[mschu528]

Hello

I am a psychology student who has a diagnosis of Bipolar I with Psychotic Features and Social Phobia - often leading to agoraphobic tendencies. Just wondering if anyone else is a college student with agoraphobia/agoraphobic symptoms and what they do to be successful besides the obvious systematic desensitization, which I have been (more or less successfully) working on. Missing lectures has been catching up with me the past year...

Thanks

Michael

[lisasays]

I struggle getting out the house for any reason, including uni. It has impacted my attendence and studies. I'm afraid I've not found anything to help significantly. I do try make sure I have plenty of time to get ready, walk down etc. so I have less physical reasons to panic. Wish I had more to offer you, hopefully you get some good responses.

[anna342]

I don't think I was ever agoraphobic, but my depression and anxiety definatly impacted on my attendence. At one point I wasn't able to attend for a while and couldn't get myself to an exam due to the anxiety caused by a reaction to prozac, I thought the world was falling apart and I'd be hit by parked cars and trees would fall on me. I decided the only way I'd be able to complete my course was to be honest with the programme lead about the fact I was struggling with mental health problems. I also submitted evidence from my gp stating not exactly what my problems were, but how they would impact on my study. I also took a year out which was supported by more information from my GP.

I was worried at first about whether this would ruin my chances of working and completing my course as it was health care based, but being honest worked in my favour and I was able to complete and am now working in the same field in a hospital.

So really I would suggest finding out who is the person to speak to, someone who is in control of your course. You don't need to say exactly what is going on, but make them aware. It should be treated in a similar sense as how a learning disability would, so that they are there to help you find ways around your problems. They may be able to make sure you are given/have access to lecture notes. They should also make staff aware that you may need extra support in the sense that they can go through stuff with you alone if you need to. That shouldn't mean that they all have to know what is going on though.

I hope that makes some sense, good luck with your studies!

[hydbc]

Just a quick note to say how much I relate. I actually failed a class last semester and I'm trying real hard not to fail this one. One thing that has helped me in the past though is carpooling. Sometimes when there's someone waiting in your driveway to pick you up it's a little harder to stay indoors. Hope you get what you need.

[ZilchHour]

Well I have always a tendency not to show or share my work and stuff with others for the reason that they would criticize it... And have plenty of difficulty giving presentations, speeches et cetera, but these are not very severe as your case seems to be. Or may be that I am not fully aware of my problem and that is why is not a problem for me yet, and you are a psychology student, so you have diagnosed one for yourself, and I am an auditor so I could not phrase one out for me!

Anyway I wish you strngth and courage to fight away these attaks!!!

[mschu528]

Yes, I have Bipolar I, and the agoraphobia tends to hit in fall, with the mania (or mixed) episodes, strangely enough. Last fall I failed a course (last spring I got a 4.00 though), this fall I have already missed a lot of lectures, and three exams. Two exams were actually because of psychotic episodes related to the bipolar mania, but of course I was too paranoid to go see a Psych at first (and thus get a ticket from a doc to retake the exam). The third was because I started back on antipsychs and was too somnolent. Thanks all for your positive thoughts though. I will keep trying so long as I am alive.

[mschu528]

Also, thanks Anna342, what you say rings very true with me - I should just speak to my profs., after all they are all biology or psychology professors this semester (and thus should have at least a basic understanding of bipolar and social phobia disorders), the problem is gaining the courage to speak up about what my problems are. Which I am working on, slowly but surely -systematic desensitization, not immediate, after all. And yes, technically, here in the US at least, the ADA guarantees provisions for alternative testing/teaching for those with psychiatric disorders, but I've never signed up with Disability Services here at the uni (mainly because I was hypomanic when I came here and thought I would never need it).