Deferral for mental health? (severe anxiety- new onset)

[Oatmealraisin4me]

Hello everyone,

I am scheduled to start medical school in a few weeks. I've spent the last month or so excited, reasonably nervous with jitters about returning to school, but last week, something happened in my personal life that caused my mental health to take a severe nosedive.

I have never felt like this. I have developed severe anxiety that is borderline debilitating: I have trouble falling asleep, eating (I'm experiencing nausea), and even tasks as simple as choosing what to wear in the morning have become difficult. I want to clarify this is not stemming from a lack of desire to do things but rather my mind/heart are constantly racing and I am having trouble being "present" and focusing on things.

I have assigned tasks I need to take care of for school that I am having trouble completing because I can't focus. I am in the process of getting help, but I'm terrified about starting school in this state.

As I mentioned, I have never suffered from anxiety before, so this is also a foreign battle for me. I am worried that my current inability to focus on anything will make medical school near impossible. People close to me think I have the strength to manage both this and school, but I would hate for this to be the reason I fail school and never become a doctor (especially since I am positive this anxiety will go away once I get proper care/treatment).

I am already non-trad, and I hate that this would delay my schooling even more, but I honestly worry starting school like this is not giving myself my best chance at success. Also, knowing the stigma of mental health in medicine, I'm not even sure I could get a deferral for this? And if I can't, what should I do?

Anyone have any tips?

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[deleted804295]

Hello everyone,

I am scheduled to start medical school in a few weeks. I've spent the last month or so excited, reasonably nervous with jitters about returning to school, but last week, something happened in my personal life that caused my mental health to take a severe nosedive.

I have never felt like this. I have developed severe anxiety that is borderline debilitating: I have trouble falling asleep, eating (I'm experiencing nausea), and even tasks as simple as choosing what to wear in the morning have become difficult. I want to clarify this is not stemming from a lack of desire to do things but rather my mind/heart are constantly racing and I am having trouble being "present" and focusing on things.

I have assigned tasks I need to take care of for school that I am having trouble completing because I can't focus. I am in the process of getting help, but I'm terrified about starting school in this state.

As I mentioned, I have never suffered from anxiety before, so this is also a foreign battle for me. I am worried that my current inability to focus on anything will make medical school near impossible. People close to me think I have the strength to manage both this and school, but I would hate for this to be the reason I fail school and never become a doctor (especially since I am positive this anxiety will go away once I get proper care/treatment).

I am already non-trad, and I hate that this would delay my schooling even more, but I honestly worry starting school like this is not giving myself my best chance at success. Also, knowing the stigma of mental health in medicine, I'm not even sure I could get a deferral for this? And if I can't, what should I do?

Anyone have any tips?

Please defer. Being a med school drop out is 100x worse than starting a year late

 

[hang50]

i would highly recommend you talk with a licensed professional before making a decision.

 

[Goro]

i would highly recommend you talk with a licensed professional before making a decision.

Agree 100%. OP, in the worst case scenario, you lose a year. No big deal, you work until you're 66 to retire instead of age 65.

But get this under control.

 

[Oatmealraisin4me]

Agree 100%. OP, in the worst case scenario, you lose a year. No big deal, you work until you're 66 to retire instead of age 65.

But get this under control.

I have an appointment scheduled this week to do exactly this. In the event they recommend deferral, any advice on how to approach it with my school?

 

[Goro]

I have an appointment scheduled this week to do exactly this. In the event they recommend deferral, any advice on how to approach it with my school?

You talk to Student Services

 

[CaffineDoc24]

Hey OP, not sure what I can say other than you’re not alone. I am starting in a few weeks too. Although I have a history of depression, it has gotten worse recently because of having to leave home after coming back from college for my app year, which was kind of a tease. I don’t want to leave my aging parents, friends, LGBT friendly city, dog, and weather (SoCal). So much so it made me question if these sacrifices are even worth it, especially if I don’t end up here for residency.

It is really a terrible experience feeling like this a few weeks before school starts. I have thought about deferring to get myself together, but not sure if I can get one this late. And this is probably just delaying the inevitable anyways, in my case.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

OP as someone who struggles with similar troubles and just bit the bullet and never sought help. Don’t do it.

It has worked out for me, but it may not for you. It’s no real credit to anyone’s strength to tough it out, just stubbornness and a desire to not be the “dysfunctional” member of my family. That’s a personal issue of mine.

Get help. Take the year if needed.

Good luck OP.

 

[LunaOri]

Please also see a physician, in case this new problem is medical (thyroid, other endocrine dysfunction, cardiac arrhythmia).

 

[Mass Effect]

Don't start med school with an acute illness. It's not a good start. Defer due to medical reasons. You'll be much better off for it. You don't want to start and fail or start and have to take a leave (you will have to report a leave forever when applying for license or hospital credentials, but you never have to report a deferral). Get this taken care of and defer acceptance to next year.

 

[CanIBeAnonymous]

I just wanna say good luck OP. I know how scary it is to have something come out of nowhere.

I was supposed to apply the cycle before I did but a month after submitting my primary I had a severe panic attack out of nowhere (no history of anxiety whatsoever). The attack lasted an entire night and man I didnt actually recover for months, in a constant state of derealizaton/depersonalization/fear. It was -rough-. While I had time to pull out of the application cycle if i was in your shoes I'd have deferred as well. Definitely gave me some perspective on what a lot of people go through.

Hope it works out for you! Stuff like that still happens time from time now to me, but far less often and far more manageable. Hope you find similar success.

 

[FrankLake]

I had a similar issue and ended up requesting a deferral which was approved. Best decision I made.

 

[Osteosaur]

M1 is a big adjustment so do it at your best. I don't think your school would be heartless, and you have nothing to lose by asking.