I went to a counselor and found myself a therapist to meet with weekly, until the end of the semester. I aced a quiz, got an extension on a paper that I’ve been having difficulty with, and renewed my library books. I talked to the professor of my most stressful class, and given my personal circumstances (including both that I was doing excellent in the course up until a few weeks ago, and that I was recently diagnosed with GAD and put on new medication) he agreed to give me an “incomplete” in the course. Basically, he’s telling me to forget everything but studying for the final (which will be easy, because it’s an essay exam based entirely on the textbook, and those are my forte) and constructing my 10-page research proposal, for the final two weeks of class. My grade will be an “incomplete” at the end of the semester, and will not have any effect on my GPA (which is what I was really worried about). Then, I’ll have the summer to complete the actual experiment, analyze my data, and construct the 20-page research report. I’ll also have a two month extension on my two smaller projects/essays, and will have to turn them in by the end of June. My grade will be entered before the start of the next semester.
I am so fucking grateful for that last part. A huge weight has just been lifted off of my shoulders. Because of the overwhelming thought of tackling that research project (which I am so incredibly behind on that it’s not even funny), I’ve basically been doing nothing but distracting myself with mindless activities out of fear of getting too stressed and having another panic attack. It’s been effecting my other classes, because I’ve basically had no motivation for anything at all. But now, the next few weeks seem so much more manageable. I just need to apply myself, but I can do it. And once the stress of four other classes is gone, I’ll be able to tackle that project on my own time.
I’m really glad that I got out of bed today.