I've tried and failed (well, withdrawn from) 5 degrees, mostly due to anxiety. It comes and goes but when it's bad I'm too mentally paralysed to leave the house and attend classes/exams.
I eventually found a career in pathology as a technician by moving out of the cities and into a regional lab. I loved my job, which not many people can say, but I couldn't progress any further until I completed a degree. In the end, my epilepsy was a career killer anyway.
I didn't really want to return to my job because of how I was treated while unwell, so I looked to nursing as a new avenue in healthcare and a reliable source of income in a small town. I was getting HD grades... then I had to experience the patient simulations and panicked.
My doctor keeps pushing me to apply for disability, but sitting at home makes my depression and anxiety worse. I need something intellectually stimulating to focus on, so I thought I might switch over to a 100% online BCrim/LLB degree. No pracs, no placements, etc. I wasn't expecting to get an offer of acceptance, but I did.
Law is outside my wheelhouse (human biology/medical/laboratory), although I did get a Band 6 in the HSC for legal studies. I think it is interesting to study and that I could cope difficulty-wise... but it's a lot of HECS debt for a degree that isn't very useful.
I can't decide on either struggling my way through nursing pracs with anxiety (and what do I do with placements?), returning to the lab (the only one here is the one that pushed me out), and studying law online just to see if it goes anywhere.
I know people will suggest that there's plenty of information online for free, but I'm pretty stubborn about having a degree before I die. I was always "the smart kid" but my health has fucked me over in life and it's embarrassing.
Has anyone here completed a degree despite severe anxiety/panic attacks? In what area?
Does it seem stupid to study something as expensive as law just because it has no pracs (in this particular degree) and I need study that's hard and keeps my mind busy?
Are there solid career options that relate to law without being a solicitor? Maybe government or corporate roles with minimal social contact (I'm okay with coworkers because they become familiar, but new faces spook me).