considered dropping out of school: I wanted to before I was diagnosed, but now that I can handle my triggers and such my mood is not impacted so much, and so I do better.