Starting a tertiary education course, *VERY* apprehensive!

[GreenLime]

This Wednesday night I start one of 3 courses held by the "CAE", Centre for Adult Education in Melbourne.

And I won't mince my words, I'm pretty damn scared.

I found these courses back around June/July that all revolve heavily with drawing, and I was instantly captivated by them. They were really genuinely exciting, things that I have a deep passion for. It was fantastic finally finding some sort of tertiary education course that met my specific tastes, but now that they're just 2 days away, I'm wrought with anxiety, panic, fear, nerves, just everything really!

It's not exactly helping with my already pretty frequent depressive moods, because it all just makes me feel terrible.

When I've been completely isolated from the outside world for almost 2 years now, living idly in my house, in my room, removed from any sort of learning environment, and certainly removed from basic social interactions, you can probably understand how difficult it is to just suddenly leave this comfort zone and go and actually do something with my life.

And don't get me wrong, I want to do something, I want this anxiety to pass, because I want to make friends and enjoy myself and be successful, it's just I'm so scared, but that's another topic entirely.

Right now, I really, truly WANT to feel optimistic about these courses. I want to feel that excitement I got when I first read them, but it's just not coming to me. I have no idea what to expect, no idea where to go, no clue as to how the course will function or anything at all!

I don't know what to do, and it's this Wednesday night!! 😞 The constant worrying just won't leave me alone!

[Narniakid]

Hi GreenLime, thank you for sharing with us.

I applaud you firstly on signing up for courses - that in itself is so nerve-wrecking, so it's great to hear you're willing to have a go and learn something and expand your horizons. How long are the courses? Are they short courses, only a few weeks?

I suggest you bring some objective questioning into action here. Ask yourself; am I mistaking a thought for a fact? Is this in my control? What is in my control and can I use problem solving for this? Am I making an assumption or personalising? What is the worst thing that can happen? Am I setting unrealistic expectations? Am I listening to my inner critic? Does this thought help me to connect with my values?

Objective question is a great technique to use when you feel the anxiety coming on - take a step back and look at the situation from an outside view. What would you say to a friend who was feeling like this?

I also would practice mindfulness i.e. living in the moment, focusing on the present instead of the past or the future, and practice some breathing techniques to slow down your heart rate and calm yourself.

Have a read of the resources here on BB, and remember, everything will be okay! You've signed up to do this wonderful course and as long as you learn something and enjoy it, that's all that matters.

Crystal

[joeljoel]

Hey GreenLime, 

The last thing you want to do is get worked up about not feeling optimistic about starting and it is perfectly natural to be nervous about starting something new. I am currently in tertiary education and it was something that I feared starting but now that I'm used to it I quite enjoy. If you aren't that excited about starting as you were previously that is fine, I was too. Prior to going off to uni I spent a lot of time alone as well but once I got to uni I began to socialise with and meet new people and I really enjoyed it. Don't forget others starting will be nervous too. A big part of anxiety is the fear of losing control and from what you have said in your post it seems as though you have been living a pretty controlled life the last 2 years, which is fine, but I think that once you meet like minded people who share the same passions as you most of these fears will ease. As tough as it is sometimes we have to face our fears in order to overcome them.

Lastly, to maybe ease the pressure say to yourself "I will give it one shot to see if it is for me". It might take a while to get used to it and you might not like it at first but eventually you will begin to enjoy what you are doing and I'm sure you will make plenty of friends there and be successful. 

Best of luck on Wednesday, you'll be fine. Joel.