Depression taking a hold on me

Marry-Your university will have a counseling center. Please go there and make an appointment. Don't give me any discussion of "I can't, because..." It doesn't fly with me. I teach, and excuses are just a self-rationalization to get out of something difficult. This matters, you deserve to feel better, you owe it to yourself to ask for help, so do it.

You are concerned enough to reach out. You are going through relocation, acclimating to a different culture, and the stress of schooling. You are doing it alone, as an adult. That's a lot for most people. A trained therapist can give you some objective advice on how to adjust as well as some coping techniques for stressful situations. S/He can help you to adjust. If the situation is more than a difficult transition, S/He can request you visit a school psychiatrist for a medication evaluation.

Now,I would also suggest taking an objective look at your course load. If some class is not going to be saved with at least a B, you might want to consider taking a withdraw. Yes, I know how hard and messy this is. But you need to put your energies into classes than can help your GPA and our overall standing, and re-take at a better time those that will harm it. At this point of the semester, a withdraw with no penalty should still be available. A withdraw/fail is a penalty you do not want on your transcript if you can avoid it. Medical school is now about pecking order and GPA. I hate the GPA game,but you can't avoid it in your discipline. Think strategically and for heaven's sake, don't let pride lead you astray. Of course, get some advice from your advisers as to the best course of action. They can give you a more objective idea of what ramifications are. I am no expert on medical school, so a specialist understanding of that discipline would be useful.

You do not have to feel this way, and can get good help to feel better. You will have to work at it, but it can be done. Please, go make an appointment on Monday morning.

Hoping you get a terrific new perspective by the end of the semester. Let us know!

Welcome,

Both good advice given. Covers what I was going to suggest. Please seek out the wellness center at your college or university.

The stress alone at medical school is enough to cause depression, let alone study in another country with different and most likely looser values.

A Cultural center is a great idea, to get you more centered.

I wish you peace and strength. You are not a useless person or a failure. Just a person in a dark place and this will pass.

Peace
Trina

The posts above have great advice. Take it.
If you are contemplating suicide, there are suicide hotlines. Do not hesitate to call one. They are anonymous if you so desire. Any religious leader will listen to you even if you do not share their faith or religion, again anonymous. Talking helps, give them a ring. Sometimes it is nice to bounce things off a rational compassionate listener.

Stress can be a big factor in depression. You have a lot of stressors. You explained many of them so I know you realize you have a lot on your plate. You owe it to yourself to give yourself a break. You are only human. When your plate runneth over you might want to lighten your plate.

A thought that has really made a difference for me.
What seems really important today, probably will not seem so important tomorrow, a week or a year from now. Things change, we change.

If we take life too serious it can seem really serious.
Sometimes the best medicine is a laugh. I like Seinfeld and Cheers when I need a quick smile.

We can measure our success by the difficult conversations we have. You might want to have that one with your parents. It might seem like a monster to you now, but it will probably relieve a lot of your stress. If I were your parent and read your post nothing would seem as important to me as just hugging you. I am a parent and I did have high expectations of my kids.
Most of all, I expect them to be happy. Why, I am a parent, I love my kids. .

I can assure you. The most important thing to me is the happiness of my kid. Your happiness should also be the most important thing to you. Give yourself that gift and try to mitigate the things that are stealing that from you.

If you are in medical school, you are an overachiever. Overachievers put a lot of expectations on themselves. Don't worry so much about grades or what people think of you. When I went to graduate school I really worried about grades until I saw the crap other people were turning in. I then realized a C is just fine. I still got a graduate degree and it does not say I was a C student on my diploma.

A supplement, 5-HTP, really helps me. But I do not have the degree of symptoms you do. It might help in the short term until you get things going with a real doctor. I am not a real doctor. I have a bachelor's degree in seonce. Made you smile. Kinda, maybe a little, ya I saw it. Cute, I might add to.

You might want to check out th1 th2 th17 balance as a google search.

Good luck in your studies because we need PA's, nurses, physicians that have been there so to speak. I sincerely hope you become a health care provider who practices healing; although practicing medicine is much more profitable. What you are going through now is going to make you a much better health care professional.

I might add, a PA or Nurse Practioner makes really good money, has more time with patients, kids, family, has a very portable degree, and does not have near the stress of a physician. It can also be a stepping stone in a career path to a physician. At any rate,

We need a healthy you.
And I for one, love ya.

Post Edited (BoJonJovi) : 10/5/2015 9:43:04 PM (GMT-6)

Hi Marrry! Hope you will be able to read the great advises that these people have posted for you. They knew more on what things might help you than I do. Just add prayers to that all because God will never forsake those who call and believe in Him. Suicide is not a solution to your predicament. Be strong and hold on to your faith!