I've barely left the house for 9 months! Now I am starting my Masters and have to be in Uni for 7 hours a day and I am so anxious!

[WriterGirl06]

I am starting university this week and my course requires me to be in from 1 pm to 7 pm Wednesday and Thursday. I quit my part time office job in January because of how bad my anxiety got and since then I've not really left the house. I have been out but max a few hours. My house is my comfort zone. I have to hype myself up to go to the shops and gym, and now I am really anxious abotu being out of the house for 7 hours. I need help. I hate feeling like this because I want to be excited about this new chapter. How to I get comfortable with being uncomfortable?

[Aurora]

On 9/26/2023 at 2:07 PM, WriterGirl06 said:

I am starting university this week and my course requires me to be in from 1 pm to 7 pm Wednesday and Thursday. I quit my part time office job in January because of how bad my anxiety got and since then I've not really left the house. I have been out but max a few hours. My house is my comfort zone. I have to hype myself up to go to the shops and gym, and now I am really anxious abotu being out of the house for 7 hours. I need help. I hate feeling like this because I want to be excited about this new chapter. How to I get comfortable with being uncomfortable?

Hi @WriterGirl06, I noticed that you are new here so I wanted to say a huge big welcome to the community! It's really lovely to have you here! I'm Aurora and I am one of the support mentors here. I give support and advice to those who reach out to us. 

Thank you so much for opening up about what's been going on for you. I know it can be difficult to ask for help sometimes and I'm really glad you feel comfortable to share your concerns with us. If you ever want to talk about something more privately, let us know and we can talk via confidential support instead. 

First of all congratulations on starting a new course at university ! You mentioned that you would like to be excited about this new chapter. I'm guessing that you are going to be studying something that you would like to do and that you're interested in. Is that right? Starting something new is often pretty daunting and it's common to feel anxious about this. However, from what you've been telling us, it sounds like you've been struggling with anxiety for a while. I can understand why this feels like a really big step for you if you haven't really left the house much since the beginning of the year. Is it OK if I ask you a few more questions? Don't feel you have to answer them if you don't feel comfortable to. How long would you say you've been struggling with anxiety and are you getting any support around this? Does the university know about your anxiety? Also, can I ask where you live/where you will be going to university (what country)? The reason why I am asking this is because there are quite a few universities around the world that offer additional support around mental health to their students. 

Thanks again for reaching out! We're here for you