Feeling depressed.

Don’t make any rash decisions about dropping subjects to spite people. But do tell them to give you time to think about what you want and concentrate on your A levels for now. Remind other people and yourself that you don’t have to make any uni course decision for at least another year and if you take a gap year then you have at least two years! It’s good to be informed about what degrees are often ‘worth it’ financially but degrees are good for more than just money (experience, knowledge, personal development etc). Degrees are ONE subject for a minimum of THREE years so it could be awful to study something you don’t like, so think carefully and change your mind quickly if it turns out to be the wrong thing for you. It’s true that humanities and arts etc don’t generally lead to exceptionally well paid careers but they can lead to a broad range of evolving careers that aren’t so clear cut at the A level/uni stage of life. There are plenty of middle/reasonably well paid jobs available for those people who get good degrees and are ambitious and hard working. If you fall into that category then there’s no reason why your life wouldn’t be financially successful even studying History or Politics! One of my daughters (yr 13) wants to study medicine and unlike a lot of parents, I’ve done everything I can to put her off. I think she likes the predictable career progression but I’ve tried to explain that studying a subject you love can lead to fascinating work neither of us might have even thought of yet (working for the UN/media/public health etc). The other daughter (yr 11) is likely to want to study history or similar and I may try to put her off that too (just to make sure she really really does want to go down the uni route before committing)! Ultimately it’s vital that you study what’s right for YOU. It’s your life, your job and your future. And remember it’s not uncommon for people to have several jobs/careers regardless of what they studied; my sister started a maths degree (dropped out after a year), did a bio med degree then started a physicians associate masters, then dropped out of that after 6 months to study medicine - which she is now in her final year of. We are still waiting for her to start an actual career other than her part time job in Tescos!!! 😂 In summary - life has many twists and turns you can’t predict. No single option is going to dictate a guaranteed income so base your decision on something you can predict better (like what you enjoy) Good luck

Hi!! I’m also a year 12 and during the summer after gcses went through a similar thing as you!! While our circumstances are slightly different (I went the all humanities route unfortunately lol), I completely get feeling badgered by people to do STEM instead!! I even got told by some girl who’s doing all STEM that I would end up jobless (which was a crazy statement to say as a joke to someone you’re netting for the first time…..)
While STEM is a field a lot of people like to hype up, in my opinion you shouldn’t have to pursue it if you don’t enjoy it, or aren’t really driven and passionate because I feel like the burn out and competition will be crazy ;; maybe I’m just talking out my ass though haha
You’re not alone in how you feel!! First week of 6th form I cried over the fear of not doing any STEM subjects 😭😭
I’d say unless the workload is overwhelming you, don’t drop maths or physics !! You can do this!!!!
I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more advice, but know you’re not alone in this feeling :]] something could change along the way (for example, I’m now considering doing business management at uni, which will be a challenge considering I haven’t taken maths lol…) but I think you should talk to a teacher or multiple teachers about this!!

Thank you, it’s nice to hear it’s not just me. I nearly dropped down to all humanities at one point when i started, but as much as I probably would have liked it, I just knew I wasn’t ready to make such a drastic decision. What are you studying?

Socio, geo, and history!! I enjoyed them all at gcse so I thought it would make a levels a bit more bearable :]] almost considered switching socio to either econ or maths but I don’t really enjoy them so, even though maths would’ve benefitted me for business management, I decided not to because I am a very weak person not built for the suffering that is a level maths 💗

That’s fair enough lol. Geography is awesome. I wanted to do both history and geography for gcse, but they wouldn’t let me. I feel like they are both so helpful for one another, despite people trying to put them against each other lol. Geography is so helpful to understand history, and history has had a massive impact on geography. Enjoy sixth form!

What do you want to do to earn a living? What would be a good fit for you for earning money?
Something that you're passionate about, or could be passionate about would be good. Something where you could start your own business would be good. Even if it's a one person business with you being an "artist" - in the broadest sense of the term (eg youtube / tiktok content creator).
If you don't know what you want to do for a living, because you've never had to work full time, it would be fine if after your A levels you throw yourself into something you'd like to try as a way to earn money. And then if that doesn't work out, do a career change after 2 or 3 months and try something different.
How good are you at being self motivated?
How good are you at handling stress, pressure, setbacks?
If you're good in those areas, or can make yourself become good in those areas, there's a high chance you'd be better off not going to uni. With it depending on what you settle on to earn a living.
It's a great big myth that you should go to uni to earn more money.
You've got two 14 year olds. One of them is a deadbeat dropout. The other is a keen student that works hard and conscientiously. Which of those is more likely to go to uni? Which of those is likely to be a better employee or a better boss?
Going to uni is 3 years of your life and £60,000 in student debt.
That's time when you could be getting specialised training, earning money, building experience.
There are plenty of in demand skills where it doesn't matter if you have a degree. What counts is whether you can do the job well or not.
Getting initial training in an in demand specialisation (there's plenty of good enough free or nearly free training courses) and then getting a starter job in that area will stand you in better stead than going to uni.
But if you'd just be unemployed / a burger flipper for 3 years due to a lack of motivation, you'd be better off going to uni.
For your general mental state, try doing regular exercise. Even if this is as simple as running to and from the bus stop. Or running up stairs instead of taking the lift.
And try eating lots of high flavonoid foods, as per the list at 1:50 in this video:

No 17 year olds have good entrepreneur skills.
They are easy enough to acquire.
You can study anything that you enjoy outside of university. As a hobby. Or a passion or an interest.
If you want to be a teacher or a lecturer, go to university. And study the subject that you'd most like to teach.
How do you think you'd get on as a secondary school teacher, trying to control an unruly class?

Hi,
I’m currently in Y12 studying maths, physics, history and politics. I’m really enjoying all my subjects, and I am torn between studying history or physics at university.
However, I feel like everytime I read articles relating to university, or just anything university related, I just keep being pressured to pick the stem degree because they are more likely to pay better, and that humanities/social science degrees are a bad choice because they lead to low paying jobs.
It makes me feel really depressed, and honestly puts me off going to university and even living. It’s not that I don’t like physics, I really do, but I don’t want to be pressured into taking it just because I feel like I have to study it over history. I want to make that choice myself. I don’t want the internet, teachers and family pushing me into doing something, then living in regret for the rest of my life, I won’t be able to handle it.
It makes me really angry. Ever since I was in primary, teachers told me to ‘study what you love’ so that’s what I’m doing. But now, suddenly teachers are saying ‘oh sorry, your passion for history is not secure enough, don’t do that’ and it makes me so angry. I feel like I’ve been lied to, because now suddenly only some passions are ok, and unless you have a well-paying passion, you should reduce it to nothing but a hobby.
It really has been making me so miserable, to the point where it’s actually ruining physics and maths for me. I loved them at GCSE, but now it feels like I’m only studying them out of other people’s expectations, and not for myself and my own interests. Plus, the people in my class are just *****. They act so high and mighty like they are ******* better than everyone else, and to think of going to university and studying physics with *******s like that makes me sick. Not saying there aren’t humanities majors who act high and mighty, but you get what I mean.
It’s getting to the point that I almost wanna drop one of physics and maths out of spite, so people around me will shut up about me doing something stem (since i can’t apply for physics without both) But, deep down I know I’m not ready to make that decision, I just want people off my back.
Does anyone else feel this way?

Thank you! That’s really reassuring. And, I definitely do agree that you should try and put your daughter off studying history to make sure she actually wants it. It’s a technique I’ve been using recently actually.
Something I’ve been considering (for both physics or history) is doing a PhD and becoming a university professor. But, because of the small job pool (especially for history), I’ve really been thinking about whether that is actually something I’d be willing to commit to, if I’m confident enough in my abilities, and if I actually believe in myself to make it to the end. However, it feels like no matter how many videos I watch of people saying ‘don’t do it’, the desire to do it doesn’t go away. Research and teaching are two areas I’m really interested in, and the idea of being able to do both in one career just sounds incredible, and I feel like it really would fulfil me.*
I still have plenty of time to think about it, and like you mentioned, I have been considering a gap year so I have more time to decide (as well as to just spend the year developing myself as a person). So, I won’t rush on making a decisions, but I won’t lie if one more person in my physics/maths classes tell me that history and politics are easy A-levels and lead to no job prospects I’m gonna lose it lol.
Thank you again for replying; I found this really reassuring!

Hi, I think that at the moment you maybe going through a streak of not wanting to taking on board any kind of advice. And thats fine. You are in year 12 and you dont have to make the decision right away. In fact you can go one step further and take a gap year if your still unsure by next year.
You need to park what everyone says from teachers, parents and the others in class, and focus on you and what you want to do. I would say that your in year 12, how about going to an open day at a university and going to the welcome talks in both subjects and visiting both departments. See what they are both about. Ask other students there what support they got, and prospects at the end of it all.
My daughter graduated with a physics degree and is doing a phd and in her first year. Her pathway from 11 years old to year 12, was astro , astro, astro. But the moment she did a particle physics and cosmology work experience at Notts uni in the summer for a week, she fell in love, and astro went down in her estimations. Things can be subject to change all the time and thats ok
If, thats if you was to consider physics, maybe take yourself away from the classroom and perhaps do things like listen to podcasts. She enjoyed pbs spacetime. Find what you like about physics. Theres alwasy going to be something thats not great. She hated thermodynamics and quantum, but prefered flavour physics and gauge theories. People are right in saying physics does lead to good jobs. Its not just physics related. She wen to a careers fair in third year and got given some contacts for coding jobs and in finance. But, definitely look into history as well. If you are going to enjoy a job that involves history then its worth looking into. The youngest, she does zoo biology, but she knows its not going to be a well paid job, but she needs a degree in this to get to where she needs to be.
I would definitely do an open day in both subjects, and try and not take on board the other students being idiots. If you enjoy the subject, stuff what they say. You do your own homework on both subjects and what they offer at uni, and you make your own decision on what you want to do 🙂

Thank you, I appreciate your help. Still, I just cannot express how miserable I am. I was so excited for sixth form, I was finally gonna be studying only the subjects I loved, but now it feels like everything has just gone downhill. The people and the teachers are so degrading, and the classes just makes me miserable (it’s not the content, the content is interesting, but everything else just makes me feel miserable). The only teachers and class I actually feel comfortable in are history. It feels like I’m slowly losing in everything. I wake every morning and can’t help but think what the point is anymore. I spent the first couple of weeks in sixth form holding back tears, and then crying for hours when I went home. I miss my old friends and my secondary school teachers. I’ve made friends, but I just feel so empty and alone with them. I’m so so disappointed, I’ve always loved school and learning, it has always been such a huge part of my personality, but now I dread every second of it. I don’t even know who I am anymore.
I’ve often considered if there is even a point of doing A-level at this point. My mental health has been on such a decline for years, and I think my GCSE exams might have broken me completely. I’ve completely lost my drive, and I feel so hollow and tired i don’t even know what to do anymore. And people’s opinions are making it worse. I love, or at least loved, history and politics, but now I feel embarrassed for liking them and even considering studying them since apparently they are useless. And, it’s making me hate maths and physics because now it feels like I’m studying them because I have to and not because I want to.
I keep trying to tell myself that this feeling will pass, but everyday is gets harder to believe that. I literally look at universities and courses almost everyday to motivate me, but i genuinely see no future for myself. I just feel completely lost.

100% worth speaking to a doctor about how your feeling. It sounds like the current situation is not ideal, and naturally history is on the up because of the people in it are much better than the maths and physics people. I know its not ideal as your old friends have moved on. Maybe you can can spend some time with them after classes?
If your mental health has been on the decline, then its worth getting that sorted. Different scenario, but it did with my youngest daughter (Anxieties), and she got the help, took a gap year after her alevels and is in a much better place.

I already spoke to my school counsellor last term, and she said she’d hopefully be able to start with me this term, so I’ll double check tomorrow what’s happening with that.
I’m just so scared. I used to speak with my secondary teachers about how I was feeling, and I trusted and felt safe with them and in school. But now I don’t feel like I have no one to trust or talk to. I feel really teased tbh. It was so difficult to open up with my secondary teachers, and once I felt comfortable and safe, I had to leave and go to sixth form.
Plus, I’m only a term in and already feel like I’ve been such a pain. I had expressed this hesitant with my subjects a few times in the past, and at one point even dropped physics and maths and swapped to history, English lit and politics. But, I was afraid of being judged, and feared I’d regret it, so I swapped back. Now, I just feel like I pain talking to teachers, I feel like I’m annoying them and that my concerns are a burden on their busy schedules. I’m just feel full of so much regret, and I’m so scared I’ve made the wrong choice with my A-levels. If I’m honest, the only subject that makes me happy and that I feel happy in is history. I do like politics, but I’m nearly as happy as I am in history. It feel like the only thing keeping me going at this point.
I just feel so incredibly stressed all the time, and I feels like after my GCSEs that I can no longer keep it in, or find ways to relax. But, now I’m just stressed all the time, when there is no reason to be, I just can’t stop thinking about things like ‘what if I decide I wanna do history and then I mess up maths/physics and ruin my chances of getting into my dream university?’ ‘What if I’m too stupid for 4?’ ‘What if I end up resenting physics and maths?’ I just can’t get out of my own head. And it was even worse during my mocks.
I was so stressed today. Last night I went to bed at 22:00pm, but my brain wouldn’t let me sleep and I didn’t actually fall asleep until around 1:30am. Now I’ve spent the whole day with a painful headache, and my teeth ache since I grind my teeth in my sleep when I’m stressed.
I’m so stressed out, and I’m really struggling. I feel like I’d be able to do manage the 4 A-level if i wasn’t struggling as much as I am. But, I’m not ready to drop, and I feel like if I go to them one more time to change my subjects, they’ll be angry it me. I’m not sure how to put into words how I’ve been feeling. Because I’m in a new school, they obviously didn’t know me before hand. So, I’m scared they just see me as whiny teenager who complains all the time because it is to hard. But, if they knew me before, they’d know that wasn’t true, they’d know how much I cared before, and that no matter how stressed or hard something was, I’d work because it was my responsibility, and I wanted to do well.
I’m not sure really what to do. I’m considering going to my heads of year tomorrow with something prepared to say, just so i don’t stumble on my words or start rambling. I need them to know how I feel, because I know they can’t help me unless I do. I can imagined what I’ve looked like to them before ( coming to them complaining and rambling that I’m struggling with my A-level subjects, sixth form transition, and I am frightened of regrets and unsure about what I want to do at university), they probably saw me as an unprepared, whiny idiot.
I really want them to know how I spent everyday over the summer looking at university courses. I want to tell them how I used to self harm in Y7, and that my feelings of sadness have persisted until now. That I’m struggling to get out of bed in the morning, that I’m worried that this will impact my A-levels. I want them to understand what really going on.