Studying & Mental Health

[lilac-]

Recently I've learnt for the most part what affected my brain from a mental health stand point both PTSD related and other.

I'm still very much lost while doing my therapy on what it is I wish to achieve study and career wise, I sat a neuropsychological assessment of sorts a few weeks ago on top of another test that was done which involved learning what strengths I have from sitting various tests.
Recently I got the results back, My apologies I'm not completely sure what this was test wise in a more medical terminology beyond say intelligence testing to some degree.

I've learnt that I'm probably best suited to humanities studies such as Law, Psychology, Nursing was brought up and I was offered I place in Paramedics I deferred

I have respect for Nursing and Paramedics but I'm unsure if I could handle the gore aspect as horrible as that sounds and work environment

I've always had a solid interest in both forensic law and psychology but I'm still sorting myself out. I guess it comes down to being a responsible adult, I dont want to preach words I don't practice at the moment although that might sound harsh

I guess I'm at the point where I feel the only thing I'm really fond of or aware of that peeks my interest is either, Law, Art & Psychology seeing as those things have always been an area of interest as a child to adulthood

I was wondering how people chose careers when they're doing therapy and going through some changes mentally?
Do you listen to your heart or logic?

I'm not particularly looking for anyone to answer my choice but I'd be curious to hear how others have dealt with depression and PTSD while confused about study directions

Thank you for your time

 

[cat-lady]

Recently I've learnt for the most part what affected my brain from a mental health stand point both PTSD...

Hi Lilac, I don't have any experience with the study of art or psychology but I'm about 2/3 through law school. I'll share my educational experiences with you and maybe some of that will help your decision. I got a bachelors in literature 12 years ago and have always regretted my major choice since. At the time I had an urge to be a writer because I had an urge to use non-fiction to tell my story and use fiction to escape. I was worried about not being able to get stable employment with a literature degree and it turns out I was right. Unfortunately an adviser told me that I would actually have good employment prospects with a literature degree and I didn't know enough at the time not to take her seriously. Be careful of advisers who don't really know what they're talking about or are just trying to sell you a degree. A lot of schools have gotten in trouble for that. The degree didn't do me much good. A lot of successful writers never got a formalized education and a lot of people who did have never become successful writers. I think that's similar to art. I'm not saying there's no point in a degree like that if you have a specific goal in mind like being a museum curator or critic or something but if you're interested in the actual creative process I think it matters how much you study but not necessarily how much you study in school. Anyway, having unstable employment is a really big deal to most but it's an even bigger deal to people with ptsd. It blocked me from being able to afford treatments I needed. It blocked me from being able to afford security measures like a home alarm system when my abuser came back and started stalking me. It blocked me from having enough free time to do self care when I had to work so hard for so little money. It blocked me from feeling the basic economic security and stability I had an emotional need for after my childhood. In short, not having a degree that gives me stability has been a huge block to my healing in many ways. Finally, I got a scholarship to law school. I thought things were going to get better and I still think they will eventually but law school has been really rough, in large part because of going to a really crappy school that I didn't research enough ahead of time. The school has massive Title IX / domestic violence / sexual harassment issues that they are more interested in covering up than addressing. Do very thorough research on any school before you go there. One really important thing to know about law school is that you cannot transfer more than 1 years worth of credits so if you have something horrible going on that makes you need to transfer after you've completed more than a year and you can't afford to redo credits you're pretty much stuck in an abusive environment until you graduate. That is my situation now. One more year to go! However, I'm speaking of U.S. law schools. I'm not really sure if that's true where you are. I'm not sure of the legal job market where you are either. In the U.S. law has traditionally been thought of as a very stable field but that has changed for our generation. Due to the great recession there was a huge flood into law school a few years ago and now there are 2 lawyers for every law job here. That's not to say that a law degree can't help you in some alternative field though, like business. Another important thing to know about law school and most graduate schools is that it is a huge time commitment and you will initially have difficulty finding enough time for self care. Long term though I'd say that's still worth it because you will have that problem long term if you don't have a stable career/income. Anyway, I know that's a huge information dump - I hope that some of it helps you. Consider how much things like income, stability, independence, etc mean to you and talk to people in the fields. Also, consider if you'd be better off in a job where you are surrounded by people or get a lot of alone time. I know that's a big deal for me. Finally, I recently posed a question in this forum looking for other lawyers/law students on here. I haven't gotten any responses yet but if I do they would probably be helpful for you too. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Friday]

Do you listen to your heart or logic?

Yes. As in the two of them need to be on speaking terms.

It meant I chose a quirky degree path... As in I triple majored in 3 very different fields... To get 1 very specific job. Similar to if you got degree'd in law, art, & psych to work as a criminal profiler; or as a diplomat; or as a social worker for an NGO providing emergency housing & counseling to children displaced by war, whilst doing battle with miles of international legal red tape to getting them placed in appropriate care; or worked as an entertainment lawyer (psych degree not needed, but usually helps in dealing with actors, especially internationally. What artists want and what laws and local governments allow are often diametrically opposed).

No worries, though, almost 1o years into it life radically shifted & I've had to recourse my life. Again. As triple majoring in school was far from the first course correction. Some of the shifts were PTSD related. This one happened not to be (divorce). Man plans, god laughs. ;)

I'm still glad I spent those years as I did. It made logical sense to at the time, and it also suited me right down to the ground. My head & heart were both happy. Not wasted years, no matter the end result. No regrets.

 

[Ronin]

Do you listen to your heart or logic?

Both, or rather neither.
I look at what I'm doing, what I need be doing, and what I see a need for those I want to be around needing done, and then pick my study list by that.
Studying just because it seemed as a 'good choice' for imaginary future almost never led me to studying what was needed in that future, for life's gotten me closer to being in entirely different sorts of situations.

So planning with what I need to improve on myself, gaps I know I have in this or that area, and patching them up? Better study options. :P
(God bless distance study & online courses of all sorts. Also mentorships. So much to be learned in, and for, settings where formal field of study of the thing isn't locally very available.)

 

[Sideways]

Listen very carefully to both.

The best way to a rewarding career is to work in an area that you feel personally passionate about - something where the actual day to day work (the reality beyond study and beyond the TV shows).

But with any illness on board, it's important to be realistic about what will work for you. Flexible work is easier in some areas than others, and some areas (like litigation if you have an anxiety disorder) may not work out, and it can be quite devastating to watch a career that you're good at and committed to slip through your fingers because your mental health just isn't a good match.

There's usually more than one option when we think about what careers we could feel passionate about, so work through that list with your reality-brain switched on and it may help narrow down the best options for you.

 

[EveHarrington]

Find something that you love that can pay the bills and run with it.

----or----

Find something that you like that can pay the bills and run with it.

----or----

Find something that you can tolerate that can pay the bills and run with it.

(Listed in decreasing priority.)

Most importantly we need to survive so paying bills is unfortunately always going to be a priority. Some people can just do a job and not have the need to love their work. For others their work is an expression of who they are. Neither approach is wrong. Different strokes for different folks.

Is there a field that you love that is in demand right now that could land you a job once you graduate with a related degree?