Hey, I’m going back to college to socialize with people. The last time I tried college it was a disaster because of schizophrenia. I think I have things under control this time. Has anyone here with schizophrenia tried college before?
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I was a miserable college student with sza. It was way too much stress for me. (I went through five years of nursing school). And I wasn’t on any meds. But miraculously I got through it somehow.
It ended up being all for naught though because after ten years of practice, I lost my nursing license because of sza.
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I had a good job that I lost due to sz affective disorder and ocd.
I went back to college in my 30’s. Took two classes a semester for five years. Some classes I didn’t talk to anybody. Other classes I talked to several people or talked in groups. It was a good experience.
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I did it.
Was not easy, but I found some strength inside to get it over the line
The 4 years went quick. I didn’t really know many people
However, I have two diplomas on my wall, and a family picture with me wearing a stupid graduation costume - but you can see my family look proud and happy.
Given challenges, I did well.
I think if it wasn’t for SZ I’d have aced the courses, but illness affected my grades a few times
It can be done man
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Hi @YellowMountain, it’s great that you are going back to college. What are you majoring in? Is it a commuter school?
Going back to school is something I did right away. I had a year to recover, then re-enrolled. From start to finish, it took me six years to graduate. Was I a good college student then? Nah, not really. I’d like to revisit higher learning and study comm.
Hi I’m majoring in math I want to become a mathematician like the main character on A Beautiful Mind.
Math, cool. I studied economics as a science so I took a few higher-division math courses. I took linear algebra three times before I passed with a C. I wish I made better grades in my science courses and had more income potential.
I am fifty one and want to go to art school ( just down the road) and a community college , also just down the road. To work on my AA degree I need an American History class and some others. I will probably take the History class and nothing else, I heard it’s a hard class. Otherwise I’d stick to just two classes a semester. I originally went to college and the state university at nineteen and twenty two. I first got sick at seventeen. I hadn’t gone to highschool either. I managed by preparing for college reading detective novels. I am very proud that I made it to the university even though I had a relapse in my disease that made me fail out which is very sad because it would have been a fun experience. Nobody ever encouraged me so I didn’t try again but did have jobs for two years I really liked. Then I quit working after quitting my meds and relapsing again.
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I did an online bachelors with chronic psychosis. It’s possible! I had average grades but I don’t really care. I’m just happy that I finished it. I guess face-to-face classes are slightly different, but maybe you can make some friends.
i tried university twice and failed. i have about 50 some college credits. i never took any advanced classes that i wasn’t intelligent enough to be in, but all the classes i took with my disorganization and anxiety (not going to class) and negative symptoms causing me to wait to the last minute to do assignments, i found college wasnt for me. the only way i will go back to school is for some kind of trade. but if i was 18 again i would try to be a physical therapist.
I did my undergrad, but it took me 8 years, because I kept losing it, and not be able to function.
I managed to get through half of law school before I got too overwhelmed and had to quit.
I audited a graduate screenwriting class at AFI, and I was mostly successful at that, but probably only because it was one class, and in a subject I loved (though I struggled a bit during the second semester).
My grades were always good. I think I could have gotten through everything if I were able to take fewer classes at a time. I don’t know if they would have allowed that for me, even as a disability. Doesn’t matter – being a lawyer would be too much for me anyway.
It can be tough. Schizophrenics tend to understand things, rather than know of things. But the school system is designed to make people knowledgeable, rather than be intelligent.
I remember one physicist saying that if another Einstein appeared today, he, or she, would not stand a chance in today’s school system.
Today, it’s all about being knowledgeable, and not about being intelligent.
I couldn’t do it, at the time I was suffering from anxiety, depression and psychosis and it made it very difficult. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had to drop out. Then they put me on such a high dose of medication I felt like I couldn’t go back.
I have a year and a bit to get my degree if I ever decide to go back.
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Depens on how bad your positive, cognitive and negative symptoms are.
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Is there any way to do a self assessment? Because I want to be as accurate as possible about my level of positive, cognitive and negative symptoms.
Not really, if you feel you can try why not try.
I’m going to college and I’m in my junior year. It’s very difficult I already got my associates in psychology and now I’m getting my bachelors in urban planning. I take 200mg modafinil to help with my adhd and the sedation from zyprexa. You could do it but it won’t be easy.
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I used to think that school basically was just a trial designed to weed out szs through stress, need for organization, being in reality etc.
I went to college while I was schizophrenic. None of the other students knew I was schizophrenic. I did not graduate from College: however, I did learn a lot.