Am I capable of doing a Social Work degree?

Since the age of 11 I knew I wanted to help other people. I want to give a bit of my background as to why I’m not sure if I should do this course. I’ve always suffered from severe generalised anxiety as well as panic attacks since the age of 5. At the time I had not a lot of support from the school I was in and the person who was meant to support me didn’t, I’ve been close to having an eating disorder. And have attended CAHMS twice as well as had private counselling and was taught the tapping method all of which didn’t work. As I’ve got older and got into secondary school (now in year 12), I would say I have drastically improved and learned coping methods; fully accepting that my anxiety will never fully go away. I’ve decided not to take medication as I wanted to learn how to cope myself. I’ve improved due to having a safeguarding officer on my side for the first time, this has now fully made me want to do the same job role she does and help other children like me who was in a limbo with not feeling that I was being supported in school. I have attended one open day and attended a Social Work lecture and they really emphasised how hard it was and mentally challenging it is. This has now frightened me into thinking that I’m not capable of doing it and if I do, am I really going to help other people when my mental health also isn’t that great? I really want to have a job where I am helping others. I know I’ve still got a year left but I don’t want to be making last minute decisions. Any advice would be great and sorry it was very long!

You should definitely go for it if social work is something you are truly passionate about. Your own experiences of mental health will definitely make you more empathetic to others going through a similar thing, a quality that is needed to be a social worker.

The lecture wasn't trying to scare you off social work. A lot of these lectures on professions are simply just trying to make you aware of the challenges that come with the job. The amount of times I got told that teaching is stressful and a lot of work should have put me off but I am still going for it because I am passionate about education.

You should do some volunteering with an organisation that supports people with mental health. It will give you some insight into what it is like working with vulnerable people. I volunteered at a homeless shelter for a year and it was very insightful for me.

Thank you so much! It’s truly something I really want to do so I should go for it. I’m looking around for some volunteer work to do in the summer after my mocks are done. Thank you again!

Since the age of 11 I knew I wanted to help other people. I want to give a bit of my background as to why I’m not sure if I should do this course. I’ve always suffered from severe generalised anxiety as well as panic attacks since the age of 5. At the time I had not a lot of support from the school I was in and the person who was meant to support me didn’t, I’ve been close to having an eating disorder. And have attended CAHMS twice as well as had private counselling and was taught the tapping method all of which didn’t work. As I’ve got older and got into secondary school (now in year 12), I would say I have drastically improved and learned coping methods; fully accepting that my anxiety will never fully go away. I’ve decided not to take medication as I wanted to learn how to cope myself. I’ve improved due to having a safeguarding officer on my side for the first time, this has now fully made me want to do the same job role she does and help other children like me who was in a limbo with not feeling that I was being supported in school. I have attended one open day and attended a Social Work lecture and they really emphasised how hard it was and mentally challenging it is. This has now frightened me into thinking that I’m not capable of doing it and if I do, am I really going to help other people when my mental health also isn’t that great? I really want to have a job where I am helping others. I know I’ve still got a year left but I don’t want to be making last minute decisions. Any advice would be great and sorry it was very long!