Feeling hopeless, please help :(

[heartonsleeve]

Hi All,

I've been kinda depressed lately...I am a junior (and supposed to be a senior after this summer) at a small satellite campus and I've done a lot of transfers and hit a lot of bumps in the road in my personal life throughout my undergraduate career.

I started off as a Biology major and changed it to Health Administration and thinking about changing it again. I just want to graduate already, I know that it would be better for me to take my time in undergraduate and play my cards wisely but I'm tired of being behind. I was thinking of changing it to a B.A in psychology because I would only have 10 classes left versus 14+ in other majors.

The problem is that I have only scratched the surface of my pre-dental reqs. I've taken:
Gen Chem 1 + lab
Biology 100
Calculus for life sciences-Received an F
Biology-Ecology-Received an F

Currently taking:
Biology 101 + lab
Gen Chem 2 + lab

I received the two F's while I was away at school and my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and another string of unfortunate events were occurring. I just got depressed and I know it's no excuse but that is why I failed in those 2 classes.

I've also had bad luck with advisors giving me bad advice and being very naive in the start of my undergraduate career so that did not really help my situation.

I have withdrawals on my record for biology and chemistry due to an advisors poor advice on taking it at a nearby school (it's a long story) and don't have much shadowing hours under my belt.

I just look like an awful candidate so far and I don't know if I have the strength to pick myself up and extend my undergraduate career to appear stronger.

Going to school at home has been a bad environment for me but I do not have the option of transferring out until graduate school. I'm trapped.

I'm sorry if this sounds like a sob story...I'm just in a bad place. This is the first thing in my life that I've decided I want to do for myself, following my passion without following what others want me to do. It's been a rocky road for me but I am determined to find a way out and at least try my best to get into Dental School.

I just don't know how to dig myself out of the hole I'm in. I don't have anyone I could go to for guidance and genuinely don't know what I should do. I would really appreciate any input or advice.

Please help me.

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[DancingBull]

Take care of your depression first. After you feel that you are ready again, dive back into school and give it your all. You can still very well become a great candidate if you show an upward trend with mostly A's from here on out.

 

[heartonsleeve]

Take care of your depression first. After you feel that you are ready again, dive back into school and give it your all. You can still very well become a great candidate if you show an upward trend with mostly A's from here on out.

Thank you for replying. The problem with that is that my depression is circumstantial. I am depressed because of my environment and situation. I have been to multiple psychologists/psychiatrists and have even been on medication. 2 of the psychiatrists were stumped as to why the anti-depressants were not working and the third just wanted to continuously up the doses and add more on. It's a vicious cycle.

When I feel trapped and can't figure out a solution or a game plan to my problems than I feel depressed. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury to take the time to heal or recover because I do not have the financial means to take time off, I am on a scholarship. I appreciate your input.

 

[#kalel]

Thank you for replying. The problem with that is that my depression is circumstantial. I am depressed because of my environment and situation. I have been to multiple psychologists/psychiatrists and have even been on medication. 2 of the psychiatrists were stumped as to why the anti-depressants were not working and the third just wanted to continuously up the doses and add more on. It's a vicious cycle.

When I feel trapped and can't figure out a solution or a game plan to my problems than I feel depressed. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury to take the time to heal or recover because I do not have the financial means to take time off, I am on a scholarship. I appreciate your input.

Whether or not your depression is circumstantial is irrelevant. Fact is you still have to deal with it first above everything else.

You can't change what happened, but you can change what happens from now on. No one on this forum can and should give you legitimate advice on your psychological condition, but they can and should give you an objective way you can pave your way back to success. And, as stated earlier by DancingBull, that advice is going to be unanimously "get back on your feet, go back to school, excel, then apply".

 

[heartonsleeve]

Okay....maybe I'm not expressing myself well. Just forget it. I just wanted to get some advice on whether or not I should crunch the classes in the 2 semesters and summer, take the DAT after I graduate, stay longer etc.

I didn't know that the fact I mentioned this situation depresses me would be the key focus. Whenever depression is mentioned that seems to be the only thing addressed and rightly so don't get me wrong, I just wanted some ideas.

 

[ziggy1104]

Sorry your having a rough time. I can relate, as I am getting through the roughest semester Ive experienced this far. Just personal stuff in top of heavy course load, financial, etc.

I cant say decisively what you should do. I, personally, recognized that I was making myself crazy trying to rush everything. I dropped a class and took some me time.

I now have a handle on things and am on track to finish with A's.

Recognizing what I needed to do to get back on track, then doing so, was key. You need to do the same for yourself. I know you said taking time off is not an option. Could you just take the summer off? Or maybe fill it with easy classes and give yourself a break? Maybe stepping back and giving yourself time to recharge could do some good.

Hope it works out for you good luck

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Hi All,

I've been kinda depressed lately...I am a junior (and supposed to be a senior after this summer) at a small satellite campus and I've done a lot of transfers and hit a lot of bumps in the road in my personal life throughout my undergraduate career.

I started off as a Biology major and changed it to Health Administration and thinking about changing it again. I just want to graduate already, I know that it would be better for me to take my time in undergraduate and play my cards wisely but I'm tired of being behind. I was thinking of changing it to a B.A in psychology because I would only have 10 classes left versus 14+ in other majors.

The problem is that I have only scratched the surface of my pre-dental reqs. I've taken:
Gen Chem 1 + lab
Biology 100
Calculus for life sciences-Received an F
Biology-Ecology-Received an F

Currently taking:
Biology 101 + lab
Gen Chem 2 + lab

I received the two F's while I was away at school and my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and another string of unfortunate events were occurring. I just got depressed and I know it's no excuse but that is why I failed in those 2 classes.

I've also had bad luck with advisors giving me bad advice and being very naive in the start of my undergraduate career so that did not really help my situation.

I have withdrawals on my record for biology and chemistry due to an advisors poor advice on taking it at a nearby school (it's a long story) and don't have much shadowing hours under my belt.

I just look like an awful candidate so far and I don't know if I have the strength to pick myself up and extend my undergraduate career to appear stronger.

Going to school at home has been a bad environment for me but I do not have the option of transferring out until graduate school. I'm trapped.

I'm sorry if this sounds like a sob story...I'm just in a bad place. This is the first thing in my life that I've decided I want to do for myself, following my passion without following what others want me to do. It's been a rocky road for me but I am determined to find a way out and at least try my best to get into Dental School.

I just don't know how to dig myself out of the hole I'm in. I don't have anyone I could go to for guidance and genuinely don't know what I should do. I would really appreciate any input or advice.

Please help me.

I'm sorry. I hope everything works out. Best of luck to you.

 

[Mad Jack]

Okay....maybe I'm not expressing myself well. Just forget it. I just wanted to get some advice on whether or not I should crunch the classes in the 2 semesters and summer, take the DAT after I graduate, stay longer etc.

I didn't know that the fact I mentioned this situation depresses me would be the key focus. Whenever depression is mentioned that seems to be the only thing addressed and rightly so don't get me wrong, I just wanted some ideas.

You fail because you are depressed about a life situation, then are upset that everyone insists you should focus on dealing with your depression? We're just trying to get you to refocus your priorities. What good is taking a full course load if you are in such a poor state of mind that you fail all of the courses you take? I know you want to take the quickest path possible, but remember, when it comes to college, what is done cannot simply be undone- if you tank your grades due to stress or depression or hating your living situation or whatever, your app is toast. So you need to get yourself together and take the most courses you can reasonably expect to succeed at while still maintaining a healthy state of mind. Perhaps lighten the load one semester, then take on a full courseload the next if you feel like you can tackle it, followed by some summer courses to finish everything up. Take an extra year to finish up if you have to, whatever it takes to make sure that those grades roll in as As to prove that you were a good student that is capable of success that was just going through a rough time. Good luck with everything.

 

[rnco]

Sounds like you don't want it bad enough. Sounds like it would be best to just give up.

 

[heartonsleeve]

You fail because you are depressed about a life situation, then are upset that everyone insists you should focus on dealing with your depression? We're just trying to get you to refocus your priorities. What good is taking a full course load if you are in such a poor state of mind that you fail all of the courses you take? I know you want to take the quickest path possible, but remember, when it comes to college, what is done cannot simply be undone- if you tank your grades due to stress or depression or hating your living situation or whatever, your app is toast. So you need to get yourself together and take the most courses you can reasonably expect to succeed at while still maintaining a healthy state of mind. Perhaps lighten the load one semester, then take on a full courseload the next if you feel like you can tackle it, followed by some summer courses to finish everything up. Take an extra year to finish up if you have to, whatever it takes to make sure that those grades roll in as As to prove that you were a good student that is capable of success that was just going through a rough time. Good luck with everything.

Thankfully right now I am doing well in classes. I was not upset just unsure if I was expressing myself well enough. Thanks for your input.

 

[heartonsleeve]

Sounds like you don't want it bad enough. Sounds like it would be best to just give up.

Please stop talking, do me a favor and don't post to me anymore, thanks.

 

[heartonsleeve]

Sorry your having a rough time. I can relate, as I am getting through the roughest semester Ive experienced this far. Just personal stuff in top of heavy course load, financial, etc.

I cant say decisively what you should do. I, personally, recognized that I was making myself crazy trying to rush everything. I dropped a class and took some me time.

I now have a handle on things and am on track to finish with A's.

Recognizing what I needed to do to get back on track, then doing so, was key. You need to do the same for yourself. I know you said taking time off is not an option. Could you just take the summer off? Or maybe fill it with easy classes and give yourself a break? Maybe stepping back and giving yourself time to recharge could do some good.

Hope it works out for you good luck

I'm sorry that you are having a rough semester and so happy to hear that you now have a handle of things. I'm going to try to lighten my course load next semester instead of rushing and piling it on, thank you.

 

[heartonsleeve]

I'm sorry. I hope everything works out. Best of luck to you.

Thank you dentalguy and thank you for your earlier words of encouragement. I am going to try to take all of the advice received in this forum and incorporate it in my life.

 

[steiner2]

Okay....maybe I'm not expressing myself well. Just forget it. I just wanted to get some advice on whether or not I should crunch the classes in the 2 semesters and summer, take the DAT after I graduate, stay longer etc.

I didn't know that the fact I mentioned this situation depresses me would be the key focus. Whenever depression is mentioned that seems to be the only thing addressed and rightly so don't get me wrong, I just wanted some ideas.

What do you expect when you tell them you are depressed? What you need is a swift kick in the rear end and someone to tell you to snap out of it. So you made some mistakes. You can either get up, dust yourself off and try again, or sit there and cry. I never had the luxury of the latter. I didnt have a father or role model to tell me how to get through school either. I did have a personal drive to always get up when I fall down. Who doesnt get depressed when life sucks? What makes us different is that we don't quit and snap out of it. Meds arent the answer. It's like the DAT. I knew guys taking adderall to make them study. I spent the money on coffee at Starbucks and sheer will power to force myself to sit and concentrate. In the end, I still scored higher than them anyway. Make a plan on how to attack your weaknesses, retake classes you screwed up on, take other classes to show you can do it with A's! And then kill the DAT. Get out of biology as a major. Obviously, you suck at it. Choose an easier major and do well in pre-reqs. College advisors are like high school counselors. They are there to be a nuisance and tell you you that can't do this, and you can't do that.

Start making friends who study hard and are overachievers. If you have friends who are under-achievers, dump them. You need to surround yourself with people who care about their grades and want to study together to do well. You need people who will pull you up, not pull you down.

 

[dieanotherday]

maybe you need to move on and get away from this undergrad business and try something new, get a job, pay back some loans and just chill out for awhile
a leave of absence is not hard to get approved, you need to get your head in the right place
when you're good and ready say after a quarter or semester of a break off you can come back and go harder than you ever did before
dont just trudge on in the emotional state that youre in now, you will not be doing your gpa any good and you dont want to HAVE to do a postbac and masters because of it later

 

[Doctorman45342]

You my friend, have been knocked down by life. Here is your time to make a huge decision; do you stay down, or get back up and keep moving?
I understand things are extremely difficult for you and you are becoming depressed but you have to CHOOSE to get back up and start fighting again. Anti-depressants are not going to cure your depression, honestly. You are the only one who can cure it. Find out what exactly you want, maybe even take some time off, find someone to support you, and get working! You're only young once!

 

[Impulse155]

Hi All,

I've been kinda depressed lately...I am a junior (and supposed to be a senior after this summer) at a small satellite campus and I've done a lot of transfers and hit a lot of bumps in the road in my personal life throughout my undergraduate career.

I started off as a Biology major and changed it to Health Administration and thinking about changing it again. I just want to graduate already, I know that it would be better for me to take my time in undergraduate and play my cards wisely but I'm tired of being behind. I was thinking of changing it to a B.A in psychology because I would only have 10 classes left versus 14+ in other majors.

The problem is that I have only scratched the surface of my pre-dental reqs. I've taken:
Gen Chem 1 + lab
Biology 100
Calculus for life sciences-Received an F
Biology-Ecology-Received an F

Currently taking:
Biology 101 + lab
Gen Chem 2 + lab

I received the two F's while I was away at school and my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and another string of unfortunate events were occurring. I just got depressed and I know it's no excuse but that is why I failed in those 2 classes.

I've also had bad luck with advisors giving me bad advice and being very naive in the start of my undergraduate career so that did not really help my situation.

I have withdrawals on my record for biology and chemistry due to an advisors poor advice on taking it at a nearby school (it's a long story) and don't have much shadowing hours under my belt.

I just look like an awful candidate so far and I don't know if I have the strength to pick myself up and extend my undergraduate career to appear stronger.

Going to school at home has been a bad environment for me but I do not have the option of transferring out until graduate school. I'm trapped.

I'm sorry if this sounds like a sob story...I'm just in a bad place. This is the first thing in my life that I've decided I want to do for myself, following my passion without following what others want me to do. It's been a rocky road for me but I am determined to find a way out and at least try my best to get into Dental School.

I just don't know how to dig myself out of the hole I'm in. I don't have anyone I could go to for guidance and genuinely don't know what I should do. I would really appreciate any input or advice.

Please help me.

Graduate with the degree you want. If you want to get it over with I strongly suggest a bio degree.
Bust your ass.
Nail the DAT.
You might have to do a masters

 

[heartonsleeve]

Thank you everyone. I was having a bad day that day and I guess I let it get the best of me. You are all right, I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and just get in there and do my best. Even though I feel stupid for posting when I was in such a hopeless mood, I'm happy I did because I got to hear a lot of inspirational stories. Thanks again.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Thank you everyone. I was having a bad day that day and I guess I let it get the best of me. You are all right, I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and just get in there and do my best. Even though I feel stupid for posting when I was in such a hopeless mood, I'm happy I did because I got to hear a lot of inspirational stories. Thanks again.

Don't feel stupid. Some people are more empathetic to those types of feelings than others. I'm glad you're doing better. Keep you head up and the eye on the prize.

 

[MBlue16]

Hey, man... just wanna say that I was in a similar situation in the past too. It felt horrible and I felt trapped in a limbo.

I just want to give you a suggestion: work out.

I know it may feel unrelated and might seem that it won't help. But, trust me. It saved my life. I was doing things horribly at work and school at that time, but going out there, getting some sunlight, and breaking sweat made me feel good.

I understand that you are not seeking advice for your depression. But, as what others said, taking care of your depression is probably the most important thing at this point. Everything else will fall into places.

Good luck to you, keep your head up, buddy!

 

[Demilaax]

I was in a very similar situation you are in and was hit by serious depression...

by the way, never MENTION depression to your adviser, school or in ur personal statement. Many people take it negatively and start judging you. Instead, use the word challenge or w/e u can think of. I was lucky enough to be given adderal, that **** really helped me get out of a hole and be able to graduate. It even helped with my depression and things that were going on in my life.