The fall semester started this past week. I have had three classes so far. I have another class Tuesday night, and I’m meeting with my internship adviser on Wednesday. I’m dealing OK with the stress. So far nothing I can’t handle. But I can’t help but think I’m just propped up by the medication that I’m taking. I’m on a heavy load of meds, and when I try to cut back on my own, by stopping some or all of them, I get very ill and I end up in the hospital. I feel like I’m cheating my way through undergrad because of all the meds I take.
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Please do not feel like you are cheating. Everyone around you is able to do this without medication, you’re doing it so you can function like them. It’s an even playing field in that case. You have to do whatever it takes to get yourself better. Congrats on the school work! I don’t think I will be going to college…
I’m sorry you feel like that… I wish you didn’t. Your NOT cheating.
that would be like me telling my Dad he’s cheating in a foot race because of the heart meds he has to take to keep his heart working…
You need your meds to keep your head working.
Your not cheating at all… Your getting through your day the best you can.
I do get weary of taking my meds every day, every day, every day… but I’m so happy to have some stability.
Now if your meds made you a super genius and gave you x-ray vision then that might be cheating… but no one would know… 
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I am currently in college as well, and I take meds. I don’t feel like I’m cheating at all, and I wish you didn’t either. It’s just what we need to cope. The other students don’t need meds. In fact, even with the meds, I still have symptoms, and still find it difficult to do well in school.
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You’re not cheating. Not anymore than anyone else who takes medication for any illness.Do you think everybody in the world who takes medication for an illness or disease is cheating? It’s like saying someone who takes heart medication is cheating.
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You’re putting yourself on an equal level with everybody else. Maybe higher if you’re really talented - not because of the medicines.
You know what to expect if you leave them off.
Although someone posted here once that they were hypomanic their last two years of college + that made them super-productive
Take it whatever the case.
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I take my meds exactly as prescribed, I never risk being less sedated for more productivity. Ok well I did take xanax only twice a day when I was powerlifting. But its prescribed “2-3 times a day, as needed” which is silly because its addictive as hell and once you are on it you will have dangerous withdrawal if you cold turkey it.
Glad to hear it’s all good so far. Mine is looking manageable but the reading is keeping me occupied fairly well and the papers are going to challenge me later on in the semester, which is good, I need to be mentally exercised as long as it’s not crap like foreign languages that I will never use.
So are you on an antidepressant or something? Usually antipsychotics make people rather sedated, mine do. I drink a lot of caffeine. A lot.
I find that setting time aside every night to watch stupid crap or listen to music in bed keeps me from losing my ■■■■. Like even when I am working pretty hard, I just set aside time to watch stupid crap every night. Being social can take up my free time too, I also exercise but I force myself to do that, I mean I don’t feel like I am myself unless I am pretty muscular, so I make time for working out a few times a week.
I take an antidepressant, antipsychotic, antianxiety, mood stabilizer, and another couple of pills to combat side effects. Sometimes I feel like I’m a zombie, just going through the motions, but days like today I feel ready to conquer the world. I’m ready to start an assignment that isn’t due till October the 1st. My hesitation to do so however stems from the fact that if I start it and it’s too hard, I don’t want to lose my cool and meltdown.
Is there a way to maybe just check out the steps involved in the assignment… Maybe don’t do a full on tackle but do an over view… what needs to happen to get this done in little steps…
what are the elements… reading… review… constructing an item or paper… conclusion
It’s how I get through an assignment… I break it down
component 1… reading
component 2… research or interview… (if there is any)
Component 3… writing a paper so many pages long
component 4… review and prof read
That’s how I break down an assignment so I don’t feel like I’m facing the tidal wave.
I have to write an abstract. It’s due the first of October and I want to get it done early. My past academic history shows that I never do anything early, I’ll be up at 5am writing a paper due at 8am… I want to change that and I feel like I can do something about it this semester. So I will use your tools, but switch step 1 & 2 because of the task. I’ll research for an article, find an article, read the article, take notes, and that’s all I want to accomplish today for that class. Then I’d like to finish a reading assignment for another class, possibly another two classes.
I slept about half the day away, but I was able to find an article to write an abstract for, read it, and take notes on it. I did some reading for a class I have on Thursday, but I can always do that during the week. Starting early like this allows me to break it down like you said, @SurprisedJ. 
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