MovieChat Forums > Prozac Nation (2003) Discussion > How do you cope with studies while depre...

How do you cope with studies while depressed?

posted 18 years ago by obscure_note
22 replies | jump to latest

I'm 20 years old, and when I was 13 to 17 or so, I suffered depression. I wasn't diagnosed though, because I never went to the doctors about it, but it was clear that I had it from all the symptoms: feeling of hopelessness, crying jags, feeling angry, fatigue, etc.

I'm wondering how did someone like Wurtzel managed to cope with her studies, at Harvard no less? (and there's the whole getting into Harvard in the first place, which is undeniably a big feat)

Depression is severely debilitating - you can't seem to function, and most sucky of all is that when depressed, you feel life is dark and there's no hope for you, so why bother exerting effort e.g in studies for example.

If I remember correctly, in the movie Wurtzel was portrayed at botching up relationships esp. with her best friend, and confined to her room, and had to deal with alcoholism, etc etc, but it didn't show that the depression affected her studies - so my guess is it didn't.

What about you guys who have suffered depression or having it now? How did that affect your studies, and if you did well, or are doing well at it, how do you do it? Depression is severely debilitating, and it messes up the way we function.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] coredenial 18 years ago

It's good to know depression (some chemical lacking or too much of it in the brain?) is the problem, but that doesn't really help you solve it.

I may be an odd case, since I find therapy useless and really don't want to take drugs, so...

But anyway, it's rough. Some days everything's cool, it's easy to do what I know that I need to do. Other days, it comes on gradually sometimes and sometimes it's like a ton of bricks, I find myself putting off things I know I need to do, doing things I've already identified as clearly bad for me, and just...

...almost waiting for something to happen, that can break the lassitude. Well, lassitude when there isn't that gut-wrenching sense of continuing loss.

That reminds me of an interesting line from the movie, where she says something like, "Most people get hurt, put on a bandaid, and move on, I just keep bleeding."

It's usually a good bet, that if I'm thinking about these things, it's not a good time, although I am reminded of what it is I need to do. Specific things, aimed at progressing, doing the work necessary to achieve the day dreams I actually want, rather than wallowing in a funk, waiting for nothing.

Sometimes I fight through it, and move forward, and sometimes, not so much.

[–] obscure_note 18 years ago

That reminds me of an interesting line from the movie, where she says something like, "Most people get hurt, put on a bandaid, and move on, I just keep bleeding."

Thats the most sucky thing about depression - it just sucks you in. Its not like a n average person's 'bad day' or 'bad mood' where you can wait for a day for it to cease.

[–] coredenial 18 years ago

I don't think it's inevitable though...or at least, that's what I tell myself.

Kinda like (can you tell I love cheesy metaphors?) swimming against the current, being pulled further and further from the shore, but I figure as long as you're still swimming, well, that's something, right?

And then the midget with the rabbit ears drags you down to meet with the talking lobsters, but that's really a different story...

[–] ctpoet 18 years ago

The vast majority of people think depression is an illness.
When actually it is a symptom of something wrong in the body/mind.
Just like pain isn't the illness but the body yelling to us that something is wrong and we have to stop whatever we are doing and fix it now!

So, please don't think theat this is something you can just live with.
It is in fact a sign something greater is wrong.

Therapy is the answer, but you have to get someone good that has a PhD or PsyD.
They can't give you drugs so you will get a fair shake, and if you need it, then take it to get through, but not as a way of life. It's hard I know, but you have to find someone good, it can all turn around, it doesn't have to be this way.

You're not alone.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] marky77 16 years ago

I'm now 18. I have had Borderline Personality Disorder and severe clinical depression since I was 11 years old.
I didnt go to the doctors at all while in school. I didnt study so my grades went from being all A's when I was 11/12 to being E's and F's when I was 16+.
I got away with my grades for quite a long time but this may be because my depression took a massive turn for the worse when I was 16 (I cried all day and lost 60lbs because I couldn't eat or sleep) and before then I was able to get by and study a little.

[–] im_an_orb 16 years ago

I dropped out of Uni this year - one of the reasons was because of anxiety/depression .. though I never told anyone that...

But I used to self harm to help me cope at school and talked to a counsellor.
"The finalised alligning of objects, cease to rest my mind."

[–] NaniUbanani 16 years ago

how do u cope? u just don't. u don't study, u avoid going to class, communication and pray the episode is over. sometimes it lasts for months and months. and then u get back to school after uve wasted 4-6 months of work on depression, try to do damage control and explain to ppl that uve been busy.

its a *beep* nightmare

[–] cma35 16 years ago

I graduated Ivy League, and I was severely depressed when I was 14-20. I guess I did well because I would make little goals and promises to get through the days and the numbness, and these usually focused around school. My family life was also chaotic, and my only escape was through reading, volunteering, or sleeping. When I wasn't sleeping, I would read for hours and this reading must have helped my schoolwork.

It wasn't always perfect, but my work did get done. Wurtzel said she was a gifted child before the depression hit. I'm also gifted and maybe that made it possible for me to not fail. I know I did not do as well as I should have in high school. It was hard to find the energy for anything, but it was even harder to stay at home.

In college, I finally started having a really hard time, because I could no longer get away with cramming last minute. When I was 20, I had such a huge breakdown that my friends finally intervened and I made the decision to go to counseling.

I guess the combination of a really good memory and a need to escape from my father's craziness made me focus on my studies, clubs, and volunteer work.

I hope you've been able to handle the depression as well. Maybe this helps to answer your question.

[–] AnnCognito 16 years ago

I've experienced depression on and off since I was a teenager (I'm now 27) and I must say that I feel less depressed when classes are in session (I just got my masters in English). School, or "studies," whatever you call them, they're the only thing I've ever felt good at. I graduated with a 3.9 GPA. I've ALWAYS been *beep* in the relationships - or lack there of - department, the friends department, the jobs/family/health departments...the ONLY thing I'm good at was school. I got an A+ on my Masters thesis and an F in life, LOL. I think Elizabeth Wurtzel had the same problem. Writing was easy for her to excel in; everything was difficult! Plus, there is something therapeutic about reading/studying/learning/writing, etc.

[–] l_aschoolgirls 16 years ago

Wow, this is an old post, but anyway...

I ended up dropping out of high school because of my depression. I was pulling As though. I would just have break downs in class...my teachers actually recommended that I quit.

College was much better.

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I skip math class...