Uni makes me feel helpless

I wonder if your body is telling you to have a bit of a break and come back to it later? @cozy_726

I recognise many others have been through something similar where there is this mental 'block' so to speak.

@Birdofparadise8 @creative_writer are also at uni and may have some strategies to share.

Hey @cozy_726 I am so sorry you are feeling like this. I often do too when doing Uni assignments. If this is worth 40% of your grade, then how are you going in the other 60%? I try to make the little quizzes count and if I can get mostly HD in those then it takes the pressure off the assignments.

As they say "Ps still get degrees" so don't sweat the seemingly impossible and aim to do really well in what you can control. Annoy your tutors until they answer your questions. Have a coffee, chat to a friend and then get back to it. I have had a sh*^t of a day and got no Uni work done but I'll try again tomorrow.

What are you studying?

Tw self harm

Feeling like a failure right now

When I look at the work and all that on my screen, I look to my arm and just get the strong urge to self harm. I guess as a way to punish myself. Makes me feel a bit idk

But continuing to be unable to do the tasks just makes me feel worse and worse.

Hey @cozy_726 ,

Sounds tough. Yet I can totally relate.

I found myself in a similar place not so long ago. Self-harm became a go-to and an addiction. The more I tried to not do it, the more I turned to it.

Ultimately, it was working with the emotions and pain driving the self-harm as opposed to focusing only on the self-harm and expecting it to disappear.

Do you have someone you can talk to to work through what's driving the self-harm?

You are not alone. It's a path many have been on.

Here for you.

I think its just the anxiety and stress of failure, like feeling helpless, useless and a burden.

I've just submitted a request to see someone at my uni that deals in mental health, so hopefully I'll be able to get help soon.

Tw self harm, suicide

Suicide part: Im okay

After speaking with my dad to ask to pray, I spoke to him about what was going on, and he just said if you get pass its a pass

Ended up feeling like a total failure for not being able to answer the questions despite the amount of work and effort I put in, became instantly suicidal and just had an emotional breakdown, ended up self harming to punish myself for being a failure and everything

This is my only way of coping at the moment to both get myself under control and make sure I do more uni work.

That sounds so hard @cozy_726 .

Then again, is a pass all you need?

Also, do you think you are simply burnout and perhaps a break for a semester may help?

I found a lot of people who go straight from school to uni can feel burnout quite quickly and realise that what they are studying is not really what they want to do in the future.

Not sure if you fit this category.

I had so many friends finish school and go into medicine... they all ended up finishing the degree but don't do anything in the industry of health.... it was more a 'dream' they had, but not really what they wanted...

Hope you find what works for you. Allow yourself to feel. Give yourself the permission to fall and learn from it.

We are here to help you get up again. That is where the strength shines.