My real name

I’m not a doctor with prescribing privileges or in any way trained on these substances. Nor can I endorse the use of these substances without a prescription for purposes that are not related to the issues they’re meant to address.

I wish you the best, Anon. I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to allay your concerns, because abuse of medication is just that - abuse. Addiction and/or dependence on the substance itself is harmful - it creates a cycle in which your brain no longer makes up for the energy and attention you gain from the medication, which leaves you feeling drained and sluggish until you take it again. That kind of thing can (probably) permanently affect your ability to focus and achieve things.

Especially if you don’t even have ADHD in the first place, which you don’t indicate here.

Also, school should NEVER be a priority over your health. No matter what.  If you are willing to risk your physical and mental health for a grade, you need to re-assess your priorities, your mental health, and your abilities. It sounds like you’re taking on far too much, and hurting yourself to get it all done. Why? How did it get to that point? Do you really want to keep doing this?

Please be safe, Anon. I’d strongly advise you to discuss your reliance and abuse of these medications with a professional who can assess any possible damage, and help you reach a more balanced, healthy approach to problem-solving.

That’s a great question that I don’t have the answer to. It depends on whether you want to do practice or research in the long run. It also probably depends on the focus of the program you’re applying to. Some places are more focused on practice vs. research themselves, so either might look “better.”

In general, I’d say thesis. Research experience is what tends to make or break students, while you can be excused for not having much clinical experience.

Ideally, you’d want both. ;)

Theses were NOT required at all the schools I applied to (~15), and I didn’t see any where they were. I’m sure some of the Ivy League places might expect it from you, but I wouldn’t worry too much. 

I did an Honors Thesis optionally, and I’m sure it looks good to have one under your belt. I don’t know if the credits matter as much as the effort you put into it and the topic you did it on. I’ve been asked to help with reviewing applicants for a couple years now, and I’ve personally never checked how many credits the thesis was worth.  I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to have a 3 credit over a 1, but good work is good work.

Thanks!

Oh, hon. :(

I wouldn’t label that any disorder, but it sounds very much like you’re struggling with what we’d probably call your gender “role” in our society, not your gender identity per se (though it is okay if that’s in question too).

Depending on when and where you grew up, it is likely that you’ve experienced these worries as truths - that boys don’t express their emotions openly and cheerfully with others. You sound like you’re really worried about the thoughts of other people when you’re expressing yourself, something I feel a lot of us experience.

We’re a very judgmental culture, while pretending to be all very individualistic.

There’s no easy cure for this kind of concern, but I would recommend researching feminist psychology. Since your anxiety seems tied to what society says you “can” and “can’t” do, it’s the perfect type of research to look into for yourself. 

All I can really suggest is that you work on surrounding yourself with emotionally uninhibited friends, who will be accepting of you as you work on learning how to express yourself in a way that makes YOU comfortable. That’s the whole point of emotional expression, right? I mean… they’re YOUR emotions, not anyone else’s. You’re not saying that everyone should cheer and hug people when they’re happy, but dammit, you want to! And that should be allowed!

so yeah - work on thinking about what it is you wish you felt freer to do it. Find friends who seem to be living their goals and values like you want to. When you get comfortable around someone, notice how you change, and what feels “right” for you. If the fear is very intense and it keeps you from being able to find friends at all, I would suggest therapy? Just a brief amount of time to come to terms with your own fears and to “practice” that interaction with someone where you ARE safe to express your emotions. That might feel good anyway, honestly.

Emotional expression won’t be the same everywhere or with everyone, of course. There’s still places where you want to be inhibited (a board room meeting, court, etc.), but you shouldn’t feel this pressure and fear about “everyone” hating you just for being yourself and wanting to share yourself with others. That’s a very basic human instinct, and I’m so sad that people have tried to deprive you of it just because of some archaic gender role dichotomy.

I hope this helped, Anon. Hugs to you! 

Unfortunately, I don’t know much about teaching as a career, because it’s never been something I’m interested in. I think my list of pros and cons for a community college would look like this, but it may differ depending on who you are:

Pros

• Getting to foster excitement about psychology in new students (a lot of my friend credit good teachers in community college for getting them started on their path in Psych)
• Less research required
• More freedom to teach how you want (I think)
• Less education/money required to get qualified

Cons

• Probably no tenure
• Less pay
• Less research able to be performed (depends on if you like research or not)
• Little professional mobility (can’t move to the big leagues with a masters, little movement in the community college game)

Anyone else have ideas? :)

I will advise you (and everyone) that I’m a graduate student, in training to be a Clinical Psychologist. So any advice you receive from me is coming from a student, and I don’t really know you or your situation. But I’m happy to listen and try to help.

On to your question! That sounds like a very understandable (but awful) reaction to being separated from someone you care a lot about. If it’s been over 2 weeks, then you might want to be concerned that you’re having a true depressive episode. For now, it just seems like you’re adjusting to missing your friend and being “on your own” again. But you’ve been a happy person in the past in those circumstances, so I believe you’ll be able to be happy again!

Have you tried Skyping with your best friend in the meantime so that you still feel connected while you’re adjusting? And do you have other friends that are nearby that you could spend some time with? Loneliness is a horrible feeling, and it easily creeps into every aspect of your life and poisons things that used to make you happy. So please try and remember what about your hobbies made you happy, and try to remember the good times you had with your friend instead of how much you miss them. 

If you’re in school (college), you may have a few free sessions with an on-campus counselor or psychologist, who exists to help people deal with things like this. Missing your friends/past hobbies is a huge issue on campuses. It’s part of “adjusting” to new aspects of life, and it’s always hard. You’re not weak or “sick” for feeling this way, and it won’t always be this dark.  Good luck, friend. 

Aw! Thanks, Anon! Feel free to create some memes out of what you’re studying, too!

And I try to be respectful and understanding, but sometimes I have to put my foot down about what I believe and know to be true. I hope it always comes across in the spirit in which I intend it, though. Respect comes first. :)

Take care!

I’m sorry, Anon. Don’t be sad!  It wasn’t personal!

I’m very busy, and it might have just gotten lost in my inbox. What was your question?  If it was the one about schools/programs I applied to, I believe I had an anon who asked the exact same question on my personal blog, which I did answer. I assumed it was the same person. 

I took my GRE in September of 2010 and I graduated in May of 2011, and started grad school in Fall 2011. 

I would suggest trying to get it done earlier, for a couple of reasons.

A) You’re less busy. Senior year can be hectic, and you don’t want to be cramming for the GRE while trying to write up an awesome personal statement for your applications. 

B) You have time to do it again if you don’t get as high of a score as you want. Scores can take a couple months to get back to you and to send out to your schools, so if you wait too long to take it the first time, you’ll be in a corner if you’d want to retake it to improve your scores.

Just be strategic and leave yourself the time and energy to take it effectively. :)

I’m in a Clinical PhD program. I chose PhD because I wanted the broader set of options (and better pay) after completing my education, but I completely support the MSW track for others.