Anxiety experiences and support

after having time to think, and to read your post, i don't feel so bad, because
a. if you see a module titled obligations A you would think there would be a B so she should've had more of a clue?
b. she never clarified anything between 2009 and 2011
c. she never pointed out straight away that i wouldn't be suitable because I was already doing criminal law, and that I hadn't done property and trusts.

I haven't heard from any of them all day long. I emailed my disability advisor that I am finding it hard to cope and that its making me really ill, and i need something sorting, and she didn't reply to me she just forwarded my personal email that i sent her, onto the other academic people involved saying ''please can you sort something, i can't talk to her until she is confirmed on the course'.

F.M.L

I've had trichotillomania since I was 11 years old, and during my maths finals this year I pulled out all my eyelashes. Good thing I'm a massive goth cos I can wear tons of eyeliner and people just think it's my 'look'.

I'm glad you feel a little better about it all .
Those are good points and now that you've got them sorted you've got something to argue with if it comes to that.

I know it's cliche but no news is good news at the moment. If there is no news because they are still trying to work it out then that is good, and if there is no news because they haven't got to it yet then at least that means they actually plan to try and find a solution rather than just saying 'we can't do anything'.

It sounds like your disability advisor wants to talk to you but some sort of red tape or regulation means she can't. I'm not sure about whether she should have forwarded your personal email but it might just get their attention a little more if someone from within the university is telling them to sort something out.

Hang in there; it's not over until they tell you categorically that there's nothing they can do. I can appreciate that it can't help you at all being on tenterhooks about this and there is nothing I can say other than try not to think about it too much until tomorrow and remember that if they don't sort it then it's bad form on their part as you've already shown that any misunderstandings wouldn't have occurred if the admissions advisor had put two and two together about courses being in two parts etc.

I cannot believe what has just happened. He emailed me back saying you now have two options. you either go onto year 2 but your law degree won't be a qualifying law degree, or you start from year one again.

he then went on to say ''the best option is for you to go back to liverpool'' i said its not possible for me to do that he said why i said because i have mental health problems its not possible and he said ''well if you have mental health problems do you really think its a good idea for you to become a lawyer''.

yes my jaw hit the floor when he said that.

Hi, welcome to the thread .

I just had to google trichotillomania; it sounds like it's not easy to deal with. Would you mind telling us a little bit more about how it effects you or what it entails? Don't worry if you don't feel comfortable talking about it in detail, but you might get some more specific replies from people who've been through similar things .

Making eye contact with people is difficult, and it's a good thing I'm doing a masters next year as I'm not sure if many employers would like me wearing loads of eye make up. It doesn't massively affect my confidence though as I still go out and do 'alternative clothing' modelling.

Every time I pull them out though I get so worried that they won't grow back again (seeing as I've been doing it for 10 years now).

Also, during my finals I got seborrhoeic eczema on my face around my nose because of the stress. I didn't even get eczema as a baby so it's not good! It's cleared up now though. Yey summer holiday!

He said what?! That's terrible! Did he say that in another email or over the phone? If it was an email then I'd strongly recommend printing it off so you've got a record of what he said because that's simply not on. I'm not surprised your jaw hit the floor!

Is this a different person to the one you were dealing with before?

I cannot believe what has just happened. He emailed me back saying you now have two options. you either go onto year 2 but your law degree won't be a qualifying law degree, or you start from year one again.

he then went on to say ''the best option is for you to go back to liverpool'' i said its not possible for me to do that he said why i said because i have mental health problems its not possible and he said ''well if you have mental health problems do you really think its a good idea for you to become a lawyer''.

yes my jaw hit the floor when he said that.

Yeah its the same guy, it was over the phone, luckily I had him on loud speaker, my mums face was a picture!

What a massive *******! Really, that's just totally unacceptable. Basically what he's saying is that if you have mental health issues, you should just give up on doing what you want to do. Which is obviously total *******s. He should be making an extra effort to be supportive in a situation like this. It's disgusting that they're putting you through this. I would really think seriously about lodging a complaint. It sounds like they are totally in the wrong. Sorry, I don't really have any helpful advice; I just wanted to show some support here.

PS: I have other replies to make to people and will get to them soon. I just wanted to comment on this first as it angered me!

That totally sucks . I bet your mam's jaw dropped too!

you bet! she was screaming at me to say something but I just didn't have the energy to argue. tomorrow I'm just gonna say i want to go onto level 2 , it be unqualifying, and to sort it out, then i can just relax and get my head together and figure out how i can make things as easy as possible for me.

Welcome to our thread! Feel free to butt in whenever you like

This is definitely the place for venting. I realise now that the specific situation you were worried about will have passed now, so there's not much point me offering advice. Maybe you could tell us how it went?

Apologies for not getting back to you sooner, but hopefully it all went OK.

Welcome again, have some (peace) and (love)

I cannot believe what has just happened. He emailed me back saying you now have two options. you either go onto year 2 but your law degree won't be a qualifying law degree, or you start from year one again.

he then went on to say ''the best option is for you to go back to liverpool'' i said its not possible for me to do that he said why i said because i have mental health problems its not possible and he said ''well if you have mental health problems do you really think its a good idea for you to become a lawyer''.

yes my jaw hit the floor when he said that.

Personally, my experience is a really good one! (which should hopefully encourage you slightly! )
When I went to my first session I was sooo massively anxious I practically didnt speak other than to tell them that I was fine so I could get out ASAP.. but I kept going to every appointment (cos I couldnt work out an alternative!) and I found I really got on with my CPN.. which I personally think is pretty vital, as if you get on with them you tend to feel more relaxed and actually tell them more stuff He tries to make the sessions 'led' by me in a way so he tends to start off with 'what have you been up to this week?' then will pick up stuff from there so its not like straight questions, and he gets stuff out of me in a slightly more subtle way.. whcih works for me as I dont tend to tell him things straight off

Also, I think the first session tends to be a 'get to know you' thing so dont expect to feel that much better after 1 session but just keep going

Buut thats my one experience with one CPN and one psychiatrist.. so obviously I cant really say anything about the service as a whole.. and I know some people have had really bad experiences.. so I have no idea how you will find it, but I think the best thing to do is just go in there open minded

Thanks for your comments

I've taken medication in the past but my doctor warned that I might get addicted to the pills so I didn't really take that many. I'm finding self-help the most usefull because I can read through it in my own time and not have to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable infront of a counsellor.

Most of the stuff I worry about involves the future and what possible problems I may face in education,work,family etc. It sounds really bizarre that I worry about stuff that may or may not even happen but when I get caught up in my thoughts they become so real.

I can't believe he had the cheek to say that! If he had said that to somebody with a physical illness there would have been public outrage I'm sure.

Hope you're feeling a bit better anyway, must have been a difficult thing to hear. And of course if being a Lawyer is what you want to do, then you bloody well go for it, and stuff what people like that think

Just to thank you for this advice as I never did



Just came back from my first appointment. Apart from a mess up where they'd given me one that was actually miles away without telling me at the beginning I managed to get someone elses cancelled slot so it was alright.
Was pretty much what I expected just explaining everything. It was frustrating not feeling like I got everything out because often I'd say something and we'd stop and focus on that, though I think all the basics got covered. He also started looking at the clock quite frequently towards the end which put me off as I felt like I had to rush though obviously they have time constraints and I understand that.
Sometimes felt like he was trying to egg certain answers out of me so he could fit it into a template of what he expected. I mean I get how that helps as then you can apply technique to it, but I felt slightly under pressure to say the 'right' thing. I was talking about the problem I have with food poisoning and we were looking at a certain time when I thought my sandwich was mouldy and he was like, "and how did you feel?" over and over again, I felt like 'anxious' was too basic but that was it and repeating myself I felt a bit silly.
I think it would be better to have longer as it felt really crammed in but I've booked another one anyway and he's given me some self help stuff to look at in the meantime, soo hopefully this is the beginning of getting better

Do people have any tips on how they cope in life?
I struggle to even go to the hairdressers, which I did yesterday, and dentist is a nightmare. Have to leave in 5. I have a panic attack daily pretty much now with just day to day activities. And like I said, I have CBT, so doesn't help too much obviously.
But having to go back to school in little over a week. Well, I can't be off like I was for GCSE's and learn from home, so how do you guys do it?

It's all very well sayign grit your teeth and bear it, but it's not that easy.

Just came back from my first appointment. Apart from a mess up where they'd given me one that was actually miles away without telling me at the beginning I managed to get someone elses cancelled slot so it was alright.
Was pretty much what I expected just explaining everything. It was frustrating not feeling like I got everything out because often I'd say something and we'd stop and focus on that, though I think all the basics got covered. He also started looking at the clock quite frequently towards the end which put me off as I felt like I had to rush though obviously they have time constraints and I understand that.
Sometimes felt like he was trying to egg certain answers out of me so he could fit it into a template of what he expected. I mean I get how that helps as then you can apply technique to it, but I felt slightly under pressure to say the 'right' thing. I was talking about the problem I have with food poisoning and we were looking at a certain time when I thought my sandwich was mouldy and he was like, "and how did you feel?" over and over again, I felt like 'anxious' was too basic but that was it and repeating myself I felt a bit silly.
I think it would be better to have longer as it felt really crammed in but I've booked another one anyway and he's given me some self help stuff to look at in the meantime, soo hopefully this is the beginning of getting better