stressed out

LegacyUser

I am a second year NUI student and I am finding it really hard to cope at the moment. I have two essays to hand in for Monday. One is already late and I'm still trying to do it! Its not that it’s that difficult it’s just no matter how hard I try to concentrate and just get down to it the more my mind begins to race.
I thought I’d be ok if I just got them out of the way but I cant seem to focus at all. This isn’t like me I’m usually really easygoing and usually work best under pressure! After these two assignments I have two more essays. And then exams in early may.
This usually wouldn’t bother me but now I can’t even think straight any more. I’m not sleeping right because I keep on waking up every hour worrying about deadlines,exams and everything else that comes to mind!
At this point I’m even kind of scared to look at any of the essays again, its getting ridiculous the longer I leave it the more stressed I get and the more stressed I get the more I cant do it!
This started about a month ago when I got a little behind (no big deal) and had a few relationship problems (all sorted now, even though I’m still kind of worrying about that too!) Its getting worse and worse as time goes by. It never leaves my mind (the panic/ stress, that is) and I cant relax.
Has anyone any experience of this? Should I see my GP or something?

Libertine07

To be honest it wouldn't hurt to see your GP. Do you get panic attacks?

When I was in my final year at college I went through the same kind of thing. There was one particular assignment that I just could not focus on, no matter how hard I tried. And the more frustrated I got the more worked up and upset I got and it all spiralled. I was also hitting a brick wall with my dissertation which just added to the pressure. I was constantly panicing and crying all the time, which obviously meant no work was getting done. I ended up going to my GP who basically said I'd had a meltdown and gave me a sick cert for a week, which gave me a little bit of leeway with deadlines. During the week off I just spent the first few days relaxing and not even thinking about college, and then gradually I got back into my work and got everything done.

You just need to give yourself a little rest, recharge your battries and get your focus back. This will probably only take a few days and you'll be right as rain before long. Also explain whats happening to some friends in college that you can trust, as my friends really helped me to get on top of my work again.

At the time I couldn't understand what was wrong, I used to be very sceptical about panic attacks and that kind of thing, and I didnt believe there was anything really wrong with me. But it is a genuine problem so if you're having trouble, see your GP and get a sick cert to buy you a bit of time to recover.

LegacyUser

'Thanks for the advice Libertine. That sounds very like what I'm going through. It’s good to know I’m not being entirely stupid or crazy. I used to be of the belief that someone in my kind of situation was just being silly so I was too embarrassed to admit it to myself when it started.

I only had one panic attack but I can feel one coming on every time I try to get something done or concentrate.

I had a chat with my mam so I'm going to stay home and go to the doctor tomorrow. The only thing is the longer I wait to get things done the more the workload piles up. Hopefully they will give me some leeway with deadlines and such.'

Rogueish

Look first thing you need to do before you go to the GP is speak to your individual lecturer(s). Let them know how you are feeling and see what kind of a compromise you can come to. Then depending on how you are feeling, go to your GP.

Remember your lecturers were all students at one stage too and if you have been a fairly diligent student up until now they will be able to extend deadlines and give you some leeway. Having a word with your class tutor can also help.

Best of luck with your exams.