<p>I'm currently in my second semester of sophomore year at my dream school, 1000 miles away from home.
I've experienced some issues with depression, anxiety, and self harm since I was a young adolescent, but it's always been manageable (though untreated.)
In my first semester here, I had a breakdown, and was sent to the hospital due to my suicidal intent. I stayed in the psych ward for a few days, and it was a fairly traumatic experience, as it was the first time my parents found out about my issues.
Since then, I've been receiving counseling and medication, and have felt better than I have in years. However, since returning from winter break in mid-January I've experienced severe emotional detachment, and apathy that's made it near-impossible to study or do assignments. I feel like I'm edging towards the more self-destructive habits, and it's scaring me a bit. I'm starting to think that a medical leave for this semester would be beneficial, as I'm not really succeeding in classes or doing the best I can. My parents are seemingly against it, afraid that I won't want to return.
I'm just wondering, from anyone with similar experiences, would taking a leave be beneficial? Or should I just try and stick it out?</p>
<p>Sorry you are going through that. Take a few days to talk it over with support service people at college, counselor etc. I wish I had more insight for you. But I don’t really think your parents should take such a strong position without hearing you out and being open to discussion. I wouldn’t want you to leave either, but if it is the best thing for you right now your well being has to take priority. If that turns out to be your decision, then get someone to help explain it to them if you need to. I think they are being a little short sighted about the big picture. You can always go to college. Just try to wrap things up and if you feel you should leave, tie up loose ends properly. Are you aware of drop deadlines or are those already past?</p>
<p>In the meantime, if you have to check yourself in again just do it. You can get through that and it will show your parents there are other priorities if need be. Take care.</p>
<p>I have no specific experience with this, but I do think you should do what’s best for you and your health. College will always be there when you are ready to go back to it. Talk to the appropriate people at your school to see what the rules are for a medical leave of absence. Talk to your doctor/counselor/therapist about your situation. If they feel you taking a leave of absence would be beneficial, they may be willing to discuss it with your parents, so that your parents understand that it’s important for your health and well-being.</p>
<p>Try to recognize where your parents are coming from. They found out about you’ve been struggling with 1-1.5yrs ago, and it was probably a huge shock to them. You probably spent most of the intervening time away from them at school, so that may have kept them even more out of touch with the whole situation. It’s going to be hard for them to realize how much you’re struggling with this if they haven’t seen it or don’t much experience with it.</p>
<p>Explain your concerns about your health, and since you can’t complete your schoolwork, then staying at this school will only hurt your GPA and potentially result in academic dismissal down the road. Maybe if you come to them with a plan of what you are going to do, then they’ll feel more comfortable with it. Perhaps, you could include the help you plan on getting (therapy, medication, maybe even support groups) to get better. If you’re able to, you could include perhaps getting a part time job or other structured activity. Maybe if you give them some sort of deadline that you and your doctors think is reasonable–a semester or two or whatever–for when you’ll be able to return to school, they may not be as hesitant. If your school allows it, perhaps you could take maybe a class or two at the local community college, if you’re able to handle the load. That might alleviate some of their concerns as well.</p>
<p>What you’re describing can be a side effect of your medication. The emotional detachment is something you need to discuss with your pdoc ASAP. You may need a medication adjustment or change (or not–nobody on the internet can make that call). Do you need a medical leave? I don’t know. Psychiatric medications are not fast acting and finding the right one can take a long time. If you can’t be successful in school until you get your disease under control, a medical leave might be a good idea. However, I also suspect that you can’t go home and sit around waiting to feel better. You’ve got to have something to do, a reason to get up and get moving, if you will. If being successful at school is possible and more meaningful to you than whatever you could do at home, you might want to stay put. This is an issue to discuss with your therapist and your parents. </p>