Feeling Stuck
Currently I am in my second year of grad school for counseling. And recently I have begun questioning if I should continue. In my first class, we were told that we’d be growing as a person and as a counselor, but with every class, even though I always pass, I feel like the same person when I joined the program.
Every time I try to imagine the future, I’m just filled with anxiousness. Sometimes I just feel like I am stuck in the same loop. Never getting any better. When I bring it up, usually people just say “you got this” or “you’re almost there”.
There is a part of me that wants to drop out, and there’s that other part of me that still wants to be a counselor and prove what everyone keeps saying to me right.
@willingGrapes779
Hi!
I can relate. I was about to quit university studies in my field (and maybe move to another) because I was very afraid of the future after graduation.
Fear of failure, of not getting a job, etc. I was very anxious.
I finally stayed, because I liked my field of study. After graduation, things went fine.
All I tell you is based on my personal experience and that of many friends and people I know. I don't claim it to be the ultimate truth, of course.
What I learned is that there are uncertainties in life that can't be avoided, and they might create a lot of anxiety.
We have to make decisions under this uncertainty. It won't disappear until we finish the stage of life we are in. It's impossible to solve today the problems we will have in five years. Or anticipate the results.
That's one of the reasons College years are the most stressful stage in life (the main other is the unending series of exams...).
Only after you graduate you can deal with "The Future".
What you can do now is work to be better prepared, by getting good grades, etc. It seems trivial but it's extremely important. The base you are building now will serve you for the rest of your life.
Focusing on that (on doing well in the current courses, etc.), being aware that the base you build now will help you to better deal with the future, might ease the anxiety a bit.
Anyway, you will live with some anxiety and uncertainty until you graduate. Then things will get a lot more clear, as if a thick fog disappeared. New challenges will arise, but nothing compared with the anxiety, uncertainty and stress within the College life stage.
Summing up, you can build now the base that will put you in a better position to deal with "The Future" when you get there. By focusing on building a good base now, you might channel your energy in a useful way, that might ease your anxiety.
Does it make sense?
I look forward to your comments.
All the best!
Marcelo.