<p>Gaiden, I sympathize with your frustration, but I think the problem here is that “mental illness” is a huge category. Given the severity of some of the conditions included under that rubric, people are going to be as cautious as possible in giving advice. </p>
<p>Someone who has a mental illness that makes him a danger to himself or others (depression severe enough to lead to suicidal thoughts, paranoid schizophrenia, etc) should not be living alone in a campus environment because the risk is just too great; a “relapse” might be fatal. Someone whose mental illness, while less dangerous, makes him incapable of functioning in a college environment (i.e. a person who becomes so withdrawn that he starts flunking classes, skipping meals and spending entire days in bed) should also consider staying home until his condition stabilizes.</p>
<p>Fortunately, most mental illnesses are not that severe. I developed an anxiety disorder during college, and going home would have been the absolute worst thing I could have done. I certainly had some very bad days, but that would have been true anywhere, as the problem was not related to normal college stresses. Throwing myself into my work and spending time with friends was my respite during the difficult semester before I made the decision to go on medication, which thankfully worked for me. I had other friends suffering from depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, and all of them were perfectly capable of attending school as well.</p>
<p>You indicated that your problem was a form of social anxiety. Without more information, there isn’t much advice I can give you - I would imagine that most forms of social anxiety fall under the second, less severe category, but I know some are more profound and may be accompanied by, say, serious depression. The two main questions you need to ask yourself are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How will my mental illness affect my college experience? Is this effect negative enough to make me reconsider attending a traditional four year college?</p></li>
<li><p>How have I been coping with my disorder during high school? Will I be able to find those resources in college?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you do decide on a four year college, consider things like availability of single rooms, size of the college, social scene of the college (is it a party school/Greek dominated), whether or not free counseling is offered on campus, and if so for how many sessions. If you sometimes have mental health emergencies like panic attacks, is there someone available 24 hours a day? If you are on medication or might be trying new medications while at college, is there a psychiatrist who can write a prescription for you? At most schools, I would imagine that some form of counseling is available, but it is worth checking out.</p>
<p>Good luck! If you feel comfortable sharing more information about your circumstances with us, you might get more helpful feedback.</p>