Posted by Victoria on April 2, 1999, at 18:44:07
In reply to grad school and depression, posted by mila on April 2, 1999, at 9:01:44
Grad school was the best time of my life. True, the biological part of my depression wasn't as bad then as it's gotten over the years since, but for me it was a stimulating, supportive environment that did wonders for my self-esteem. I was lucky in the program I went to; grad school can be a hellishly pressured time. At least in my field, a certain amount of eccentricity is perfectly acceptable, so I felt much freer to be myself than I have in more conventional and structured environments. But based on my experience, I'd say that if you can hold down a full-time job, you can manage grad school, from the practical standpoint . But if I were contemplating starting now, I'd try to get on the right medications (good AD response and few side effects) before I started, so that it could be as enjoyable as possible. If you do go without that and find it's too much, remember that you can probably take a leave of absence if things get too much, and it's much better to do that than to struggle along and get into academic trouble. But that's the worst case scenario. I hope it will go well and that you have as great an experience as I did. Good luck!
> To those of you who have mental illness and are in grad school -how the hell do you do it?
> I was just accepted into grad school and now i am wracking my brains about whether to go or not. i really want to go, but I tend to lose nearly 2 weeks every month to depression and anxiety. How do you cope and keep up? (I'll also have to lead an undergraduate class - anyone in this situation?)
poster:Victoria
thread:4323
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990401/msgs/4344.html