Hi y'all!

I am a junior at GWU in DC, and I was just diagnosed with ADD last month.

I am taking a very heavy courseload, poli comm and pre-med courses. I had been scraping by (somehow) until this year but it was never really doing well...more like panicing and getting lucky and faking it...

Anyway. My psychiatrist put me on Adderall and it's helped a ton. You can look at my notebooks and actually SEE the divide between notes with no meds and notes with meds...

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on catching up? I am trying very hard, but I'm still behind and I was wondering if anyone had any tricks for catching up and not getting overwhelmed.

At this point, I just look at the pile of stuff to be done and start to freak out so bad that I just go do something else so I don't have to think about it....

Talk to your teachers / counsellors emtchick... almost every university in the civilized world will allow you accommodations if your psychiatrist writes them a note. Deadline extensions are common, as is tutoring/student mentoring...

I wish I knew what to say... I've done SO much catching up in my life (or... trying to catch up at least) it's not even funny.

I know how hard it is to face that pile of stuff you "should have done"...

One thing is to actually quantify how much you REALLY have to do. Write down the things you need to catch up on... then go through and cross out the things you can problaby get away with NOT doing... keep crossing things out until you have a realistic pile to tackle. otherwise it will be so overwhelmnign that you will never do it.

Then make some sort of a plan about when you are going to get this stuff done - like "this satruday I will do the regular math homework, and every third math problem from last weeks homework." (I find that doing every third problem is usually a lot easier than doing every problem... and you won't have time to do EVERYTHIGN, especailly if you're taking a lot of classes - this way you can fit in some of the old stuff without stopping the new stuff. make sure you don't stop doing the homework that's due in the next few days! )

It's probalby good to acknowledge that you won't be able to catch up completely - you'll just have to pick and choose a few problems or representative readings. Make sure you cover the key concepts, but dont' dwell on the details. Of course, it depends on how much you have left to do... but seriously - dwellign on details has been my downfall on every exam EVER.

Another thing is to look at it from a different point of view: instead of thinking of it as things you have to catch up on, think of it as concepts you have to have learned by the time the final comes around. That might help at least keep it from being overwhelming.

good luck!!!

thanks for your advice, guys!

The problem with student services is that here, at least, they require a boatload of evidence and tests to prove your diagnosis...and all my psychiatrist did was say, I think you are depressed. And I went, well, my therapist and I think I have ADD. Cause I have been depressed in the past, but I'm not now--trust me, I recognize it at this point. And he went, well...I'll give you a month's worht of adderall. Take one pill each morning and call me in a week, if it makes you crazy you don't have ADD.

And I took it and it helps some so by that logic it's been deduced that I have ADD...but I don't have the documentation needed to get accomadations.

I'm slowly staring down the pile of work. Slowly. *kicks work* Of course, if I didn't have the internet, I'd get soo much more done...

i have this classmate/friend who might just have OCPD whom i call whenever i get overwhelmed by piledup schoolwork. friends can help make life easier :).

which reminds me i still have to make a graph (1 week overdue) ... i can't decide when to make it or which one to use, pie or bar. aaaaaaaah :confused:

Hi and welcome to forums.....

I was in the same type situation that you are in, except I was only taking 6 hours. I got behind because I got ill. It as a tough decision, but I had to make it. If you think and believe you can catch up, and not just get by, learn the material and keep your GPA up, then go for it. More power to you and a job well done.

But I had to make a decision, because I work full time. I decided to drop a course. I am OCD so I felt with wanting to be a perfectionist in what I was doing, I had to drop a course. I hated to do it and felt like a failure in doing so. But, then I thought, okay drop the course, do well in your other course, and keep your GPA up there. So I had to make that decision.

I sincerely hate to suggest anything like dropping a course, but if it comes down to it, maybe it is something you can consider, especially if one of the courses you are behind on, is very tough. Everyone was so supportive of me and in forums and kept telling me I can do it, I can do it....but I felt like I couldn't....darn self esteem getting in the way.

I believe that everyone that posted on your thread had some awesome suggestions as well.

I wish I could drop a class, but....it's way too late. This is the last month of classes.

And I have exactly enough room to take all my classes and graduate. No room to wiggle, sadly.

It could be worse. Last semester I was taking 18 hours and I thought I'd kill myself. You wouldn't think it would be that one credit hour that pushes you over the edge....but it is.

I'm just gonna keep plugging along...yup yup.

isn't it ALWAYS that 1 credit hour?

I'm taking a 2 credit music class, which is basically private lessons (string bass, which I've played since 11th grade and LOVE TO DEATH) - it's only an hour of lesson per week plus a couple of hours practicing... and yet... it's a couple of hours too many. I wanted to take it because I kenw that it was the only way I'd keep myself practicing. That, and I needed 2 credits to be full time ;)

I thought "oh, well it's not so bad, It's not hard to find a couple of hours per week" but...

yeah those couple of hours always seemed to be RIGHT before the lesson since I hadn't practiced all week. and of course, RIGHT during a time when I really should have been at office hours for somthing else. And it's sad, but a lot of weeks i didin't practice at all. It feels terrible, but what can I do? I know I can't handle the extra little 2 credits even if it IS easier than any of my other classes.

Everyone says "oh - just take some filler credits, they're easy to find" but seriously, I CAN"T HANDLE THAT!!! Those little things just push you over the edge. or at least, they do for me.

how are you doing catching up anyway???