# How do you deal with college with social anxiety disorder?



## Frieditiz (Feb 12, 2015)

I tested out of as many classes as I could but there still a couple left that I can't test out of. And I can't do an online degree, It's too late, I've invested too much time into the school I'm in now, and you can't do these classes online. Even though it's only a couple of classes it could take a long time with my situation unless I deal with it.

How do I deal with this or what accommodations can I get so I can get this done and get it done as painlessly as possible?

This is how I think I can deal with it:
*Not being called on and asked questions by the professor in class*

*Being able to do group projects completely on my own*
I don't mind the extra work. I ended up doing a project for a class last semester own my own that was a group thing. If I did it as a group I would have gotten a worst grade and it would have been way more terrifying and depressing for me. My friends understand me but I don't have time to explain to people how I am and I don't know how they will react.

*Not having to present in front of the class or being able to sit down to do a presentation*
I remember one time I ended up sitting to do a presentation and the professor was okay it but not all professors are as nice and considerate as him and that's where an official accommodation helps you out. I was terrifyingly shaking before I started sitting. People in the class I'm sure knew what was going on but I don't think they had any idea how exactly I felt inside.

Can I get official accommodation for this? Or are there more or different things I should have accommodation for?

I think you guys would understand me better that's why I'm asking.

I have a lot to contribute to the world but the way it is right now college will really slow me down and take away a lot of my energy. I'm scarred to go in sometimes or I can't concentrate thinking about going in.

I've also taken out a big student loan so I can't just drop out.

I will really appreciate any help I can get on this. Thanks


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## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

Check your school's disability services.


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## Kiba (Apr 26, 2013)

You're still going to have to do group projects, presentations, etc... You could try talking to you're professors, i guess? But as far as "official" accommodations the uni's legally obligated to provide it's pretty much limited to things like early registration, extra time/ in a different location for tests, having a "note taker", extra tutoring (things more catered for adhd/ other learning disabilities).... And to get stuff like like you need a note from you're psychiatrist.


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## mezzoforte (May 16, 2010)

I don't know how I deal with college with SA. It's pretty horrible and depressing. I agree with @Kiba, you should talk to your professors. Maybe you can e-mail them if you're too shy to approach them. Or you can contact your school's disability service. At my school, I think the disability service will contact your professors, notifying them of your problem and what accommodations should be made for you.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

Frieditiz said:


> I tested out of as many classes as I could but there still a couple left that I can't test out of. And I can't do an online degree, It's too late, I've invested too much time into the school I'm in now, and you can't do these classes online. Even though it's only a couple of classes it could take a long time with my situation unless I deal with it.
> 
> How do I deal with this or what accommodations can I get so I can get this done and get it done as painlessly as possible?
> 
> ...


I am on zoloft 50 mg currently for 3 weeks and 4 days today, it has already kicked in I think or might be because I was on 20 mg prozac before. I can now talk with the classmates and participate in groups and labs with no problems, I talk and I smile and I interact, magic! I am assertive and I fight to get the things I want, I am not passive like I used to be when I had social anxiety. I do the things I am supposed to do and I like it! I like it so much I never want to be a social anxiety ever! I was truly disabled by social anxiety before and experiencing my school on these medications has opened my eyes to the WOWNESS of what I was missing out on. Of course you will not be able to get the full scope of your class and education with social anxiety, so why not tell social anxiety **** YOU and take control of your life? The medication can help, you can see me, I am proof. You want to come meet me and see, come on boy, don't be scared. I ain't lying. I am pure ***.

Anyway before all this, my dad had to talk to my advisors for me, my dad had to do everything, the anxiety for me was so overwhelming I couldn't even sleep at night. A teacher of mine in 2012 saw how I wasn't behaving like the rest of the kids in her class so she got in teach behind my back with the disability service at my college, eh I don't feel bad about it, I feel like she is my guardian angel and an amazing professor! She has children of her own, so she was using her motherly protective instincts on me, so that kind of saved my life. I owe my life to her.

So since 2012 the disability resources knew about me, I, however hated the idea of me having a "disability" just because I chose not to be social. I was against it for a long time, until I gave up and asked for help. Surprisingly they don't have anything special for social anxiety and selective mutism, what they have is general disability accommodations like having someone take notes for you or sitting close to the board if you have vision problems or go to another room in another part of the school building to take a test or exam if you don't feel comfortable in the classroom.

Before the meds, my dad would have to talk to the disability lady and get help for me, I would always be angry and look down at the floor. I would speak out angrily and tell her that I don't need to go into another room to take my test and I don't need extra time on it.

All I got is what I wanted I told her in writing that I do not want to be called on in class to talk, I do not want to give presentations, and I do not do group work or class participation, she was like no I can't help you with this because the teachers are still going to take points away from you if you don't participate in class, etc, etc. Haha, and then I was like ****, ok who cares. So I went to 2 classes in 2013 with professors that knew what was wrong with me because the disability lady let them know. Everything was running smoothly for me, the teachers were nice and understanding of me. For my math class, the teacher I had let me be mute and comfortable in my own world while the "normal" social students at my table babbled on about the math problems, I showed them my paper like the teacher wanted and they saw that I got it right and that I am smart. They never bullied me, but I am sure they wondered, I couldn't look them in the eyes or make eye contact, I was lost in my own world, my cocoon.

Then I got *back on prozac* and it was only 20 mg and might have been from my life experiences or something but I forced myself to talk and be social or something. So with the prozac only I was able to go to the disability lady by myself in the fall of 2014 and talk to her about my new schedule for spring 2015 and she got teary eyed when she saw how social I was. I told her I only need the accommodation of being close to the board cuz I have blurry vision, other than that I told her, yes I am able to talk now and I am able to participate in groups and work with my classmates and help them and do presentations, I am on the roll. She said ok and now at my school I have been since the classes started in January 2015, I am doing so well.

I used to feel alot of stress about my homework and coming to my classes everyday, I feel so good now that I am on medication, I can talk to them, help them, talk just talk for no reason, I spark conversations, I sing in the public bathrooms, they're like wow she is a really happy person, and I wonder if they feel a little better about their life if they can see me being happy and talkative. I feel so ****ing good that I am out of my shell, I was ****ing stuck in it and I could not do anything. Now I am who I am truly, I am alive, I am one with the world and my surroundings, I can make eye contact, I can work in my groups and my labs and even one on one with a boy or a girl, or the teacher, it does not matter. I am so blessed for the help I got from everyone even dad, my dad got me the help from the doctors in the first place. I should write a book about my life, everyone should, even you.

Look how much I wrote, I should write a book


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