Hi,
-Serious Advice Needed-
I'm a domestic student looking for some advice, just recently started my masters in engineering at Unimelb and have fallen into a state of depression during this period. My years of social isolation and anxiety is finally starting to catch up with me, and I am feeling its effects even after the exams. There were many possible triggers for this such as huge increase in difficulty compared to my bachelors, extremely long periods of social isolation (studying) and sense of worthlessness. I'm terrified of my prospects after graduating, having no experience in my field and having mediocre grades. I was thinking to switching to RMIT next semester to complete my degree as I heard it was more practical and encourages you to take an internship during the degree. Also, all my friends have either graduated or found jobs related to their field, and this furthers amplifies my sense of worthlessness. I have been to counseling with the uni, and found it was somewhat helpful, but only for a short period of time before these feelings come back. This is not helped by the fact you have to book an appointment weeks in advance to see your regular counselor. I thought that maybe after exams, my anxiety and depression would be relieved, as I will have more time to catch up on my hobbies such as gaming and watching netflix. Sure it was fun, for a few days but i quickly became bored of it, and now just lying in bed pretending to be 'sleepy' when really I have no energy or motivation to do anything. I miss having close friends in high school, but over the years I have slowly began distancing myself from them and now have zero contact with them at all. I like the idea of having close friends, but absolutely terrified of socializing and meeting up. It just seems everyone is much further ahead of me in life, and I have yet to experience any feelings of success, happiness, socializing etc. Sorry if what I'm saying makes little sense, and all over the place but my thoughts are rather muddy and dull. What can I do to change my situation ? I am a loser in real life, and terrified of my future prospects as an 'engineer'.
Hey there, sorry to hear that things have been tough for you.
I'd recommend seeing a GP to discuss your concerns. They can give you a Care Plan that gives you 10 Medicare subsidised psych appointments. GPs are also great as someone to talk to that you can see often. You can either go to the uni medical clinic or find another practice if you don't have a GP already. Finding a good GP and good psych have been the best things I've ever done for my health.
Its a tough slog but I can promise you, things will get better. I think seeking professional advice is the best thing to do, but in the meantime things like:
- exercising (doesn't matter what you do - just something)
- theres a number of apps that help with mindfulness and such
- going to bed and getting up at consistent times
are things that might help.
You're welcome to PM me if you want to if you want to discuss things privately. And know that the whole ATAR Notes community will always support you, too <3