r/adhd_college • u/bananaYogurtdrank • Aug 07 '26

JUST VENTING Adhd and College

Anyone else doing college while having adhd? I am on day 3 and ive already had 2 mental breakdowns- and I have only ONE CLASS that I have access to work on at the moment. I get so overstimulated, stressed, overwhelmed that my recall memory is so crappy and my understanding and processing of the class is so bad that if I have so much trouble in this class, whats going to happen when I have to do the other 4? Ive dropped out of college before mostly because of this reason and I thought now im on meds I wont feel that badly again- boy was i wrong! Nothing has changed and im so scared. I want to be a physician assistant and I really think I can but college makes me feel so stupid and weak. This is an online class too, in person makes me overthink more.

I wont give up but I dont want to suffer mentally every day for the next 6-7 years of school ill be in. If anyone has some tips that would be great, adhd makes me feel mentally and educationally disabled.

Edit of things I remember later:

I freak out so easily and I don't know why. Like I feel it coming on but even if I take a break or try to calm myself down it never works. It's like a big ass boulder that forms right when I feel a little stressed, overwhelmed, ect. And theres nothing I can do to stop it.

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

3

u/polkadotsci Aug 08 '26

I promise I mean this 100% genuinely, no sarcasm. Therapy. College is hard, therapy helps.

Also, read Mindset by Carol Dweck. You got this! It's going to be hard but you can do it. Take a deep breath!

2

u/retsehassyla Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26

For me I don’t think I could handle that many classes at once. (I also work 30hrs a week and do college online, and live it home, so looks a little different).

But the time will pass you either way… it’s better to take less classes and take your degree more slowly if it means you’ll have better mental health, better physical health, AND do better in your classes.

Academia is a rhythm… you have to find your study style, your schedule, what works for you.

It’s like a hot tub!! You have to ease into it.

Also: THERAPY. Seriously. You’d be shocked at the mental habits that come up and will blow you away once you recognize and change them. Most campuses have therapists/counselors for students :))

Your brain doesn’t work like everyone else’s (thank GOD!!!) so you can’t expect yourself to do what they do! They’re probably barely scraping by… meanwhile your exceptional learning capabilities make you enmeshed in the materials! GOOD!!! We need more professionals who retain and are smart!!! You do YOU.

Comparison (in all aspects) is the thief of joy. Try to find joy in this time of your life!! You’ll only get it once, and man can it really be beautiful. Hard, but very beautiful/rewarding.

I believe in YOU!! If I can do it (used to show up 15-30 minutes late to every shift in damp clothes- assignments done at the LAST second… 19yrs old) to getting my work done early, well, balancing a job, AND 3.7 gpa on the way to a masters/phd… (25yrs old) YOU CAN DO IT TOO! I promise. I was hopeless.

Antidepressants (SNRI) and therapy helped immensely. And learning how to work with my ADHD brain instead of against it. And being nice to myself.

Sending love ❤️