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Why can't I force myself to go to class?

145 Answers
Last Updated: 04/20/2022 at 9:19pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Jessica McDaniel, LPC, LCPC

Licensed Professional Counselor

I have been practicing cognitive behavioral psychotherapy since 2007 with a diverse group of adult clients with various diagnoses, all races, and socioeconomic classes.

Top Rated Answers
chocoholic2401
May 22nd, 2019 11:28am
Reading your question , it seems as though you do not like attending classes. I didn't like it too. if your just in middle school, its necessary for you to study each and every subject which might seem quite disheartening and frustrating for you. but trust me knowledge will be handy in the future. middle school education is primary and basic. after that you can choose your subjects and learn what you like. remember that if you want to be successful in life. school is the first step. good luck for your future. try to enjoy studying .
Anonymous
June 19th, 2019 1:45pm
Sometimes it is hard to find motivation to do things that you aren't excited for. Perhaps if you started setting goals for yourself such as go to class, go for a walk, sleep early, etc. then going to class may seem more bearable! Along with this, when you attend class you will feel better because the anxiety of missing class won't be there, along with an improvement in your grades! Perhaps even making some new friends in your classes could be helpful. Set SMART goals for yourself, and do not be hard on yourself if you happen to slip up some days.
Bpdbex
June 20th, 2019 9:28am
Going to class is never going to be something fun you do. School in reality is a chore, but much like brushing your teeth; you gotta do it. Many classes are boring and tedious, however if you can find motivation for yourself to go to classes it might improve your attendance rate. Finding friends in classes is a huge motivation to go to class because you will miss out on fun opportunities if you are not there. Also if you just go to class now, you won’t have to worry about things like summer school and detention. Going to class is worth it because you get the education you need to set yourself up for a successful future.
Anonymous
July 13th, 2019 5:39pm
Is there something that’s making it hard for you to go to class? A person there? The work itself? Whatever it is, identify this obstacle, and find a way to remove it. If it’s a person, try talking to your professor. If your workload is too much, also talk to the professor. If you are finding that you physically cannot muster up the energy to go, there are many things you can do to help! Try drinking more water in the mornings. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Make small, gradual changes to your lifestyle and you will notice a difference. I hope this has helped you, or someone else reading this! All the best x
Anonymous
August 2nd, 2019 12:37pm
The reason is that you are forcing yourself and not doing it wholeheartedly. It's a tough job to attend all classes and take down lectures but something interesting or a passion for something makes us attend them. It could be a simple reason such as shortage of attendance or compulsions from parents. Its rare to find students who love to go to school or college for studying . It's done for sake of doing until you like something about it. People don't go to class mostly because of laziness or oversleeping or frustration. There are multiple reasons. Doing something you like and something acceptable in the environment of a classroom could make you attend the classes.
Jezbr
September 25th, 2019 6:59am
There could be many reasons. Anxiety can pin us to chairs and floors without us knowing why. I had a season of life where I couldn't get off a chair. I was stressed and isolated and unable to function properly. And slowly I figured out what was a part of the maelstrom that ended with the chair freeze, but, know that it happens to many people. It is often your body and minds reaction to some things in your life and is stops you. Just relax. Find a place in your mind and body to find some kind of stillness. Now if the question is more to "I am physically able to go to class I just don't want to" then you could track where that fear/ anxiety/ boredom comes from. To find ourselves safe in a room of strangers to learn sometimes difficult concepts, we need some semblance of protection, resilience and desire.
Anonymous
November 21st, 2019 8:45am
Sometimes you just need rest yourself and want to taking time for yourself. It's okay. Sometimes classroom being boring or you feel unhappy there. Just remember that you are human and you need to be free. But class not bad at all. I mean there are something good and bad there. But I think you just learn to be positive thinking and think about your future. Yeah, education not guarantee all of our future.. But it Will help you.. The impact is deal with your pain every you step at class. And then.. My last advice.. Don't force yourself. Just make reflection, "what do you want for your future life?"
Anonymous
December 1st, 2019 11:59am
It sounds like you are having trouble to attend the class. There can be many reasons behind that. Like your class is on a time where you don't feel convenient to go to it may be difficult for you to attend classes on such a time. So in that case I would suggest to have someone with you go attend class with your buddy. And if it is too early then set up alarm so you can wake up early and try to sleep early. It can be difficult sometimes to attend class but if you make yourself disciplined to go there no matter how you feel then a time will come when you'll feel better . So keep trying you'll get better. And make good friends that way you can also get help in attending the class. Exercise keep yourself healthy it may also help you
Twokindears
December 29th, 2019 6:12am
There are times in life when we become so overwhelmed that getting out of bed is a great task! If there are a lot of stress in our life and e have to work on resolving them before we can move forward! Taking one step at a time and completing smaller tasks will help to prepare us for the next task! Just like climbing stairs; each step is an incline, the lower the step the easier it is to master it! So with things we do in life we must take one step at a time until we are able to achieve the desired goal!
allnaturalMonkey
January 16th, 2020 12:59pm
Personally, I have experience the 'hard-ships' of college. Maybe it's one lesson, maybe it's one person or just having to get up at 6 for a 9 am lesson. But it makes you not want to go. I used to hate going to class, and the more I focus ongoing to class, the more I dread going, so I take days off which only makes it harder to go back. So, I focus on one thing I like that lesson, maybe it's sitting next to someone I like or that during that lesson I will learn something new. Looking forward to one thing makes the whole lesson seem a bit betterI
adorableVision9837
March 11th, 2020 11:40pm
From my experience I would say that maybe you don't feel emotionally safe in class, or maybe you are really smart and class is just boring for you. You could also be feeling lonely and uncomfortable at class, because you don't like the peoples at your class. Sometimes it can be almost like addiction to skip class, at least it was for me. Other times there are peoples who already know what they want to become and there are a lot of classes that won't be necessary at life, so it's really hard to force themselves to go to these classes. For everyone it is different answer, but one thing that helped me was to think about my future and dreams that I want to accomplish and understand that I need to learn every class to get to that even if it will be unnecessary.
Anonymous
April 22nd, 2020 6:09am
There are many factors at play when forcing one's self to do something. Going to class for example, you have to think about what make you not want to go to class and why you would want to force yourself to go to class. Let me bring up an example. One might not want to go to class because one is addicted to video games. Going to class, here, presents many challenges. You would not want to go to class because you would be away from your video game which causes you to panic. In this situation, it is important to contact a health care professional who can help you or provide you with resources and referrals to overcome an addiction.
thatadamguy90
April 22nd, 2020 2:20pm
When you try to force yourself to go to class, you're exercising your will. Your will is a muscle, not a calculator. Calculators, you press "2 + 2 =" and you get "4," and that's equally the result, no matter how many times you try it. A muscle, on the other hand, gets tired over time, the more you do with it, the more worn down it gets. If you don't feel like you have the willpower to achieve your priorities, one way is to arrange your life to be less hard (so you don't tire you will on less-important tasks). Another is to increase your effective willpower (by sleeping better, for example). Without knowing more about your situation, it's hard to tell which is the next right step—simplifying your life or helping yourself to be more healthy. Perhaps both.
Anonymous
April 23rd, 2020 1:00am
There could be so many reasons! Leaning towards the side of motivation to go to class though, I can give a bit of an explanation. Motivation is the reason why someone is behaving a certain way, and getting out of bed, or doing something fun (a super short-term reward) vs. going to class (long term reward because we all know how far away graduating seems) is going to want to win every time because more reward correlates with more of the behavior that gets the reward. So you have to try harder to feel like you 'want' to go because you may not be getting rewarded enough (in some way or another) in class. Plus it's very hard to transition from one thing or another, especially when you're already in the middle of a huge transition anyway, which is being in school and feeling the pressures of all of that. Good luck, my friend, you are not alone. Just try your best!! :-)
Anonymous
April 26th, 2020 12:48pm
Motivation can be a hard thing to focus. I know for me, it was because I was depressed and anxious. For my partner, it was because he has ADHD and has trouble focusing or remembering things. It could be that you have too much on your plate, that you have something going on in your personal life, that you are having trouble balancing school with work and normal life. The best person that can help you with that is your school counselor. They are trained to help, and they want to help, students succeed. They are there to listen, guide you to resources, and can even help you with things unrelated to school. When you pay tuition, part of that money is for services and facilities, such as counselors. This, like any material your tuition pays for, is there to help you succeed as a student.
omar98
April 26th, 2020 8:12pm
Well, one thing I've learned while trying to understand my motivation and performance is that I can't really "force" myself to do anything. Honestly. Even the things I used to think about as things that I "must" do turned out to be things that I really can't force myself to carry out. No one's gonna force you to go to class, do your homework, be a good partner, or any of that. You have to come to the conclusion that you truly and deeply want those things because you believe that they can make your life better. If you don't fully understand why you're doing something, or if you feel like it's useless, there's no way you'll commit to it.
Anonymous
May 3rd, 2020 1:35am
I can able to understand what you are feeling. This is not a big problem. I think you can sort out this very quickly and will be a successful person in your life. Ask yourself the question why you cannot go to the class. Think what is the fear in going to the class. And also think what is the best part in going to the class. You always remind your mind that you are not coward . You are very brave to handle any situation. You jave power to solve any problems in your life easily
bountifulCreature9495
May 15th, 2020 10:32am
School is hard enough without external pressure from parents and social pressure and so forth. Exam stress puts alot more on students than anybody else realises so after a long time of trying really hard you may become burnt out and then revert to hating school and avoiding it. Similarly, when you deal with something that stresses you out for so long you try to avoid it. Such as if you forgot your lyrics during a play you might have stage fright and avoid acting. If you understand the pressure and the fear and try and find ways to combat it, going to class should come easily.
AnyaLeo22
May 29th, 2020 3:46am
In my experience, I have found it hard to follow up on work that I felt wasn't my choice or aligned with my passions, especially when there is high pressure. In general "forcing myself" to do anything has not been very successful. Instead, thinking about why I chose to enroll in that class in the first place, or how it could benefit me to be there can be a better motivator. The truth is a lot of students feel unmotivated because they feel they are not in control of their education. I do best when I think of school as a tool, not a place that defines my value, and make that tool serve me. Some days, maybe just the thing I need is to take a sick day. And that's okay too.
Anonymous
June 7th, 2020 6:15pm
Going to class takes a lot of motivation, especially if the class you're going to is far from where you are. To make sure I go to class, I would make five different alarms and make my friends make sure I wake up. To get the motivation to actually do that, I put the benefits of going to this class and what I will be earning from going to class and learning. You always want the best for yourself so if you think you're better off not going to class and can do well in the subject with self-studying, then you are your own boss. However, I have to think of all the resources I would gain and benefit in the class environment and that helps me a lot in focusing on my future and having set goals that will help me reach my future career.
Anonymous
July 31st, 2020 12:56am
It is difficult to force yourself to go to class, as school may bring negative feelings for you. Depending on sheer willpower and motivation may also be difficult, as one may not always be feeling up to par. It is important to acknowledge why you are not able to attend class and think about what you would do to support someone else in your situation. Analyze what about class is providing difficulty for you and think about how you can better that area for yourself. Do not pressure yourself and contact resources for mental health and academic guidance at your school.
Petra1234
July 31st, 2020 8:48pm
It really depends on the situation. If you noticed, that you have difficulties not only with going to the class but also you have some problems with motivation, sleeping well, eating too much or too less, maybe not enjoying everyday activities as you used to, it may mean that you suffer from depression. For sure don't blame yourself. If possible, please look for professional health or talk with your school councilor to find the best solution that would suit you. Think if your lack of motivation is connected with any particular event. Having more information about it would make easier to figure something out.
BecBelievesInYou2020
August 26th, 2020 6:33pm
It sounds as though something could be lacking in your motivation. What goals do you have for the future? How will going to class help you achieve those goals? By finding a focus, it can really help to understand the benefits of attending a class you may not enjoy. Once you have a clear picture of where you're headed, and you understand that attending those classes is essential to getting you there, you will want to attend those classes so you can pave a successful pathway to your future. You will not have to go to classes for the rest of your lif, but in doing so for the short time you are required to, you will set yourself up for a lifetime of a career that you enjoy.
Anonymous
September 4th, 2020 9:30pm
Going to class these days can seem like a daunting task. With the pandemic on one hand and the political climate in major cities; it appears as though all the motivation and drive have gone to drain. I blame the pandemic for the lack of ability to physically go to class and learn in a classroom setting. But rather, having to participate in class in a virtual setting. I feel like when I'm home there's just too many distractions; studying, kids, other memebrs of family at home, and noise is truly becoming a difficult task. Concentration alone is becoming nearly impossible to complete.
ingeniousBeauty4518
September 9th, 2020 10:03pm
sometimes your classes can be extremely overwhelming and overall a scary place to be at especially if you suffer from anxiety, depression ect. try to remember that not everyone is looking at that pimple today, not everyone can notice the small hole in your tights today. not everyone is licking at the tiny things about you that make you nervous. it’s all 100% in your head and you should try your hardest to ignore it at most costs. if this still doesn’t help maybe ask your teachers if you can take online class or private classes to help your education.
Anonymous
September 16th, 2020 10:22pm
In my experience, lack of motivation has been a symptom of depression. When I'm feeling disconnected or unsupported, even the most menial of tasks is challenging. So when faced with more daunting tasks, like going to class or work, the feeling is unbearable. Sometimes, I overcome my aversion to doing something I ultimately want to do by breaking it up into smaller pieces; rather than going to class, I'm sitting up in bed. Then, I'm putting my shoes on. I've never succeeded in eliminating a feeling by quick fixes, but I have, over time, built up some resilience by rewarding myself for trying and through loving relationships.
ThePowerofKnight
October 7th, 2020 11:24pm
I hear you saying you're having a difficult time motivating yourself to get to class. Using the word "force" to encourage yourself to get to class is considered more like punishing yourself, than supporting yourself. The best experiences in life are ones that we enjoy. Are there any aspects of your class that you enjoy? Can you share more with me any aspects of your class that inspires you and makes you feel happy? I understand class can be very stressful, especially when you want to earn high grades. This may cause feelings of not wanting to attend your class. It could be helpful for us to discuss any factors about your class that you enjoy or brings you satisfaction. Would you like to explore this with me?
Anonymous
November 5th, 2020 6:09am
Going to class or school, has to be a choice. Not everyone likes or loves to go to school. When people force themselves to do something they do not want, the interest diminishes. You should never force your self to go some where you do not want to be. Maybe rethinking why you are there and why you are going in the first place may be a better option. Sometimes people go to class because they have expectations, or have the need to. Many people go to class because is the class they love or friends they want to see. What ever that choice is , it has to be a choice made from you and no one else. If you just do not have to go to class, because you are tired and work a lot, that’s another thing. Sometime having a schedule or a time planner may help.
Anonymous
November 10th, 2020 5:33pm
No one should have to force themselves to get to class, you should really try to focus on getting yourself to want to got to class and that way it wont seem as stressful or difficult as it normally would have been. Try convincing yourself to got to class by knowing why you should and also identify what's keeping you from going, and by taking these certain steps slowly by slowly you'll see what had seemed an endless hallway turn into a few steps as you are walking to class knowing you didn't have to force yourself and feel a weight being lifted off your shoulder.
Anonymous
November 18th, 2020 9:13pm
It's completely natural to have this feelings. Can anyone ask that why can't I force myself for playing games or do things which you like a lot? So it's common for you to think about it. When we stress ourselves or force our mind to do something which it doesn't like,you will be more and more frustrated. So the solution to this is to accept that you are going to class for your better education and better life.