<p>I'm currently a junior right now and I'm using this year to redeem my last two years of poor performance. My freshman year i was enrolled in all honors classes, i also had a full schedule(7 classes). I had a surgery in Oct. during my 9th grade year, one that made me miss nearly a month of school. At that point i was waist deep in missing assignments, i was depressed as hell and really didn't see myself getting out of that hole. I played football and basketball all my life so i wasn't able to play them HS, which was really what made me depressed. My mom and dad had just recently divorced so i really didn't have anyone to talk to or at least give me that push i needed so much at the time. My counselors told my mom i had no chances at any colleges. I had lost all my motivation to do HW or any school related. I started to play games a lot since it really took that depressed feeling any way from me and used it as an escape from reality.. I also got migraines..ALOT of em due to stress, i ended up missing a lot more school that year. I'm a pretty smart kid, i would pass all my tests, but i just never did the work. Sophomore year started out great for me i was maintaining straight A's in regular classes (counselors wouldn't Let me go in honors) I found myself pretty bored in those classes, the teachers were horrible. My headaches started to come back and i started miss days, my mom wouldn't call me in sick so they became un excused absences. My teachers weren't understanding at all so then my grades dropped, i didn't want to be in those classes anymore. I would get **** for missing school so much from students and teachers. I couldn't even sleep at night because of the anxiety, i was scared to even go to school because i didnt want to see the looks on the teacher's faces and get **** from students i was really depressed as well. I had no one pushing me to do well or motivate me. We were Also forced to move out of our house, we lived in a hotel for about a month and a half. I was really down on life and i hated everything. I wanted to fix my grades and whatnot but my mom had told me that the school dropped from the system(truancy) My mom starting calling me a drop out all the time, i had no support system whatsoever. I had felt worthless. It was the end of my 10th grade year and i was sitting at 2 credits. In the summer i tried to enjoy myself and try to turn myself around. It's now the first month of my 11th grade year and I'm already back to my old 9th grade depressed self. My counselor put me in a 9th math class and chemistry when i planned on taking em online since i know the material already. I'm capable of taking AP classes and i want to take them to help bring my GPA back up and start my upward trend while trying to get back missing credits for previous years thru online classes and credit recovery. I even thought about going back to my 9th and 10th math teachers and seeing if i can turn in assignments i have and take all the quizzes and tests i didn't get a chance to take to get the credit. I can't waste my 11th grade year taking courses I've failed when i can be taking online courses or credit recovery to get them back. I'm trying to leave the last behind but the grades and .4 GPA keep me from moving ahead the counselors don't care for my future, why would they? If I can get A's this year i can really show admission officers I'm capable of doing college level work and I will be able to bring up my class rank and GPA immensely. I know this is extremely long but can you guys please read this and respond in a helpful manner. I'm really trying fix my past mistakes. Thanks</p>
<p>Aww, I’m so sorry. Your situation is understandable. I think that the first thing that you need to do figure out the main reason that you’re depressed, and then go from there. Also, if you can, you can see a psychiatrist who can give you antidepressants and/or anxiety pills. </p>
<p>As far as doing well in school, you need to stay motivated. Don’t let others comments get you down, you are your own person who is undefined by others attitudes and you are here to prove them all wrong. I have found that writing specific goals down and putting them somewhere where you’ll see them frequently is an effective method as to always remembering why you’re doing what you’re dong and to keep working towards your goals.</p>
<p>As for your headaches, my sister used to have chronic headaches due to extreme stress. She was also going through a period of depression, but as soon as she got over all that the headaches went away. Also, you might want to see an allergist; a lot of people get migraines because they’re allergic to something and don’t realize it.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck in all of your endeavors!</p>
<p>Dude,
Drop out and get a GED. Go to community college for two years, take the SAT, then apply to college. No point in wasting time. Your GPA will be a total mess. You are already starting the same crap you pulled in the 9th grade. You need a fresh start with a new environment. Go get one!</p>
<p>First things first - I completely and totally understand where you’re coming from. Your situation justifies your poor performance and it is imperative that you understand that most, if not all, of what happened these past two years was out of your control. You are not damaged or inferior, you were just dealt a bad hand. Now is the time to show resilience in the aftermath of adversity.</p>
<p>See whether or not you’re on track to actually graduate - if so, do your best to graduate. Just get yourself a diploma, don’t waste your time with AP classes or anything like that - that’s just going to be additional stress that you honestly don’t need. If you can get your diploma, do so, and then enroll in Community College. If you can’t get your diploma, then prepare for the GED - then go onto Community College.</p>
<p>As another poster had said - a new environment can make a world of difference for you. </p>
<p>HOWEVER: You need to make sure you understand what exactly is causing your depression, because if its underlying and not understood - it can be compounded and worsened - and your situation will only deteriorate, even if you do attend Community College. See a psychiatrist, see if there is some type of medication or regimen that you can have which will relieve much of your depression, anxiety, and insomnia.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck, I hope you find peace in this life. :)</p>
<p>i disagree with having someone just throw meds at you. go talk to a doctor, but be honest and see what the doctor thinks.</p>
<p>All responses are very much appreciated! Thanks so much for the advice. I’m looking into some online classes for credit. If you guys know of any good online program, please let me know in a response.</p>
<p>@clementines2016 - While I understand the problem with overmedicating in this country and the whole “Pharmaceutical companies are turning the human condition into a medical problem that needs fixing” - there are serious mental illnesses that people do in fact suffer from, and in many cases, antidepressants and antipsychotics can be one’s best option.</p>
<p>LOL the irony of what you just said, considering i’m in therapy and i have a psychiatrist</p>
<p>i mean, i think i would know</p>
<p>@clementines2016 - People with mental illnesses are not necessarily experts on the entirety of psychiatry… I imagine that more than 99% of people with Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia cannot actually explain the neurochemistry behind their illness… the ones who understand it best tend to be those who simply study it, not suffer from it. </p>
<p>But if we’re going down the ethos route - I have close friends and immediate family members who suffer from mental illness, and I’ve seen how life changing something as simple as one pill of Lithium a day can be. </p>
<p>Extensive therapy is not always enough, many people who experience manic episodes can relapse and have more manic episodes and periods of depressive behavior despite regular meetings with a psychiatrist or therapist - these episodes tend to be much fewer and farther apart when therapy is coupled with medication.</p>
<p>The number of lives that Seroquel and Lithium have changed (and saved) kind of discredits the whole idea that therapy or naturalist remedies trump chemicals all the time.</p>
<p>Oh, and by the way, the American Psychological Association has published multiple reports in the past 25 years explaining that psychotherapy in conjunction with antidepressants is the best, most effective treatment of Clinical and Manic Depression.</p>
<p>I can private message you the links to these journals if you would like to read them.</p>
<p>hahahah and i was on lithium. probably too personal for cc, but whateva</p>
<p>and if you haven’t experienced mental illness or taking medication for yourself, then don’t even try going down the “ethos route.” you have no idea until it’s actually happened to you.</p>
<p>and, for the record, i never said medication is always bad. i’m even on medication right this moment. i said it’s never a good idea to have it in your head that you need medication before speaking with a mental health professional, someone who would ACTUALLY know, if you’re gonna get all snippy about experts. people on cc shouldn’t be telling others to take medication, but they should say to seek help from doctors. i doubt you’re qualified.</p>
<p>Omitted because I feel like it.</p>
<p>can you stop it? i didn’t ask for your life story. you didn’t even respond to my argument. you got all into yourself and lost the point.</p>
<p>i’m not even gonna try to explain the difference between first hand experience and witnessing your loved ones going through illness. i feel that you’ve been through that, but you don’t actually have to take medication and deal with the side effects, with being “unstable,” etc.</p>
<p>so op, talk to your doctor and decide based on what the professional thinks.</p>
<p>Your argument was that I shouldn’t be advising medication because I’ve never been on medication and have no experience…</p>
<p>I proved two things
- I have experience
- I never said to strictly go on medication, I said see the available options by seeing a Doctor.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, no one ever asked how many antipsychotic drugs you’ve been on in your life, but you had no issue with telling me that you used to be on Lithium which was irrelevant to what I said which was that Lithium has saved many lives.</p>
<p>Don’t explain the difference between first hand and second hand - because you can’t. Like Stephen Colbert said, saying that you’re not even going to bother arguing a point is essentially saying - “I’m a great dancer, I just don’t feel like getting up right now.”</p>
<p>You were really high and mighty about the fact that you’re on drugs and see a therapist for whatever mental disorder/ailment you suffer from but never really offered legitimate advice to the OP… lol. I’m glad you’re at terms with something that has been severely stigmatized (and demonized) in this country, but don’t use it as a vehicle to condescend to other people.</p>
<p>here you go with your ego again. i’m TERRIBLY sorry if i offended you.</p>
<p>no, it actually wasn’t irrelevant. you preceded to tell me about my own mental illness LOL. i definitely know more about lithium than you do, so i was validating how i’m aware of its benefits, but also the drawbacks. i mentioned how i take medication to show i’m not biased against it, and that i know the power of a doctor’s opinion. </p>
<p>and if now you’re saying, “go see a professional,” then why are you even arguing with me, because that’s what i’ve been saying.</p>
<p>sorry about this, op</p>
<p>Because you initially argued against the point I made with the same point I made by using a very poorly constructed straw man argument and I’m reiterating my point? </p>
<p>Telling you about your mental illness? No. I’m literally repeating what you said, that you were -
- Suffering from a mental illness.
- On multiple drugs (either simultaneously or otherwise) and one included Lithium.</p>
<p>I’m glad you know more about Lithium than me. Maybe you can get a Bachelor’s Degree in Lithium or something, who knows, lol. 
But in reality, most people would rather be prescribed Lithium by someone who was a Doctor than someone who actually took Lithium… that’s just a thing that you should keep in mind before coming down on people for not taking drugs like you…? Obviously I’m not a Doctor, but the fact that you’re on antipsychotics doesn’t really mean you can tell people much about antipsychotics.</p>
<p>Antipsychotics have different effects on different people. Just because you know what the drawbacks are FOR YOU doesn’t mean that OP will have those same drawbacks. Amazingly enough, people have different brains and subsequently, different chemical balances.</p>
<p>
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<p>LOL yeah you weren’t telling me about my illness</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>you really must be intensely misundestanding me. the reason i said i take medication was to show how i’m not trying to “come down on people.” i get it, and if i take it, i’m clearly not against it. this whole time i’ve been recommending that the op speak with a professional.</p>
<p>if you respond AGAIN i’m just gonna ignore, so go ahead and get your last word in</p>
<p>My last word: you think the fact that you’re either clinically depressed or insane means that you’re <em>basically</em> a doctor when most people <em>basically</em> wouldn’t take advice from someone on the drugs you’re advocating or condemning.</p>
<p>LOL, go ahead and ignore me sweetheart. I promise I won’t lose sleep over it. </p>
<p>…I was going to add a biting remark to that last part, but nah, I’m not that cruel.</p>
<p>Geez man…me me me…my my my…you two chicks start your own damn post. This dude has his own troubles…he doesn’t need you two projecting.</p>
<p>??? </p>
<p>i never said i was a doctor. i said to seek professional help. i’ve been saying that this WHOLE time.</p>
<p>yeah, you’re not cruel, but you would call someone who’s mentally ill insane. i doubt you would lose sleep over anything, because you’re just not a nice person.</p>
<p>and here i am indulging you again. but that was really out of line. i’ve made it really clear that i’m not against drugs, but it’s important to seek a doctor’s opinion before making any decision. that’s all i’m saying. good night.</p>
<p>@BrothersGrimmm </p>
<p>1) Is there a moderator with a similar username to you? LOL, I was confused because I thought you were him…</p>
<p>2) You’re right, I apologize, OP.</p>
<p>@clementines2016
You’re not very good at letting me have the last word. I said you could be either depressive or insane, I don’t know. I know very little about your ailment after all. If you were taking antipsychotics, wouldn’t you technically be insane?</p>
<p>You’ve resorted to calling me a “meanie head” basically. LOLOLOL. </p>
<p>Go to sleep. Sleep is good for both physical and mental health. That I don’t need an MD for.</p>