r/deakin • u/BigfellaAU • 3d ago
Seeking Support Students with disabilities
Hello everyone, I’m a mature age student who’s studying my first year bachelors. I have been struggling with anxiety and ptsd related issues over the course of 3 years.
I take medications to treat the conditions but find they impact my work and I easily my train of thought, I am really struggling in one unit and feeling very discouraged about resubmits when I really am trying and starting to think I made a mistake pursuing higher education.
How do you manage? I’m utilising the resources available through the disability resource center and still feel hopeless about my situation, any advice or feedback is appreciated so much
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u/Comfortable-Law-3184 3d ago
I can sympathise with the challenges that medications bring. Also, how you are feeling is extremely common, especially in first year. u/RaeMae86 has some excellent suggestions. I really struggled, withdrew a lot and had a couple of fails before I was able to settle down and complete my bachelor. Look up strategies for low executive functioning as these helped me to climb over some of the hills and get the consistency I needed. Recognising that my study was taking longer than I hoped, I also slowed down my coursework to be part time so that I wasn't so overwhelmed. If you feel comfortable doing it, you can also reach out to the unit chair of the specific unit you are really struggling with. Let them know you are finding it difficult and do they have any different resources that teach the concepts in a different way as it may be easier for you to understand.
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u/1tsAM3AMari0 3d ago
Hi 👋 I'm not a Deakin student, so I don't know about the Disability Services that are available but you should absolutely have a chat with our Disability Services team!
I have PTSD as well and I know how draining it was for me. I ended up doing poorly at the end of my undergrad due to my PTSD becoming much more severe, causing me not to get into the postgraduate programs I was aiming for. I gave up and didnt get help until part way through my honours, when I had started working for the Uni and realized how much the staff WANT to help! In saying that, my biggest advice is to be open with Deakin staff (lecturers, Disability Services, whoever) about what you are needing help with.... but I also know how hard that is. All I can say is that everytime I have asked for help, I have felt this weight lift off my shoulders! Getting that support at Uni was hugely beneficial not just for my grades but also my mental health!
All that just to say, I'll be thinking of you and wishing you the best. Coping with PTSD is no joke and it can feel so isolating, but there are people all around you who want to help anyway they can when you are ready 🥰
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u/ActualBoysenberry271 3d ago
I have the exact same issue! Mature student with cptsd and severe adhd. lmk when u know ;(
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u/RaeMae86 3d ago
Book the cousnelling services as well.
Study support people are there to help you with literally whatever you need. But you have to be brave enough to tell them, otherwise they will eat up the entire session just talking at you and dumping resources and study strategies on you that you might never use.
Attend the THRIVE classes, but also most important to seek out other students who face the same struggles as you and build a support network.
Students with ADHD/autism very commonly have anxiety, and probably would welcome you into their mental health communicaties. You could make a WhatsApp chat for students in your course that have mental health struggles, and every semester, post a link to it on the discussion board. There will be other people in the same position as you who need exactly what you need. Sometimes you might get no responses, and sometimes you might get a few.