Studying

[ABadPerson]

I'm in a good university and always tried to keep my grades high out of obligation as well as pure routine, especially as it helped keeping my mind off things, but recently I have been far more unstable than I've used to be.

With no real set CTB date yet I would rather keep those grades up, and the fact I've tied most of my already diminutive self-worth onto it doesn't really help either but I've been so out of it that even doing nothing makes me spiral into a mess.

The anti-depressants haven't been helping either despite being on Sertraline, which was why I was so inclined to be on it originally.

Does anyone have any suggestions? It doesn't matter if one's in education or not, any help will do!

 

[martyrdom]

In regards to studying, I suggest using something like Anki perhaps. It's a flashcard program where you add your own flashcards, you can add images and audio to them as well. Doing maybe 5 minutes of that each day, or even less, might be a little more manageable than studying out of a book. Perhaps also watching videos instead of reading?

For your medicine, it might be worthwhile to switch to a different antidepressant if this one is not helping you. It also depends on how long you have been on it though. It can take a bit of time to find the right one, but I know quite a few people who were considerably helped by it.

Depending on your university, you will likely also have options to ask for extensions and things like that.

 

[Irisse]

Similar situation here. Maybe set up a reward system, when you pass/get a good grade, you could reward yourself with whatever makes you happy. I also recommend everything said in the post above.

 

[ABadPerson]

In regards to studying, I suggest using something like Anki perhaps. It's a flashcard program where you add your own flashcards, you can add images and audio to them as well. Doing maybe 5 minutes of that each day, or even less, might be a little more manageable than studying out of a book. Perhaps also watching videos instead of reading?

For your medicine, it might be worthwhile to switch to a different antidepressant if this one is not helping you. It also depends on how long you have been on it though. It can take a bit of time to find the right one, but I know quite a few people who were considerably helped by it.

Depending on your university, you will likely also have options to ask for extensions and things like that.

Similar situation here. Maybe set up a reward system, when you pass/get a good grade, you could reward yourself with whatever makes you happy. I also recommend everything said in the post above.

Thank you both, I just got Anki as it does seem genuinely useful in the way I need it to be; I'll likely try to figure out some 'reward' I can give myself after a bit I'm just not sure what.

I'll try to talk about the medication on the next appointment to see if there's a need to switch!

 

[-Link-]

Some solid suggestions in here already.

A couple other things come to mind on medication.

Could try augmenting sertraline with something like bupropion (Wellbutrin).

And I would definitely get screened for ADHD, assuming you haven't been already, especially as you're asking this in the context of difficulty studying.

Regardless of whether you've ADHD, you could try adding a stimulant either way (eg. Ritalin), although absent an ADHD diagnosis, that might require a relatively open-minded doctor or trialling other options first, like a different SSRI or an antipsychotic (eg. Seroquel).

 

[Forever Sleep]

Not sure if this will be helpful but, I tend to have in my mind, a few 'must do's' each day. Realistic aims for a minimal amount of achievements- that I need to try and get done- no matter what. I try to keep the list short and reasonable.

Have you considered why you are finding it a struggle now? Physical tiredness? Is it feeling overwhelming? Is it harder to understand or, becoming boring? I think maybe if you focus on what the specific issue is, you might be able to tackle it better.

Whether your diet and lifestyle needs tweaking. Whether you are taking on too much and need to break the workload down. Whether you need to find a way to feel enthusiastic about the subject again etc. I hope it becomes easier.