There’s no reason someone with an anxiety disorder can’t be successful in college, but it does take some extra planning and accommodation. Your anxiety is just another thing, like hating math or sleeping with a teddy bear, that you will need to work around, but it can be done!
The process of adapting to college life when you have an anxiety disorder should begin before you file your first application. You need to think carefully about your particular anxiety and the ways it may affect your college education. For example, if you tend to become anxious when you go to a new place, you need to think about how that will work in college. Does it make sense to apply close to home, in an area you’re already familiar with, or is there a way you can learn about and feel comfortable in a new town by visiting several times before you enroll? Don’t let your anxiety dictate your life, but plan realistically for how you’re going to prevent it from becoming a big problem.
College is also often (but not always!) when people begin preparing for their careers. What interests you and how your anxiety impacts you may work nicely together, or they may seem to conflict. If you’re terrified of public speaking, for example, a career as a politician may not be practical. But if politics interests you, there’s no reason you can’t become a congressional staffer or political strategist. Make sure the college you choose will give you the ability to pursue your interests and the flexibility to work around your needs.
Before you start your first year of classes, it’s important to have a plan in place to continue whatever treatment you’ve been receiving for your anxiety
If you take medication, it’s important to know where you will get refills on your medication close to campus. Find out ahead of time if there be any problems transferring your prescription to a local pharmacy. This is especially important if you’re going to college in another state or if your meds are a controlled substance.
If you’re in therapy, plan to transfer your care to a therapist on or near campus. Many colleges have counseling centers, and you may be able to continue treatment there. Make a few phone calls, or ask your parent or therapist to call, and find out how this works. Alternately, your therapist may be able to recommend someone in your new location. Make sure you (or your parent or guardian, if you’re under 18) sign a form allowing your current therapist to talk to your new one so you won’t have to start from scratch.
Above all, don’t expect to abruptly stop your treatment and be OK in college. If you and your health or mental health providers decide you don’t need care immediately when you go to college, make sure you have a “just in case” plan if things go rough. This is also a good idea if you’ve not been in treatment recently. New situations in college can cause problems for anyone, and it’s best to be prepared.
Based on what you know about yourself and your anxiety disorder, you can probably already anticipate that certain college situations will be harder or easier for you. On the one hand, you don’t want to create a self-fulfilling situation where you’re so sure that something will be a problem that you make it one, but on the other hand you can prepare ahead of time for how you will cope.
One of the mistakes people often make is simply saying that something is going to be hard, but not planning for how they will deal. For example, if making new friends is really stressful for you, it’s not enough to say, “I’ll just have to manage.” That’s a recipe for winding up alone in your dorm room a lot of the time. On the other hand, if you can meet your roommate, even online, ahead of time or enlist the help of a Resident Advisor in your dorm, you may have a much easier time.
All colleges have someone – or many people – whose job it is to help people with disabilities be successful on campus. These folks can be a great resource for you as you start your college career. Find out who they are before you go, and make sure to meet them soon after arriving on campus.
These people can help you advocate with professors, get any special accommodations you need and connect you to resources that offer support to people like you. It’s important that you connect with them early so that if you get into any difficulty you’ll already have someone you trust to go to.
If you’ve made it to college, you’ve figured out how to survive pretty successfully with your anxiety disorder. That’s a big accomplishment, and you should feel good about it! Although college will bring many changes, it’s important that you stick with whatever has worked for you in the past. Because college is so new and different, it’s easy to fall into the trap of dropping important parts of your routine. Remember, though, that your good strategies have gotten you this far, and you need to keep them up.
It is possible that there are parts of college life that are not compatible with managing your anxiety. For example, many college students stay up very late at night, but you may find that this makes it harder to manage your symptoms. Your exercise or relaxation routine may be interrupted, or you may not have access to the healthy foods that work for you. Make finding a way to keep these healthy habits a priority at the beginning of your college career, and it will serve you well for the rest of your education.
DO find a method that works for you to keep track of your assignments. Some kids like planner calendars. Others keep a running to-do-list. Some kids have a tiny voice recorder to record things.
DO have a place for everything, and try really hard to keep things in their place. This works especially well for homework. If it comes home in the same folder every day, you do it and put it back in that same folder and take it to school, it won’t get lost.
DO talk to trusted adults about how things are going. No one wants you to fail, and you don’t want to either. If you’re having trouble, tell someone. Don’t try to hide it.
DON’T decide you’re smarter than your doctor. If you don’t like your medication or don’t think you need it, be assertive but not aggressive about talking to your doctor. Don’t start, stop or change your medication without your doctor’s permission.
DON’T substitute alcohol or drugs for your medication, or try to deal with your attention issues with illegal substances. Not only might you get in trouble, it won’t work in the long run.
DON’T think you’re the only one who has “issues.” Everyone has something. Yours is ADHD. Someone else’s is depression or being tone deaf or having trouble reading maps. It’s no big deal, everyone just has to work around it.
DON’T forget the many strengths and talents you have! If you get down on yourself, make one more list – a list of things that are great about you – and post it in your locker so you see it every day.