<p>I always have trouble starting homework and studying. But I usually finish just in time to prevent a bad grade. Some back ground info: I have a 3.9gpa at a community college under a math major and currently I have 2 A+s an A and a B+ going into the finals. Even though I'm doing well, I frequently get depressed about my performance and I can never concentrate in class. Last year, I had the lowest score on the physics lab final even though I aced the lecture. Because with lecture, I get to study the theory on my own but I can't with the lab which is all hands on.</p>
<p>And now that finals are approaching, I'm super nervous regardless of grades. For example, I need a 89% on my math final to get an A which is not that bad since I'm in the B+ to A- range. But somehow I'm just terrified by this obstacle(really a B seems like the end of the world). I got a 80% on my last exam and that caused me to shy away from studying for a week. Its weird. I think its because I'm a perfectionist that I'm procrastinating all the time. I'm too scared to make a mistake that I would rather not attempt the work( until right before midterms and finals out of nessicity). As a result, I probably study the least out of my classmates and yet I'm still stressed out most of the time. And When I do study, I take forever because I'm just to damn distracted or stressed out. So if I spend 4 hrs studying for a exam, I get maybe 1hr of quality study time out of it. Also I go into most of my exams thinking I'm going to fail but that never happens.</p>
<p>I was planning on spending the morning studying math but I just wasted most of the time daydreaming. Just right now I was in the process of writing my research paper and I took about 2 hours to write a single page double spaced. I wrote so slow because I'm just too nervous. I kept writing until I got to the point where I broke down crying. Right now, I can't get anything done. Its so frustrating. I'm just sitting here having repetitive thoughts about being a pathetic failure. </p>
<p>The thing is I might have a disorder. While I was young, they placed me in special ed classes due to dubious testing that I still don't believe in. Even if I have a LD, this is not something that I experienced before college. So I'm wondering if its just perfectionism thats holding me back or some weird form of ADHD or just emotional problems. Maybe its a combo. But I'm really tired of this. Its interfering with my daily life.</p>
<p>Even though what you're going through sounds rough, the issues you are describing are things you can get help for. I hope that the "dubious testing" and special ed experience you had when you were young won't put you off getting really effective help now. (As a young adult, you will be in a position to evaluate whether the people you work with are sensible, if what they're saying makes sense, and if the suggestions they make are right for you; you won't be stuck the way young kids are.) </p>
<p>I think there are probably two different places you could check out on your campus for assistance. The first would be the student counseling center. You could tell them that you'd like some help coping with the anxiety you've been feeling, which is interfering with your studies, and also with how distractable you've been. I'm thinking that if they've got a cognitive-behavioral person who could help you both with your feelings and with some coping techniques and strategies, that could be very helpful. The second place to go would be whatever your school calls the office that provides support for students with various challenges, including physical, LD's, emotional etc. If you make an appointment to talk with a counselor there and describe exactly what you've been going through, hopefully the counselor will be able to find you the right resources on campus, consider whether testing could be useful, and help you get more of a handle on what you've been going through.</p>
<p>Good luck with all this! Let us know what happens.</p>
<p>If you do a google search for "ADD Coaches," you will find people who specialize in helping people overcome problems like this. I would try to stick with a therapist or psychologist as they have state mandated training minimums and are licensed. Sometimes, the anxiety is what brings on the procrastination with or without an LD. Get tested and then get the help you need. You can change these patterns and lessen your anxiety through drugs, behavioral therapy, or a combination of both. Good luck.</p>
<p>i have problems kinda like yours. Reading your post i remember all the harsh feeling I've had and will have probably. when I was in middle school, I thought I was smart because I usually have lots of thoughts in my mind, later then I knew that's daydreaming.
Try your best and good luck.</p>
<p>Student 14X,
It's a shame you are such an excellent student but beat up on yourself. I agree with the others here that an investigation is in order. Maybe there is a reason you have low self-esteem and self-doubt, perhaps you have some obsessive/compulsive tendencies, and/or maybe you need medication. Someone like you should be basking in his success, not suffering. Do go and find out what is troubling you. And, by the way, you might try setting a timer for 20 minutes when you do school work. When the timer goes off, take a break then go back. This may make studying more tolerable, and it should keep your attention level at its max. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Did you ever find out what seemed to be the problem? I have pretty much the exact same study problems or whatever the problem may be! I'm a perfectionist but I won't do my work until right before it's due because I feel as though doing it last minute allows my work to be "the best it can be." If that makes sense, basically meaning I can't work on projects in advance because one....I will not be able to focus (procrastination kicks in & I know there is always tomorrow to finish it) and two...if I were to finish the project 1 week prior to the due date I would constantly think that it could be better & therefore never have the sense of accomplishing something in advance. I can't accept that it's done to the best of my ability (but when i do something right before it's due, i know that I had a limited amount of time to work on it so it IS to the best of my ability within the timespan. ) I think my perfectionism goes along with how self conscience I am & how I'm constantly wondering what people think of me. It's slowly gotten worse the farther along I get in college. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>you need to go to a psychologist and get tested for ADD Inattentive type. I had exactly your problems once I hit college, was always kind of out of it and daydreamy before, but managed fine in high school because I didn't need to study hardly at all. </p>
<p>Going to a psychologist and getting diagnosed was the best decision of my life. I am a thousand times happier and have real direction in my life. My psychologist said that it is soooooo common that ADD Inattentive type gets missed when you are a child, and it comes out as depression and anxiety once you hit college. </p>
<p>Obviously, I can't diagnose it for you, but there are tons of similarities to the way I felt before I was diagnosed, and I'd say if you don't have ADD then you have something similar that will be treatable!</p>
<p>Some good books to read would be Driven to Distraction & Delivered from Distraction by Edward Hallowell, Out of the Fog or You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Crazy or Stupid.</p>