Taking a year off for depression..how do I go about doing it?

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myronnie

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Hi, let me preface this by PLEASE be nice 😛 I'm a longtime SDN lurker.

I have severe depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Despite having these mental health issues I've been successful in my academic career but I have recently made a decision to take a year off including this semester (yes, I know it is very late in the semester..)
How would I go about doing this? I have all the paperwork of course..my college is very awesome and accessible with alot of information online.
I just don't know if I should email my teachers before hand and tell them the reason? It just seems a little bit weird to me...
I am going to email ALL of them tomorrow to set up times to meet with them. I just need some advice from people...I feel kind of lost.. :scared:

Thanks in advance 🙂

EDIT:
By the way I have a psychiatrist and I am trying to find a new therapist since moving back home. He has advised me that taking a year off would benefit me greatly and is willing to help me out with all the paperwork.
 
Hi, let me preface this by PLEASE be nice 😛 I'm a longtime SDN lurker.

I have severe depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Despite having these mental health issues I've been successful in my academic career but I have recently made a decision to take a year off including this semester (yes, I know it is very late in the semester..)
How would I go about doing this? I have all the paperwork of course..my college is very awesome and accessible with alot of information online.
I just don't know if I should email my teachers before hand and tell them the reason? It just seems a little bit weird to me...
I am going to email ALL of them tomorrow to set up times to meet with them. I just need some advice from people...I feel kind of lost.. :scared:

Thanks in advance 🙂

Start a good healthy diet and exercise routine.

Try paleo diet. Eat natural foods and workout.

I don't know how you approach the teachers, I wouldn't tell them if I didn't have to.
 
I know many people here are going to go with the "don't tell them if you don't have to" attitude towards mental illness. I'm always disappointed by this, as I am sure many wouldn't have the same attitudes towards more traditional 'physical illnesses.' Anyway, I think if you are able to be upfront about your health issues you should do it, (if you are afraid to be open about them and think doing so will cause you more anxiety then it might be best to say you are taking a medical leave when setting up meetings with your professors). I think if you are open about it your professors will be more able to accommodate you and help you through this time. As a side note and a soapbox issue, I think only by people being open about mental health issues will we ever be able to reduce the stigma attached to them. Good luck with everything!
 
A lot of colleges have a way to get a leave of absence for health reasons. I'd talk with your adviser/dean/whoever needs to approve that and see what the process is. Then, you can just tell your teachers that you're withdrawing for health reasons and give them as much information as you feel comfortable with.

Good luck with everything 🙂
 
MCAT Guy -
I take medicine for my issues and my doctor recently told me I need to up the medicine 🙁 ALOT of people have been telling me to try natural remedies..B-12 complex and theanine (but PM me if you want to talk about it because I know it's against the rules to discuss it in the thread)

So just tell them that I'm dropping out of your class for no reason? 😕
 
I did this. Do you have financial aid? You should find out if you'll need to pay any of it back if you don't finish the semester. I withdrew from school in the middle of the semester and had to pay almost half my Pell grant back before I could enroll again.

As far as notifying your professors, I wouldn't think that would be necessary unless you want to or you'll be taking those classes again with the same professors the next time you enroll. If so, you can make an appointment with them and tell them your plans.

Good luck.
 
I know many people here are going to go with the "don't tell them if you don't have to" attitude towards mental illness. I'm always disappointed by this, as I am sure many wouldn't have the same attitudes towards more traditional 'physical illnesses.' Anyway, I think if you are able to be upfront about your health issues you should do it, (if you are afraid to be open about them and think doing so will cause you more anxiety then it might be best to say you are taking a medical leave when setting up meetings with your professors). I think if you are open about it your professors will be more able to accommodate you and help you through this time. As a side note and a soapbox issue, I think only by people being open about mental health issues will we ever be able to reduce the stigma attached to them. Good luck with everything!

I'm of the opinion of "don't tell them if you don't have to" because there's really no point if you don't plan on taking classes with them again or getting an LOR. Professors have students dropping their classes all the time. I doubt they see it as a big deal if he just stops showing up.
 
MCAT Guy -
I take medicine for my issues and my doctor recently told me I need to up the medicine 🙁 ALOT of people have been telling me to try natural remedies..B-12 complex and theanine (but PM me if you want to talk about it because I know it's against the rules to discuss it in the thread)

So just tell them that I'm dropping out of your class for no reason? 😕
It's not that you tell them no reason, but it's not really their issue when you drop it. You need to clear it with the university, not the individual professors, which just leaves it up to you how much you want to share.
 
So just tell them that I'm dropping out of your class for no reason? 😕

Yeah, tell them what you are comfortable with- health reasons, family reasons, personal reasons, or give them the real reasons. Up to you. In reality, your individual profs have no right to know any of the details (you may only have to explain a little to the administration, but this might vary by school). It's your personal health and it's none of their business. you may have closer relationships with a few profs, so you may care to share more with them, but they're not your doctors, so you do NOT have to give each of them your health history.
Good luck.
 
A lot of colleges have a way to get a leave of absence for health reasons. I'd talk with your adviser/dean/whoever needs to approve that and see what the process is. Then, you can just tell your teachers that you're withdrawing for health reasons and give them as much information as you feel comfortable with.

Good luck with everything 🙂

This. Professors should recognize that taking a leave of absence is a personal (and legitimate) thing, especially because it usually requires a recommendation from a physician if it's for health reasons. You aren't obligated to tell them anything more than the fact that you're taking time off for health reasons. I doubt you'll be met with anything less than support and well wishes.
 
Yeah, it really shouldn't be an issue. Just make sure you do the leave of absence process and don't just stop showing up so that you don't have a semester full of F's. (I've heard stories of this happening because people didn't realize they needed to TELL the university they were no longer going..)
 
It's not that you tell them no reason, but it's not really their issue when you drop it. You need to clear it with the university, not the individual professors, which just leaves it up to you how much you want to share.

Ok, so I talked to this girl a week ago (who I think was a grad student..) and she said that you have to go to each professor and get their permission to drop the class. ALSO you have to go to each of the departments that you're taking a class in. I'm not sure if that's the truth. It would make much more sense to have one leave of absence form and then let the university distribute that to each of your teachers. Much more professional. Also, what if I was sick in the hospital?? I couldn't do all the legwork!

Yeah having a semester of F's would royally mess me up. ROYALLY.

I just have been waiting to get my doc's approval to go ahead and file the paper work with my university since I really need him to back my decision. But now that I have it, I'm going to go ahead.
 
I think if you're just dropping a class you do go to the professor at most places. But if you're flat out withdrawing from school, then it's usually a Dean or Adviser thing. Definitely double check this with your school, but it would be silly if they made you go to each professor to get the ok.
 
I think if you're just dropping a class you do go to the professor at most places. But if you're flat out withdrawing from school, then it's usually a Dean or Adviser thing. Definitely double check this with your school, but it would be silly if they made you go to each professor to get the ok.
But I'm not withdrawing from the school =/ I'm just takiing a year off...:scared:
I'm going to read up on the policies and call them tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help SDN!!!
 
Sorry, sorry, that's what I meant. In a sense you're just temporarily withdrawing. I just meant it was for more than one class. My bad.

Best of luck figuring it all out 🙂 Hopefully your school doesn't make it too much of a pain.
 
Sorry, sorry, that's what I meant. In a sense you're just temporarily withdrawing. I just meant it was for more than one class. My bad.

Best of luck figuring it all out 🙂 Hopefully your school doesn't make it too much of a pain.
well you're from tallahasse..do you have any experience with eh i'll PM you
 
I don't...I'm doing med school at FSU.
Are you at USF?
YEP. I am...I think the policies are pretty much the same since they are both florida state schools but they may be different for med school
 
Ok, so I talked to this girl a week ago (who I think was a grad student..) and she said that you have to go to each professor and get their permission to drop the class. ALSO you have to go to each of the departments that you're taking a class in. I'm not sure if that's the truth. It would make much more sense to have one leave of absence form and then let the university distribute that to each of your teachers. Much more professional. Also, what if I was sick in the hospital?? I couldn't do all the legwork!

Yeah having a semester of F's would royally mess me up. ROYALLY.

I just have been waiting to get my doc's approval to go ahead and file the paper work with my university since I really need him to back my decision. But now that I have it, I'm going to go ahead.

It's not really you asking the profs for permission to drop the class, it's just paperwork: To make sure everyone is on the same page, everything gets documented, and so that it gets processed correctly with the registrar. It basically goes down like this: "hey prof, I'm dropping your class." oh do you have the form? "sure, here ya go" alright, there ya go. "thanks" no prob.

EDIT: what i described is the process for dropping classes, in general, at many schools...but may not necessarily be the same for taking time off. make sure you go directly to the administration or the dean of 'whatever' to formally go through this process with you. the profs will get dealt with at the tail-end of the process, and they will just have to accept that you are withdrawing.
 
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Simple answer: Talk to the Counseling/ Health center at your school. They will most likely refer you to the Dean of whatever.

I took a leave of absence last semester for health reasons. I only had to disclose my information to the Dean and the health/counseling center.

i doubt you'd have to ask each teacher individually. that might be if you just want to simply drop the class and remain in the university. a leave of absence is different.

best wishes for you. I sincerely know how hard dealing with those issues are.
 
sammich said it.

One of the deans should usually hand a leave of absence thing. They shouldn't penalize you. Hopefully it will go off without a hitch.
 
sammich said it.

One of the deans should usually hand a leave of absence thing. They shouldn't penalize you. Hopefully it will go off without a hitch.

Exactly. My brother is currently taking the semester off. It's easy to just get a medical leave of absence with a note from a physician and come back ready to rock!:luck:
 
I will echo what others have said: do not elaborate on the reason for your illness. Mental illness is very taboo still and it will only serve to harm you if you disclose it. I wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery.
 
do what you got to do to get better but don't say the words "mental illness" to anybody. They will judge you buy that. When I think "mental" the first image that comes to my mind is a straight-jacket. I don't want a doctor in a straight-jacket.
 
do what you got to do to get better but don't say the words "mental illness" to anybody. They will judge you buy that. When I think "mental" the first image that comes to my mind is a straight-jacket. I don't want a doctor in a straight-jacket.

What, are you serious? At LEAST 25% of college students have reported serious mental health problems at some point and how many of those are in straight-jackets? You'd be surprised at how many people, doctors included, are having problems with their mental health. Pretty much everyone goes through this stuff at some time and purporting images of straight-jackets and white rooms does not help the issue at all. Take a look around you, I'm sure that almost everyone has been affected by mental illness in some way, directly or indirectly.

OP, like everyone else said, you don't have to mention it to your teachers. It's not a big deal, and best of luck to you!
 
Step 4. Please type a Personal Statement explaining why you are making this petition, and attach it to this form.

Step 5. Have your professors complete one Instructor’s Documentation Form for each of the classes listed above, and attach them to this form.


Step 7. Attach any additional documentation you feel may help strengthen your petition, such as work schedule conflicts or an ARC Medical Form. If there are personal
problems you wish to keep confidential, you may want to schedule an appointment with the USF Student Counseling Center, SVC2124, 813-974-9403.
Step 8. Deliver your petition to the ARC Representative in the college of your major, as listed below.

WHAT THE EFF. So I DO have to go to each of my professors and get them to fill out a form 😱
There's so many steps and runaround stuff..the personal statement but I have to legit compile all of this paperwork AND send it in a sealed envelope from my drs office.
 
Ok pretty much I'm going to email each of my prof's a nondescript email:

Hi, Professor xxxx, I am dropping your class for documented medical reasons and I am requesting that you fill out the required Instructor Documentation form for the ARC petition.
Based on which is more convenient for you, you can either mail the form to my house address or I can pick up the form on a day that is best for you.
Thankyou for your cooperation,
dsasdasdaksjdas

My info (U number etc)
 
I'd recommend actually showing up during their office hours with the form rather than having them do all of the work for you. The way you're doing it will probably get ignored/delayed and you don't want to end up not actually withdrawing and hurting your grade in the process. If they ask questions, I'm sure they'd understand. Dropping out because of depression isn't uncommon.
 
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