anxiety in college

[chitown rollin]

Hey guys, I know there are some threads about this but I wanted to get some feedback on my situation. I will add more later and check back in a few hours... basically I go to a pretty prestigious university in the Big Ten and did great my first 2 years (4 semesters)... even made the Dean's list twice. But I have been going through so much stress lately.. also abusing Xanax and other anti anxiety meds. Basically I am not doing too hot in school, and I have a 3.2 right now which is okay in my mind..... but I amconsidering moving home for a semester and maybe taking onlline classes. Any feedback is muuuch appreciated. thanks guys.

 

[Lolie]

My concern about you moving back home and taking online classes would be that it's not going to teach you how to manage your anxiety. Anxiety is a normal part of life and the aim of treatment is to keep it at manageable levels, not to eliminate it entirely.

If you move back home but do nothing about learning to manage your anxiety, it's highly likely to get worse when you next have to face the "real" world as you'll become used to being in a bubble where you encounter little external stress. If you do move back home to get yourself some breathing space, make sure you spend use that time to learn how to manage your anxiety - pills aren't an effective longterm option.

 

[itsok]

if i were in your situation, i would consult a psychiatrist and get a dr.'s note to give urself extra time, hence less things, to hand in at once. Or drop one or two classes. I think it is great that you are thinking of ways to take care of urself before things get worse.

 

[NotQuiteAnonymous]

Check and see what resources are available thru your college's counselling/psychological services department and make and go to an appointment before changing how u take class.

 

[itsok]

^good idea. professional opinion through your university sounds like the right thing. so u can brainstorm for options. let us know what u decide to do.

 

[chitown rollin]

thanks guys, basically being an out of state student, my school's policy is that I can withdrawal for family problems, however I lose all the money. that is 1000 dollars a credit and I'm taking 12. 12 may not be a lot, but after all is said and done I end up paying about 14 grand a year. I could not do this to my parents and I really would like to finish this semester and it all to be over with. do you guys think that a lower GPA but passing all my classes is better than withdrawing altogether and re-doing the classes? thanks again you guys are great.

 

[Detrevni]

^Depends on if you're an overachiever. If you could keep it at 3.0 or better I would personally rather get it under my belt with a B average than restart it plus lose 14 grand.

 

[Lolie]

thanks guys, basically being an out of state student, my school's policy is that I can withdrawal for family problems, however I lose all the money. that is 1000 dollars a credit and I'm taking 12. 12 may not be a lot, but after all is said and done I end up paying about 14 grand a year. I could not do this to my parents and I really would like to finish this semester and it all to be over with. do you guys think that a lower GPA but passing all my classes is better than withdrawing altogether and re-doing the classes? thanks again you guys are great.

I think that you're better off sticking it out if you possibly can. In the real world, what marks you achieved become largely irrelevant very quickly - that you hold the qualification and what experience you have in your field is much more important in the longer term.

 

[chitown rollin]

thanks lolle, it seems you are older, and I Really wanted someone to say something to that effect. hopefully one semester won't screw me over too bad

 

[itsok]

I think sticking it out is better. its ok to have a bad semester as long as u pass. life happens and ppl understand. thats what im doing now.

 

[Tommyboy]

I second going to the school counceling center. I always check in atleast once a semester, this way they will vouch for me if I need them to.

Professors don't really argue with you if there is a mental issue that is documented.

You also may be experiencing rebound anxiety at times when you are not on the xanax, so you should really stop taking it, or atleast save it for very high stress situations.

 

[chitown rollin]

thanks tommyboy, working on a 'self taper' if you will. I'm not stopping cold turkey (for once) cause its awful, but I am going down slowly starting from 4 mgs as I was on 5 yeterday. I'm thinking 3.5 tomrrow, etc... any thoughts..? thanks again guys this is making me feel better.

 

[CherryPoppinz]

hey chitown roller, i have been experience some new found anxiety in college aswell, first time in my life that i ever really had feelings of anxiety and its good to know that im not alone...ive got break coming up here soon and my family lives overseas so its hard kind of being alone, on top of that all the stress from school..

5-htp helps to a certain extent but yeah, its just kinda nice knowing im not alone in the situation

 

[Tommyboy]

thanks tommyboy, working on a 'self taper' if you will. I'm not stopping cold turkey (for once) cause its awful, but I am going down slowly starting from 4 mgs as I was on 5 yeterday. I'm thinking 3.5 tomrrow, etc... any thoughts..? thanks again guys this is making me feel better.

I was on 3 mgs of xanax daily for about 4 years. I switched to a "legit" doctor in order to taper off. I think it is important to have atleast a stable week before continueing to lower your dose.

My doctor had cancelled on me, so I had to make my script last. In order to do so, I dropped from 3mgs to 1.5 overnight, and it was kinda shitty. Didn't sleep much, and my arm/hand was twitching bad.

Anyway, been tapering with valium, and am down to 2mgs daily. I would say to take the 3.5, and if you absolutely need to, take the extra .5 to sleep. So pretty much break the pills into .5's, and try to take 1.5 in the morning, then 1.5 later on, and if you need, take the last .5.

Another thing, it is alot easier to lower your dose in the beginning, compared to later on in the taper. So try to get on the lowest dose you can now, and it will make it easier.

 

[chitown rollin]

cherry poppinz, your definitely not alone . PM me sometime bro.

 

[Transcendence]

I very recently dropped out for a year for reasons as yours. Similar situation. I know it seems like a huge deal/mistake now but you'll be so glad you did. I already am. Go see your doctor too if you already havent.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

I had tons of depression and anxiety when I was in college.

Go see a school counselor/therapist or a licensed therapist with a PhD.

Just having someone to talk to when you are anxious and stressed out even if it's a free counselor that's available to all students at a university can be helpful.

Talking to a medical doctor if you have one can help too. I've never taken benzos regularly but I know that if you want to quit them you should not do it cold turkey.

Good luck.

 

[muvolution]

College is hard. I went to "the Ivy League of the South" which (without scholarship) would have been 50,000 bones a year.
I did an intensive 5 year masters program at 18-23 credit hours per semester. I would end up not sleeping, not eating, and not exercising in order to get my work done, pulling many 20-22 hour days, then on the weekends, instead of paying off my sleep debt and getting caught up, I would just party.
I would see a psychiatrist at the Student Health Center, let him know what you are going through, DO NOT tell him you have been taking any prescription meds (unless you were prescribed them), and he/she should work with you to ease your anxiety.
The first reaction will be to put you on anti-depressants because they can be effective anxiolitics as well, but they totally killed both my academic and sex drive.
Benzos are a short term solution, but once you are in, it is hard to get off them until you are out of school.
Express an interest in Bio-Feedback which IS NOT talk therapy, it is a controlled meditation where you are hooked to a computer that monitors your heart rate, temperature, and galvanic skin response, which are measures of anxiety/ panic. You can then work through thoughts, feelings, and images in your own head which may or may not help you with your anxiety. After the session, you can look at how your body responded, coordinate that with what you were meditating on/ thinking about, and then go from there. I found this to be responsible for 70-80% of my anxiety reduction with valium filling in the other bits when needed.
Benzos, though easy to take, should be a last resort.
And having a relationship with a psychiatrist at your schools SHC will be good for at least 2 medical withdrawals over the course of 4 years (I luckily never had to use one), and you can always pull a prof aside in a class you are struggling in and explain that you are having mental health issues/ just switched medication and would gladly furnish a doctor's note, but 90% of the time they will be too embarrassed/ flattered you would confide in them/ or just plain busy that they will take your word for it.

DO NOT TAKE TIME OFF. Stay the course, and even if you get a 3.0 or 3.2 you can still graduate cum laude in the end.

PM me if you would like to talk at all about this, not to belittle any other course of study, but Architecture students have it very tough with late studio hours/ no sleep/ and a culture where even professors and practitioners use adderall and xanax to get up and go to sleep nearly every day, this can become a bad cycle, and while in school, I saw it in almost every course of study, but it was most pronounced in mine.
Good luck, and like I said, feel free to PM me anytime.