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turquoisesea · Sep 27, 2010, 12:22 PM

Hey there.

It's so much easier to say something than to do it. I think in this case that's true for two reasons:
1. You have to break habits that have been formed for over 20 years
2. You don't have an exact plan of HOW to get your overall goal accomplished.

My advice is to break your goal into smaller chunks, and to make up some ideas of how you'll meet these smaller goals. Post the goals on PC, or talk them over with your therapist.

What are your habits?
One you mentioned was isolating yourself. What do you do that isolates? Let's say you tend to stick to your room a lot, schedule an hour at the coffee shop you like or another public place to study/whatever you want to do.
Do you eat lunch/other meals alone? Would you be ok eating with other people? If so, make yourself find someone either at the cafeteria area or by talking to someone and agreeing to meet up, and plan to do this about half of the week.

How can you try harder? I know last year you had trouble getting to class, is there any way before certain classes you could meet up with a classmate? Or, you could plan to be in the same area (as close as possible) to where you need to be early. For me, I know if I was in bed and not getting to class, if I was going to show up late I wouldn't at all for many reasons - I don't know if that's true with you. If it is, best to give you some cushion time you can use for study, or reading for fun.

Remember that old habits die hard. Just because you're having trouble fighting them doesn't mean you're not doing a good job of it. So keep your goals small and POSSIBLE. don't say "I'm going to become a social butterfly!" - you're not (and there's nothing wrong with that)! Make simple plans you feel you can follow, and as these small things become more comfortable expand them into larger plans =)

When you say you want a year to remember, not just counting down to your freedom, I had a thought. What do you do for FUN at uni? this year, I'm trying to fit in horseback riding (a club at school) into my schedule. I normally would say I have too little time for it. However, I'm trying to pick something that will be FUN and social that I can do once a week, even though it's extra time and money. Is there a hobby you like, especially one that has a club at your school? You could try joining the club and attending weekly meetings. Pick an activity you can do at LEAST every other week that will be something to look forward to. Schedule time off no matter how busy you are.

Please keep us posted

Take care, and good luck