Do you feel good right now, nontraditional students? Because it can make a HUGE difference.
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| Students of all ages CAN find help. |
And yes, most of my readers already know this. But sometimes it can be hard to realize when you have a problem. And even harder to do anything about it.
Many people may feel that if anyone finds out about a problem they have, they will be embarrassed and feel even worse.
Are you already in school? Many students don't take advantage of the wonderful medical care that they may have on campus. This care is personal and private, between the student and the doctor or practitioner. Check to see if you have a medical clinic where you attend. Often, the school clinic offer discounts for students too.
There is also help for many students and others at many local (community) health care clinics too. They may operate on a sliding fee scale, which means that the fees are lower for people who do not make much money.
So... don't give up if you have some personal problems, class or study problems, depression, sleep problems, or don't feel good about yourself for any reason. Make that call to a help line or to the school or community clinic. It can mean the difference between succeeding and not succeeding at school, and can help so much with daily life too.
Here are some online resources that may help you or another student you know.
Tell a friend about this article. It may make a lot of difference. You may even save their life.
Here are some links that may be helpful to you or your friend:
Yahoo Groups:
Bully Online - help with bullying
Avoidant - help with fear and anxiety, more
Codependant Group
The Depression and Anxiety Group
The Personality Disorders group
Other helpful links:
The Flylady group at Big Tent (for clutterbugs)
Support Groups at MDJunction
Find a local AA meeting
More groups at the Daily Strength Site
Please add your favorite help site as a comment. Thank you!
Join me on some other nontraditional student sites:
The Nontrad site and blog
Join Nontrads on Facebook
Nontrads on Yahoo
Nontrads on Twitter
The photo at the top of this blog posting is from the great resource, the Microsoft Office Clip Art pages.
I am a non-traditional student. I struggle every semester from stress associated with classloads, classwork, reading assignments and severe bipolar disorder. It would be nice to have one semester where I didn't have to fight off bipolar depression, but I know that's never going to happen. At least I can take advantage of the free counselors our university offers.
ReplyDeleteWow. I am so glad that you have free counselors where you are. Bipolar can be so tough to deal with, on top of all the pressure from school. Thank you for telling about it! (And I love your avatar!)
ReplyDeletePlease keep in touch and let me know how you are doing.
Great post, Betsyanne!!! Our university also offers free counseling (well, if you consider the 54 thousand dollar/year tuition "free" then...) and I was pleasantly surprised when I started to hear many students tell me that they visited the counseling center. Thankfully, this younger generation is not as turned off to getting the help they need as some earlier generations (say....my generationish). I wouldn't say that non-trads have MORE stress as students but they do have DIFFERENT stressors and we tend to blame ourselves more for the tension in our lives. It is very difficult when my kids tell me that I don't have time for them anymore because I choose to go to school and in a very real sense, they are right. It is my choice to go to school knowing the cost it has on my family. That being said, I am glad I have many people in my life I can turn to for support but I am realllly not looking forward to August 31st (first day of classes)!!!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you should totally get a tattoo! =)
I really enjoyed your article. As a non-traditional online student I sometimes procrastinate too much and avoid work. Other times I am completley on my game. I feel that outside stressors are what affects my procrastination. Sickness, my own, and my families has slowed me down. I have lupus and look to websites for support. Always remember that there are people out there that feel the same as you do. Most diseases now have a website with a support system people can email to. This is really helpful in knowing you are not alone.
ReplyDeleteNicki and Michelle: what great and thoughtful comments. I hope this posting and the comments everyone has made will help other students. Thank you!
ReplyDelete