[shoez]

Im in college right now, and ..Ive always loved psychology...Im an english major, but I hate it and Ive been debating being a psych major forever.... but

sometimes I feel like with all my *psych* problems...would I even be good for a psych major? I mean..is it like contradictory?

I see a T at college, and I worry about her asking me my major....I feel like if I tell her I wana b a psych major shell laugh at me or think ...its crazy.

idk :\ anyu thoughts? experiences?

[pegasus]

Follow your dream.

[puzzclar]

Take it from me.... I'm a Psych major, and I lOVE IT!!!!! I have MDD, and have been suicidal, and psychosis. For me, it helps me to see things from two different perspectives, and people around us will benifit, because we have been through it...

It's possible, and it's so much fun to tell people... it makes some of them laugh... but there are two reasons to go into Psychology. One, for yourself, and Two to help others. If you have both, you'll have fun with it.

[Secretum]

If you want to major in psych, major in psych. Trust me, you would be surprised how many psych majors (and MH professionals!) struggle with mental illness! I'm bipolar, and I'm a proud psych major who wants to be a psychiatrist.

Also, there is much more to psychology than clinical psych. If you find that learning about MH disorders is too triggering for you, you can take classes on other fascinating psych topics, like cognitive, social, or developmental psychology.

[Confusedinomicon]

I'm a psych major who has basically lived at the campus health center for periods of time.

Secretum is right though! A lot of psychology does NOT deal with abnormal psych.

[Switch]

Go for it!!

I can't imagine not doing something I want to do! Go for, and give it your all! I don't think anyone will think you're crazy for wanting to be a psych major. It makes total sense!

Go where you're heart takes you and you will find something you love.

[Oxidopamine]

I'm a psych major (along with major biology and minor soc). There are numerous fields of study for psychology, anything from developmental to abnormal to therapeutic to forensic to neuro/biological and plenty others. My focus in psychology is purely in neuroscience/neuropsychology, that is, I still study developmental, abnormal and so forth through biological perspective, although there is always recognition of environmental factors.

It is not contradictory to be a psych major if you have a mental illness. You'll learn of mental illnesses, some of which you have, many of which you don't, and your first-hand experience will allow you to understand the content from more angles than students who don't have a mental illness. Chances are though, there will be students in the class who also have a mental illness, maybe even the same as you have. If I were in your shoes and T laughed, I would take it as encouragement to continue the psych major to show T you're stronger than even he/she thought and T knows you quite well.

In short, it's only an uphill battle if that is how you view it.

[DenisDonnacha]

do what feels like it'll be best for you.
Good luck with what ever choice you make.

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by shoez

Im in college right now, and ..Ive always loved psychology...Im an english major, but I hate it and Ive been debating being a psych major forever.... but

sometimes I feel like with all my *psych* problems...would I even be good for a psych major? I mean..is it like contradictory?

I see a T at college, and I worry about her asking me my major....I feel like if I tell her I wana b a psych major shell laugh at me or think ...its crazy.

idk :\ anyu thoughts? experiences?

I feel the same exact way. I'm really into Psychology. But most of the time I feel like I don't have what it takes to be a good psychologist. Only because I have psychological problems. Other times (when I'm daydreaming) I feel like I could be this awesome psychologist even though I have problems of my own. And I'd be known for it and be respected by a lot of people. But then again, I'm always daydreaming when I think this. This probably wasn't any help to you at all. Anyway, I think you should go for it. And if it doesn't work out, at least you tried.

[nicoleflynn]

I am a social work/counseling major at age 65 because I wrote about my life (no mental illness, but what I have managed to overcome....abuse, poverty, molestation, etc)...Most everyone on the planet has issues/stuff...

That is why there is a term for mental health professionals who had/have issues or mental health problems: Wounded Healers....I would rather hear from someone who has lived those things, than from a professional who just read books on the subjects. "don;t take me where you haven't been."

[Perna]

Undergraduate psychology isn't really about mental health as much as it is about science; how sight works (or doesn't :-) chemistry; dogs, rats, sharks, and pigeons; experiments/statistics, etc. One of my best friends at the time was going to be a clinical psychologist but changed her major to social work instead because of all the science, it wasn't her thing. She became a psychiatric social worker for her State instead of a psychologist.

I would certainly take several psychology courses (start with it as your minor?) and see if that was what I wanted. I would also make sure I took some upper class English courses before I switched so I didn't miss out on anything; the first 4-5 semesters of college were pretty "boring" and generic for me; it took until my junior year before I knew what I thought I really wanted at that time.