I’ve been severely depressed for almost a year. The last 4 or 5 weeks I skipped class entirely and just spent all day in the library.
I just told my parents about all of this and they were surprisingly helpful and not angry. I signed up to go to a psychologist as well. However, with only a month or two left in school I will most likely end up with 3 D’s and maybe 2 F’s.
Because I’ve been out of class so long the material is now well over my head. I’m taking several 300 level courses that include heavy math. I know now that I hate math and I want to change to a liberal arts major. I was originally pressured into taking economics because of the stigma that liberal arts is a waste. So I took a ‘smart person’ degree instead of doing what I enjoy.
IN effect, I’m striving for high D’s in order to save my GPA. C’s are out of my reach already. On top of everything, I’m still struggling with severe-depression.
However, I’ve read tons of horror-stories about the stigma attached to mental illness. People have been forced out of school for admitting they have depression, and they face constant harassment and discrimination from the school-system because of it.
These are my questions: Can my reason for medical withdrawal from college be kept confidential?
I can’t stand the idea of having my privacy stripped away from and facing an embarassing investigation while I’m already under enough stress as is.
In addition, what looks worse to employers: 5 F’s or 5 W’s?
I’m very sorry that you’re going through this, and I really hope you can get some suggestions/answers to your questions. I don’t have anything substantive to offer on that front but hopefully more experienced CC’ers will chime in.
By law you can’t be discriminated against due to a physical or mental disorder. You need to get to that psychological treatment, and you should contact your advisor for recommendations regarding your F versus W question, and to find out about the medical withdrawal requirements and procedures.
@synario, You should contact your school’s office of students with disabilities. Every college has one. They are SO helpful. Believe me, almost every professor has at least one student every semester who is struggling with mental illness. My son’s advisor, a math professor, even shared with him that SHE was diagnosed with depression as a teenager!
Schools want students to succeed. There is nothing shameful about a mental illness. It is a disease of the brain. THERE IS HELP AVAILABLE! I encourage you to look up your state’s chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). If you PM me your location, I could even look it up for you. They will have a “help line” - not a hot line, but someone who can answer your questions and direct you to great resources. I just went to a NAMI support group myself last night! My 23-year-old son has schizophrenia. He has gotten a lot of accommodations from two different colleges.
I’m going to a CSU school ((southern half of California)
I’ve already been to my advisor/career counselor and she wouldn’t answer any of my questions (F’s v W’s) and referred me to an on-campus outreach type program that answers questions and has other resources. Then this program, without my knowledge/agreement, referred me to the Dean of students.
(The reason I’m annoyed by this is because I initially wanted to have a confidential conversation with somebody face-to-face, not over email/phone, and I ended up on the radar of the dean of students as a potential drop-out, which is very embarrassing.)
The Dean of students merely sent me an email with the withdrawal form attached and that was it.
I haven’t responded to either of their emails yet because I don’t know what I want to do yet.
Pretty sure that 5 Ws are better than 5 Fs, or a combination of Ds and Fs.
Aren’t you just being asked to fill out a form that has already been sent to you? Then probably you will have to forward some information to your therapist’s office? I wouldn’t describe this as your privacy being stripped away nor would I describe the process as an embarrassing investigation. The Dean of Students just wants you to be successful (which suggests Ws rather than Fs are what you should be trying to get) and the Dean is unlikely to have any overwhelming interest in your private life. Fill out the form and send it in.
Besides filling out the form I do need to email all my professors, telling them I’m depressed and getting their approval to drop.
I guess my main concern is will a simple note from a psychologist be enough? Or will I be forced to see the school psychiatrist to ensure I am really depressed.
Also as I’ve said, I’ve heard stories that once you admit you are depressed you are forced by the school to consistently see a school-psychiatrist on a continual basis or they won’t let you return because you ‘might be a threat’ or something.
As I said before, you really need to talk to the office for students with disabilities. They can help you figure all of this out!
My son’s schools had no requirements for doctors or counselors. All they did was ask what they could do to help. My son had extra time on tests, a quiet room to take the exams, and even a note-taker one semester (he decided he didn’t need one after that). If he had ANY difficulties with registration or professors, they stepped in and helped. It also made it easier for him to take medical withdrawals.
I decided that being on the Dean’s radar was better than D’s/F’s. I’ll take the W’s.
I got a letter from a school program director, a letter from my psychologist, and I also wrote my own letter. I am dropping all classes and I got all the signatures in-person (despite my anxiety over it).
I’ve turned in the packet, and I’m awaiting a response.
Does anybody know how successful medical withdrawals for depression are? Any statistics? In other words, are the odds in my favor? (Higher than 50 percent, or lower)
I would feel a little foolish disclosing so much personal information about myself in my letter if it was totally unnecessary, and a simple “I’m depressed” would have actually been sufficient, rather than telling my life-story.