Should i drop out?

[pimpmyride]

Hi- i know this sounds rather ridiculous but...i'm not sure how i'm gonna make it through my university course.
Without giving too much away, i'm doing law as an undergraduate degree at a "prestigious" university (first year).
The problem is that I don't really think I want to have a career at all- I'm completely unmotivated to go to university, make friends, be social and complete adult life (in other words, i'm having an existential crisis). I went to my first day today almost sick with nerves, made small talk with a bunch of strangers i probably will never see again and made awkward contact with people who bullied me at high school (yay!). Henceforth, I came home and had a massive panic attack, felt depressed and am writing this letter. So I have a dilemma; should I sort out my mental health problems and social anxiety by dropping out of uni or not drop out and just push through?
thx sorry if doesn't make sense. 

[vox nihili]

Hi- i know this sounds rather ridiculous but...i'm not sure how i'm gonna make it through my university course.
Without giving too much away, i'm doing law as an undergraduate degree at a "prestigious" university (first year).
The problem is that I don't really think I want to have a career at all- I'm completely unmotivated to go to university, make friends, be social and complete adult life (in other words, i'm having an existential crisis). I went to my first day today almost sick with nerves, made small talk with a bunch of strangers i probably will never see again and made awkward contact with people who bullied me at high school (yay!). Henceforth, I came home and had a massive panic attack, felt depressed and am writing this letter. So I have a dilemma; should I sort out my mental health problems and social anxiety by dropping out of uni or not drop out and just push through?
thx sorry if doesn't make sense. 

Have you considered seeing a health professional, maybe your GP? You're presenting your issue as either 1. tough it through uni but be mentally ill or 2. not go to uni and have good mental health. Perhaps there's a way to deal with the feelings you're experiencing, get some motivation back and go to uni. My concern at the moment is that by dropping out you set yourself up for more stress in the future.

[K888]

Hi there

Sorry to hear that you're struggling with your mental health. I think the first thing you do, before you consider dropping out of uni or anything similar, is make an appointment to see your GP and have a chat with them. If they deem it appropriate, they can sort out a Mental Health Care Plan, and they can also put you in touch with other services to help you out. And, more than anything, they're a person who will listen to you.

If you don't have a GP, I think most unis offer a free health service to students so you can see a doctor. The uni health services can also probably put you in touch with counsellors and such through the uni - I only know for certain how things are at Monash as that's the uni I go to, but they offer a free counselling service to students.

There's many options you can take. You don't have to drop out to be able to sort out your mental health. If you feel like you're not ready for uni yet, then you can always defer your course and take a gap year - that way, you're still enrolled as a student and can resume your place in the course when you want to. But yeah, fixing your mental health and being at uni aren't mutually exclusive things

[EEEEEEP]

Hi- i know this sounds rather ridiculous but...i'm not sure how i'm gonna make it through my university course.
Without giving too much away, i'm doing law as an undergraduate degree at a "prestigious" university (first year).
The problem is that I don't really think I want to have a career at all- I'm completely unmotivated to go to university, make friends, be social and complete adult life (in other words, i'm having an existential crisis). I went to my first day today almost sick with nerves, made small talk with a bunch of strangers i probably will never see again and made awkward contact with people who bullied me at high school (yay!). Henceforth, I came home and had a massive panic attack, felt depressed and am writing this letter. So I have a dilemma; should I sort out my mental health problems and social anxiety by dropping out of uni or not drop out and just push through?
thx sorry if doesn't make sense. 

ello =)

At uni there's a saying.
Drop into help, before you drop out of uni =)

Talk to your uni counsellor about your issues. It's usually free of charge or heavily discounted! You can also speak to your GP and get 10 free sessions with a psychologist I think!

In the meanwhile,  take on less units, Say... 2 instead of 4.  It would be a lot less stress and loads for you. In order to get your mental health back up to speed, you don't totally need to quit uni 

[Poet]

I'm sorry to hear about your dilemma, pimpmyride. It's not at all ridiculous; what you feel is always valid.
Out of personal experience with this kind of problem, I agree with EEEEEEP. Cut down on your load, don't push yourself too hard, talk to someone about what you're experiencing, and find help to get you healing. But ask yourself this question:

Once you get better, what would your better you have wanted you to do?

It's a personal answer, but just think about it. It's ultimately your decision - don't stress. You'll get through it, no matter what decision you make.
Good luck, and get better soon. :-)

[slothpomba]

I won't say i have the same problem but i had a very similar problem.

The first few weeks are uni are full of awkward small-talk, you meet heaps of people you'll never see again, it happens. I was terrified of meeting people and talking to new people (strangers) and yet, i wanted friends so badly. The first few months (and i guess year-ish) of uni, i basically had no close friend groups or anything i saw outside of labs.

I mention the above for two reasons:

(1) It does get better, groups and classes get smaller. You get better at it. If you're thrown into a situation where you have to do something, the human brain, mind and body is incredibly adaptable. Think of all the great feats people have accomplished under pressure, you may have even noticed it yourself as well. Think oral presentations or other stressful situations in the past. It did suck but you got on with it, you actually did it. So, you can do this, you can do it again. Meeting strangers gets easier, talking to people gets easier, it all does with time and just being thrown into it and forced to do it.

Indeed, some psychological therapies for social anxiety are actually just gradually introducing you (/throwing you into) situations that are somewhat uncomfortable for you. You gradually get use to it and better at it, these things are backed by research.

(2) Good news, you can make your situation better, you have that power, it's a really cool super power. The downside is it requires effort and it'll be scary and suck at first. It's like if you have a cut and go to the hospital, it hurts to get the stitches but its ultimately to help you for the best. You can improve your situation greatly by just trying to put yourself out there as much as you can (even something is better than giving up and doing nothing). You can also join various clubs, at large universities, there are so many clubs you are bound to find something you are interested in. This gives you one easy way to meet people (you all have to be in the same room) and something to talk about already (what the club is about). It might be scary to go at first but really try promise yourself you'll at least try it a few times.

Another way is to try propose study groups to people you have met (or even just ask on your universities facebook/stalkerspace) you might meet friends that way as well.

Lastly, another great perk of university is free counselling, if you think you could even benefit from it a tiny bit, i'd take the appointment. If you dont like it, you never have to go back again, they wont force you. It very may well help you though. There doesn't need to be anything "wrong" with you to need to go either, we're all imperfect, counselling can help anyone improve on things they want to improve.

Too long? : Hang in there, it gets better. You have the super power to make your own situation a lot better with some small steps. At the very least, stick out uni for a few more weeks before you decide you can't go there at all. Look up the census date, you can drop out before this date without any financial penalties. Afterwards, you will owe a HECs debt for the units you have taken, there are procedures to get it cancelled though (for a good reason).

[pimpmyride]

thank you all so much!
i'm gonna see a GP to get referred-I already have a mental health plan because I've dealt with depression in the past before...I think it's back
i think i'll just have to push through uni for now...hopefully people aren't mean.
xxx

[The Special One]

Law school is a pain, I'm feeling it too. My uni showed us a slides first day in the course that mental health issues and the rate of  dropping  out is most prevalent   among Law and med students.

It does get better though work isn't like this. I suggest you deter and take a break a holiday somewhere with friends to relax and or your mind at ease. Or switch your studies to part time to lower the intensity:

You've done well to come this far don't look back now. But it doesn't mean you have to keep going like this there are ways to make what you're going through easier.