Not succeeding at school....can't concentrate..

I'm usually a B average student, but for some reason, my mental state has been putting me so I can't concentrate. All I want to do is do what I love. I think it's usual for someone to feel like this, but I was a B student, and I am putting in the work, sometimes 12 hours a day in a cafe studying, but am not reaping the benefits of studying. I am getting F's and E grades.

Has anyone experienced getting low grades when putting a lot of effort in? If so what have you done to raise your grades?

It is very difficult. I think it's as much the meds as the illness. Unfortunately you might have to take easier classes and have a plan B. Otherwise you can talk to someone about it (psychologist/professor) and get tutoring. Maybe you're not studying the most effective way for the exams. I know some people that had severe learning disabilities that just did tutoring every day and did great.

Depression can really impair your concentration, this isn't your fault. Is there any way you can get accommodations for your condition by getting things like extensions on projects? Maybe talk to your professors about that.

puanani,

I had the same problem when I was in college. My racing thoughts kept me from being able to concentrate and I would even lose chunks of time from dissociating.

It actually started in high school. I went from being an Advanced Placement (AP) Honor student with straight A's, to struggling to finish my assignments. My last couple years I started getting B's and C's, which totally killed me. I went from nearly a 4.0 to just above a 3.0 if I remember right.

When I moved on to college things got worse and worse. I began failing classes. It didn't matter how hard I studied. In fact, it seemed as though the harder I studied, the worse I did. It got so bad that I was about to be kicked out of school. At that point psychosis hit. I had a complete breakdown and lost touch with reality. I almost succeeded in killing myself, or at least ruining my whole life. Ironically though, it actually saved me because it resulted in a proper diagnosis and the right medication.

I also got reinstated with the school and was referred to "Academic Disability" which provided me with an "Advocate" that assessed my situation. She determined I needed complete coverage due to "severe academic disability". They then gave me a "Learning Coach" who helped me find ways to concentrate and remember stuff better. I met with both of those people and a psychologist regularly. In addition, they set me up with a tutor and communicated with my professors to allow me more time to complete tests, with a private reduced-sensory room. I also had a "secondary notetaker" as well as a special electronic copy of the textbooks that would break things down and read themselves to me, both for when I couldn't concentrate and/or would dissociate. It sounds like a lot, as if it was handed to me to just glide through. But the truth was that it took all that just to put me on an even playing field mentally, at least until I stabilized. It was a lot of hard work but believe it or not, I turned it around so well that I finished with something like a 3.2 GPA. I was very fortunate that my school had all these resources.

Maybe you should get tested and see if you qualify for something like that. Even if you don't get full coverage, anything helps. Let me know if you have questions. Sorry this is so long.

Good luck,
Breezewriter

puanani wrote:I'm usually a B average student, but for some reason, my mental state has been putting me so I can't concentrate. All I want to do is do what I love. I think it's usual for someone to feel like this, but I was a B student, and I am putting in the work, sometimes 12 hours a day in a cafe studying, but am not reaping the benefits of studying. I am getting F's and E grades.

Has anyone experienced getting low grades when putting a lot of effort in? If so what have you done to raise your grades?

Have you just been diagnosed with bipolar. Or did you just start having manic episodes?

I was an A student and at the end of the senior high school year, I fell apart and didn't even want to graduate. I was swinging from mania to depression. No sleep. No concentration. Ditched my work. So unlike me. In college, I got D's and then I had to ask for help with some difficult classes when before everything was so easy for me. No concentration. I'd record the entire length of the lecture and couldn't hold details in my mind. I'd stay up for hours trying to learn things and got help from other students but I barely passed with a C. I eventually became manic with psychosis and got in big trouble and just quit because I couldn't handle it. Then I crashed and became depressed. Up and down I went. I lost my scholarship too.

What I later did in life, years later, was to take one or two classes only and have less stress. I'd take lots of notes and keep working at it. I think timing was contributing to that. I was not manic or hypomanic during that time.