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VDUB04
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27 Apr 2016, 10:46 am

I have just begun the summer term in my first year of university. It's not been an easy ride to say the least. I've gotten to the point now though where I am seriously struggling. It's not that I'm not smart enough for the work, it's just that I am not coping with the extreme anxiety and stress I am experiencing, feeling totally overwhelmed trying to manage uni and daily life.
I met with my personal tutor a couple of weeks before our easter break and tried to say then that I was really struggling but with the easter break coming up, she suggested that I might be able to use it to rest and 'get on top of things a bit', unfortunately this didn't happen and one of the three weeks off was particularly rough to boot.
I don't really know what I should do or say to try and improve things and stop feeling like this, because it hugely impacts all other areas of my life, including my health.
At my support group they suggested I ask if it's possible to switch to part time to ease the situation but I really don't think that's possible and I'm too afraid to ask anyway. I already am allowed and have extensions for my essays and extra time in exams.
I'm not saying everyone else doesn't get stressed about stuff and struggle with things but at the risk of sounding sorry for myself, and maybe I am a bit if I'm honest because everything is always so bloody hard, this isn't fair. I don't just want to get through this at whatever cost to me, my life and my health, I want make the most of my life and right now my experience at uni. I might do it in my own way and a bit differently to others but deep down I know you shouldn't have to accept things being like this and tbh after 24 years in education I've had enough of suffering it.


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spinelli
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27 Apr 2016, 12:08 pm

Part time might be best. Don't let anyone else tell you what you should do. Only you know that.



btbnnyr
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27 Apr 2016, 12:15 pm

Part-time is best, I think.
Like 2 classes.
To relieve stress and do well in the long term, you have to overcome the immediate fear of asking about part-time.
But it won't be as bad as you fear.


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Drain and plane and grain and blain your brain, and then again,
Propane and butane out of the gas main, your blain shall sustain!


VDUB04
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27 Apr 2016, 1:11 pm

But I don't think the course is offered as part time, only full time. I checked the online prospectus just now and it's only listed as a full time course.
I don't know what to do. I just had a look at other universities and it is offered part-time at some but the nearest one is 2 hours away and it would mean moving out of home - I'm not sure if I could cope with that yet but if I did I'd need some form of supported living, plus there's no guarantee I'd get a place anyway.


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skibum
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27 Apr 2016, 1:57 pm

I would talk to your professors individually if you can and see if they can maybe let you take certain courses when you are ready to take them rather than on the regular schedule. Don't feel bad about asking for what you need. If you need it, you need it.


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VDUB04
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27 Apr 2016, 2:31 pm

But I think they're just going to say, this is the course on offer and that's all they can offer. It's a 3 year course with 6 modules done over the 3 years, so I don't know how I'd be able to take certain modules at other times than what they offer within the full time course.
I don't want to go through the rest of this course like this, so something needs to change but I don't know what on earth I'm going to do if I can't do this. It's not that I'm not intelligent enough, it's just coping with it all and managing daily life on top of it. I don't know how to get across to people how much I'm struggling either. My standard of work had been satisfactory (although I had some issues on placement, though they still passed me), I'm not currently hugely behind, although I have extensions on all my assignments, I attend every lecture despite all of the challenges, I just don't think people realise what it takes out of me and what effect that has on me and I'm not very good at explaining it. I can write some things that can help a bit but it is never enough in communicating my difficulties to people.
I even just looked at other courses that might be more suitable, the only one I can see would be something like biosciences but I don't think I'm smart enough to do it and it would also mean acquiring £9000 a year student debt, when the course I'm on currently is NHS funded, so I don't have to pay the fees.


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Diagnosed Asperger's Syndrome, moderate to severe 23rd November 2015.


skibum
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27 Apr 2016, 2:37 pm

Even if you think you know what they might say, ask them anyway. You might be surprised at what they can do if you ask. They might say what you expected but you can't know for sure without asking. At least give each of them the chance to tell you one way or the other. Then you at least know that you asked. If the door is still closed at that point, we can try something else.


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"I'm bad and that's good. I'll never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me."

Wreck It Ralph


VDUB04
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28 Apr 2016, 11:15 am

I've arranged to go and meet someone from student support to try and figure this out a bit. I'm currently trying to write some things down, like what I'm struggling with in my current course, the pros and cons of it, why I might want to do bioscience, the pros and cons of that....

I'm trying to be open and realistic about my options but I'm a bit scared tbh


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btbnnyr
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28 Apr 2016, 2:03 pm

You should ask directly, maybe there is flexibility, especially for students with disabilities.


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Drain and plane and grain and blain your brain, and then again,
Propane and butane out of the gas main, your blain shall sustain!


VDUB04
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28 Apr 2016, 2:25 pm

Yeah, but I need to talk it through with someone first. So at least when I go to meet my personal tutor I'm more prepared with what I'm going to say and also, just to be able to talk through the option of switching course. I know I need to speak to my personal tutor but I feel a bit more comfortable going to student support with something I've written to help me first.


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Diagnosed Asperger's Syndrome, moderate to severe 23rd November 2015.


PercyPJ
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29 Apr 2016, 8:33 am

Hi,

I'm not qualified to give you any advice but I can relate some of my own experience, and this may help.

I’ve struggled massively with life; never felt I’ve fitted in, always felt that ‘something is missing’ and feel as if the rest of the population was given a manual at birth on how to live life, and I missed out on mine lol. Today I get by, most of the time, but life can still seem overwhelming, frightening and a bit pointless.

Through other struggles I’ve had I was forced to seek help and I’ve learned a few things. I can be prone to self-pity; “Why does it have to be like this?”, “Why me?”, “It’s okay for everyone else” and so on and so on. This is a perversely pleasurable place to be but it only makes me more ill. What I’ve learned to do (though I don’t always succeed) is to turn my attention to other people; to see what I can do to help someone else or even just to show an interest. When I’m in a bad place just asking someone “How are you?” can really lift my day, even if I don’t actually care how they are.

Another problem I have is acceptance of things as they actually are. Often in a situation I have 2 options… let’s call them A and B. I don’t like A or B and spend lots of time imagining the ideal solution, option C, which doesn’t exist. I dither and I worry and I get frustrated holding out for a solution that suits me, but it doesn’t come. Eventually I give up and take A or B. Wouldn’t it have been easier for me to choose one or the other in the first place and stick with it?

Hope this helps :-)