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GeolPhysics' Difficult Road To Graduation Along With Psychosis Experience

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Hired a dissertation general skills tutor this summer to work on general skills like planning a dissertation and setting goals for reading. Got a lot of reading of articles to do before semester starts. Already read the dissertation guide which was really lengthy. Hoping to continue with the private tutoring through fourth year as it really helped me on a couple of courses in third year.

Starting piano tuning lessons next week so hopefully I can save that £60 tuning fee each year.

Will be going to the gym with a personal trainer once funding from ILF Scotland comes in. I’ve never been to a gym before so I hope it will be a good experience. Also want to learn swimming at some point next year. I failed at swimming when I was a kid but now as an adult I want to be able to swim well.

Got a mentor from Prince’s Trust to work on setting goals for my music business. Met him yesterday for an intro about what I hope to do.

That will mostly be what I’m doing this summer as well as hanging out with friends and spending time with family.
I recovered from laser eye surgery within a few days. It's now been a month since I had the surgery and I can see far distances really well! I'm glad I had it done.

With insomnia, I had 10 days where I didn't sleep very well last year. This year, these few days I have been waking up at 3-4 am. I hope it improves. It's affecting my work-life. I haven't managed to do any research for my potential dissertation topics this week.

I'm currently having piano tuning lessons and I have one to two more lessons before my whole piano is tuned by myself. I'm going to tune one of my neighbours pianos afterwards for money.

I also started going to the gym with a personal trainer twice a week. Was really not keen on the gym a couple of years ago but now I see it as something beneficial for my mental and physical health. It's actually fun to workout with someone there.

I got a new job as a piano instructor a few days ago. I am going to start teaching a family friend's son today. Previously, I've not had the greatest experience teaching my family members as I frequently felt bored and tired while waiting for them to learn a piece of music. I'm still unsure if teaching is for me. Perhaps I have to wait it out to truly find enjoyment in it. I have reached out to my old piano teacher for tips on how to enjoy teaching instead of feeling bored because I can already play the piece I am teaching.

In the future, I'm hoping to start learning swimming and get back into guitar lessons (had that for 9 months in 2020-2021 because I got funding for them but stopped after I used up the funding). I also hope to start having singing lessons so I can sing and play guitar together. I think I will need to focus my efforts on doing these things on a longer term basis (including the gym) in the future. But I am also cautious of overwhelming myself with too many activities. Right now I am thinking of continuing with the gym until I feel like I have enough endurance for swimming lessons. This will probably take at least two years +. I'll get as a far through the swimming levels as I can after that and then return to the gym after I'm done with swimming. Singing and guitar are not my priorities right now. Perhaps after university, I can start having lessons on them.
Have been swimming twice a week for the past three months. Managed to pass everything so far in fourth year, 1st semester. But felt like I spent too many hours on youtube this semester instead of opting for guitar/singing lessons. Knowing now that I'll have a tonne of spare time in the second semester, I've returned to guitar lessons just before Christmas and will start singing lessons after the new year. Piano teaching is going well and the boy and I have gotten through his book and his parents have bought a new one to learn from. Still waking up at 4-5 am but it's been like that everyday now that I think it's the norm. I feel like I have enough energy through the day so it's fine. Been hanging out with friends during semester time and also this Christmas I've done the most Christmas shopping that I've ever done and received more presents than ever. Having a bit of a problem with obtaining funding to record my piano album from The Prince's Trust. The Development Award only funds LC's but it costs so much for an LC to transcribe my pieces that the DA won't cover it all, it's much cheaper to go to a sole trader and pay out of my own pocket to get two pieces transcribed.

Over Christmas holidays, I am going away on holiday for a few days with family and neighbours. And will also try to write the second chapter of my thesis.
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Insomnia has been very bad this semester with waking up at 3 am and 4 am every day for three weeks. I've just recovered from it. Sometimes I randomly get hallucinations in the morning but it's mostly just hearing beeping noises or musical ringing noises inside my head and not actual voices. Managed to get extensions on two things this month because of it. I only have a chapter and a half of my dissertation to write. And they're quite short subsections (only three subsections per chapter). I'm already at approx 12,500 words and the maximum word count is 15,000. I have been staying at home these two weeks because certain people in my other class have COVID19 and I feel unsafe to be at the university in person.

Got a microgrant from the Prince's Trust which covers album release, recording studio time and a bit of promotion. Waiting on YouthMusic Next Gen on either an accept or reject of their grant to further fund the album. Can still get another month of mentor sessions with the Prince's Trust but my mentor is off due to bereavement reasons since January. I'm still teaching a boy piano lessons and he's been progressing well. Applied to 15 summer internships for my degree-related field but got rejected by all of them. Careers advisor wanted to start doing applications with me but then the microgrant came in and I decided to focus on practicing for my album instead this summer. Because tbh, I don't have time to submit any more applications as deadlines and exams are coming up and I need to revise.

I have put a stop to my gym membership this month since there's deadlines at university and I also only swam a handful of times last month. Currently still going on daily walks for 40 mins each day.
I wrote 14,900 words for my dissertation in the end and handed it in. In mid-April I had a breakup with my boyfriend and my mental health started going downhill on the 9th of April. Then I got Covid in May so I couldn't sit my second semester exams. I'm over the breakup but there's still some problems with auditory hallucinations for a few hours daily. I have a major lack of motivation problem for the past 6 weeks mainly because of everything that's happened. But also because my medication has been upped and it blocks dopamine receptors. That fixed my insomnia problem and now I sleep 7-8 hours daily. I'm quite disappointed that when I phoned my psychiatrist 4 times in January through to February about insomnia, she said she wouldn't add or change the medication. This led to an eventual relapse in April.

I also got a science job in the end of May that was supposed to last for a week but I had to pull out of it at the last minute because of mental health concerns. It was really disappointing since these past four years, I haven't had an internship or job in the science industry and so I was really happy to get this one. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do it. It would have been my first paid science job.

I've returned back to personal training sessions since last week and it's been great working with a better personal trainer. She is going to also send me a nutrition guide today (something that my old PT did not do).

My exams will be in early to mid July this year instead. I've bought 6 sessions (3 months worth) of Tony Robbins' life coaching program hoping to overcome limiting beliefs on studying, improving/finding better quality friendships and time management of my life through the day. I was interested in Tony Robbins videos since 2016 and I'm excited that I'm finally getting a life coach to help me out.

Early May, whilst I was getting over the breakup and improving my mental health, I worked on music stuff instead. I sent my demos to a former piano prodigy for mixing and pre-mastering. Then I sent the premasters for mastering at Medway Studios. I have received all eight demos back but without dynamics in the pieces. Will send the studio timestamps of where the dynamics should be after I sit my July exams. I found out I may be able to get a £1000 grant from Prince's Trust after I spend the microgrant and proves there's results from the business. I got in contact with another piano prodigy and he's promised to teach me composition lessons (2 more pieces still to be composed for the current album).

My specialist mentor (for mental health) at university at times kept cancelling my sessions from September to now. So I found a new one this month. Unfortunately I'll still be left with 19 hours of MH support that is going to remain unused and is to be returned to Disabled Student's Allowance (SAAS) because she kept cancelling sessions. The most annoying thing was in April when I needed her the most, she only turned up to one session when she was supposed to turn up to 4 sessions! The study skills mentoring money (there's still some left over but it's nowhere near as much as the MH mentoring money).
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I've had to completely put off the July exams idea since I'm still suffering from hay fever and I'm exhausted overall. Mental health has been so-so lately with ruminating thoughts. Medication helps. So I'm taking another gap year to do exams only. I've returned to the specialist mentor sessions. I've been using a life coach from the Tony Robbins programme since June, I get to use her for three months. Don't see a significant improvement in my social skills but that's because nothing's on during the summer. The clubs and classes I want to join aren't open until September.
We've decided that the tracks we originally thought were demos sound so good that they could pass as actual album tracks. So by mixing and mastering them, they're good enough. Just waiting on my mixing engineer to send me the places where the dynamics are and then I'll send those sheets to my mastering engineer. He'll tweak the tracks and that should be the 8 done. There's two more that need to be composed, scored and recorded. Really happy with what I've done so far.
In August, I'll have some sessions with a pianist/composer to help me with the remaining pieces. Also have an internship with a music school.
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The thoughts that have been swimming around my head lately is to just do the viva and then end the degree short to graduate with a BSc plus a couple of 4th year courses. Every year, I seem to have a health obstacle to tackle during my second semester exams. This makes me go on gap year after gap year. I really feel tempted to go find a job right now because I'm 26 years old. I know I wouldn't be able to do a full-time job using a BSc (Hons) degree because of my mental health. I can only manage part-time jobs right now. There's no point in continuing 4th year because I have lost interest in the degree subjects overall. I've been studying since 2014 and now it's 2022.

I'm not completely cancelling out the idea of returning back to university at a later age. Maybe once my brain has matured a bit and can understand 4th year subjects without significant help from others. I have found this year very challenging and two of the courses I was studying, I couldn't really do at all. I want to find a job that is more suited towards my aptitude and my actual ability.

I have also thought of my future and wanting to move to the USA to live. However, I am unsure if I'm ever able to do this due to mental health problems. It has been a dream of mine to live abroad since I was 16.
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So finally, I've left my degree with an option to finish the 4th year courses in the future. I've left my viva and two more exams from physics to sit at a later date and three Geology courses yet to start and also do exams for. I'm graduating with a BSc in November 2022. Really, if it wasn't for catching COVID19 in May this year and the hayfever in June, I probably would have went on to do the Geology courses next year but having to take another gap year and then do Geology is just one year too many at university when I haven't really had much paid work.

I'm working with a careers advisor from the university to find out which career suits me best. I lost my bearings at the end of this semester as I realised I'm not that good with seismology. I'm now at a loss as in which area to pursue as a job.

I have a new piano student so I have weekly income. I'm going to start learning to drive at the end of August. I also joined an indie rock band in Glasgow so will be practicing covers and originals for that. I have a set time every week for vocal lessons starting from after my holiday in Spain. I have a feeling I want to join the police force as a Special Constable (volunteer police) but I'm confused whether I have enough time to do that or not.

I have decided to re-record the full album at the studio since you have to use the PT fund for that. Plus, there wouldn't be as many flaws in the playing. My mastering engineer can't put dynamics in the demos but it doesn't matter as they're just demos. I may just leave them be unless my production teacher can teach me how to use a dynamic filler.
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I've asked my mastering engineer to do two remix tracks of my album so now it's a ten-tracker. I released it on Bandcamp but it's also still to go on CDBaby and Spotify. My photographer for the cover art isn't free until after the new year. I also thought of two singles and released them on Bandcamp too.

I'm focusing on getting more piano students and recently have been earning £110 a week from teaching. I tried working full-time as a sterilisation technician for two weeks but some violent intrusive thoughts started happening again so my mum got me to quit the job due to my stress levels. I think I'll just focus on piano teaching and gigging for now.

I got into a new relationship in August and he's much better than my last boyfriend. This one actually knows how to plan dates, pays for most of the meals and asks me out. The water supply cut off for two days on Christmas and Boxing Day. Mum got really annoyed and I got angry at the situation. She thought it ruined Christmas.

The graduation was nerve-wracking. The moments before I went on stage, I could feel my heart pounding. But I was really happy with the certificate and the gown. I've planned to leave fourth year until 2024 or 2025. I am predicted a 2:2 for this degree if I finish fourth year. This seems right on target from my very first post on this thread. I am happy!

I'm going to a local college to learn how to cook for 8 weeks in February. I also need to complete a Google course in research skills. I've waited four months for my driving license to arrive but it has not yet. They are writing a letter to the mental health hospital. Also amongst the royal mail strikes, everything is slowed down.

I finished off personal training in August or September because my personal trainer wasn't very suitable for me. I'm going to join skateboarding, football and went to the first session of a board game group yesterday.

I also got diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder level 1 last month. So I'm waiting for support to be put in place for that as well. I'm looking to join the National Autistic Society's events too next year.

Started therapy in June and we decided that I was going to do a music masters in the future. I first need to complete three piano diplomas. We may skip fourth year university and head straight to masters as the qualification isn't worth anything for it.
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Now I have 11 students for piano and have been teaching them well. I've had no stress issues at all in this self-employed job. My ten track album, My Journey, has been finished and the photographer is booked for the 15th of February to take photos for the album cover. For a few days, I'm going down to Manchester to spend part of the half term and then going to my boyfriend's flat to stay for the rest of the week.

I've gotten myself a new piano teacher that will start lessons with me on Saturday as the old teacher that I've had from 12-18 and a bit during Covid lockdown is quite fully booked herself and can't give me an hour's lesson. Plus, because of the move to my boyfriend's flat in March, she won't be able to travel to the new flat. The new teacher can give weekly hour lessons online as well as travel whenever she visits Glasgow. So this is a much better arrangement. Plus, she also has a piano Masters vs the old teacher's singing masters. She is also a travelling concert pianist as well.

I have also done 7 classical piano composition lessons with former piano prodigy Marc Yu and will continue to do so. I resumed bi-weekly singing lessons and piano lessons for my original pop music at a local music college.

For the autism, I've contacted my university and I've had a disability advisor meeting where they will put me in a private room for exams from now on if I ever wish to resume studies. I feel happy with this adjustment. I am now part of a post-diagnosis programme and have been attending weekly sessions for 6 weeks, there's still another two weeks left until I finish it.

I've decided not to do the cooking classes and pay for recipe books instead when I've moved to the flat. I have bought various things like a ring light for youtube videos, a new memory foam pillow, a duvet set and posters for the wall for the flat.
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I have now recovered from psychosis and gone off medication after 5 years of daily medication. I'm thinking of applying to PGDE Primary Teaching from Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Glasgow universities but first would have to get some classroom assistant experience. I have 18 piano students now and really enjoy teaching. My ordinary degree means I can apply for PGDE programs. If I get credits in that course it will count towards a Masters in Education. My family thinks it's better for me to stay home in Glasgow to do my postgraduate degree.

I should probably leave this as the last post of this thread as I've graduated and also recovered from psychosis so the next posts wouldn't be relevant to the heading.
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