Elise is an attractive and bright 24-year-old pre-law student. She is very popular, with numerous friends and family nearby. At the beginning of the fall semester of her junior year, she begins to feel overwhelmed by the strenuous upper-level courses, the pre-law required courses and the upcoming Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).
In addition, as a senior officer of an on-campus service organization, she is involved in multiple projects. Her workload increases when one of the other officers leaves school for the semester, thus increasing her responsibilities.
Elise does poorly on several of her mid-terms and is overwhelmed by the anxiety about the LSAT. During class, she is unable to concentrate on the lecture and finds herself reading and re-reading her assignments, becoming increasingly frustrated.
At night she is unable to fall asleep. On the rare night that she is able to fall asleep, she wakes repeatedly and thinks about all of the things she needs to do. She often spends the night crying in the dorm common room so as not to wake her roommate. Her appetite decreases and she has to force herself to eat at least one meal a day.
Despite the offers of assistance from her concerned friends, Elise becomes more withdrawn. She feels completely isolated and begins to experience self-doubt and guilt about her apparent failure. She often wonders to herself, “How did I let all this snowball into such a disaster? I should be able to handle this.” She also finds herself wishing that she could just fall asleep and never wake again.
After missing a week of classes from a lack of initiative to attend, Elise decides to go to the Student Mental Health Clinic. There she is assessed by the psychologist and the clinic physician, who initiate a plan for medication and psychotherapy.
On the recommendation of her pre-law advisor, Elise withdraws from all her classes one week before the Thanksgiving break and moves back home with her parents who live two hours away. While at home, she continues treatment with a local therapist and her family physician. The following spring semester, Elise re-enrolls and continues in her course work and LSAT preparation with little difficulty and a newfound enthusiasm.
What's Related
- An Unquiet Mind
- Rory’s Story with Bipolar Disorder
- Kirstin’s Story
- Call Me Crazy
- Freewill’s Story
- A New Family Therapy for a New Family
- What Story Are You Living?
- The Value of a Child’s Bedtime Routine
- Conquering Panic and Anxiety Disorders
- A Relentless Hope: Surviving the Storm of Teen Depression
- Other articles by Lynn Ponton, Ph.D.
Last reviewed:
On May 4, 2006
By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
