Quitting While Going to School
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Posts: 2
Quitting While Going to School
Hey everyone,
This is my first post.
I stopped drinking about a week ago after about 2-1/2 years of ~15 drinks/week on average. I quit for a variety of reasons including: a better relationship with my husband (he quit, too), better health, and more time & energy to devote to school. I thought I would feel better after a week. By reading threads, I now know that was pretty ridiculous to expect.
I am willing and able to deal with it being hard. What I am not willing to do is sacrifice my grades. I am about to take 2 months worth of rigorous summer classes (organic chem I & II + labs) and then take the PCAT in August. I've been trying to study a lot before the classes start, but this past week I have experienced anxiety, depression, insomnia, and WORST OF ALL...inability to concentrate. I thought quitting would help me do better in school. Instead it takes me an hour to get through 5 pages of text.
I am debating whether I should continue drinking until next summer just to continue making A's in my classes. Next summer, I'll have time off between undergrad and pharmacy school. I want and need to quit, but if it's going to ruin everything I've worked for, I can't do it right now.
Does anyone have advice?
This is my first post.
I stopped drinking about a week ago after about 2-1/2 years of ~15 drinks/week on average. I quit for a variety of reasons including: a better relationship with my husband (he quit, too), better health, and more time & energy to devote to school. I thought I would feel better after a week. By reading threads, I now know that was pretty ridiculous to expect.
I am willing and able to deal with it being hard. What I am not willing to do is sacrifice my grades. I am about to take 2 months worth of rigorous summer classes (organic chem I & II + labs) and then take the PCAT in August. I've been trying to study a lot before the classes start, but this past week I have experienced anxiety, depression, insomnia, and WORST OF ALL...inability to concentrate. I thought quitting would help me do better in school. Instead it takes me an hour to get through 5 pages of text.
I am debating whether I should continue drinking until next summer just to continue making A's in my classes. Next summer, I'll have time off between undergrad and pharmacy school. I want and need to quit, but if it's going to ruin everything I've worked for, I can't do it right now.
Does anyone have advice?
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,432
Welcome to SR 
I would never advise anyone to keep drinking to keep getting A's calina - thats pretty specious logic - whats most likely to happen over time is you'll find you have less and less control of how much, and how often, you drink.
You've made a great choice to stop. Stick to that.
You've already got a week down - you'll feel better after 2, and then 3....
Go see a doctor if you're worried about the time it's taking for you to get back to normal...don't go backwards.
D
I would never advise anyone to keep drinking to keep getting A's calina - thats pretty specious logic - whats most likely to happen over time is you'll find you have less and less control of how much, and how often, you drink.
You've made a great choice to stop. Stick to that.
You've already got a week down - you'll feel better after 2, and then 3....
Go see a doctor if you're worried about the time it's taking for you to get back to normal...don't go backwards.
D
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 40
Hi,
I'm also a college student in recovery. Does your University have a counseling center? At my University counseling is free and it's part of the tuition we pay anyways. Free counseling on campus is completely confidential and is very supportive.
The same methods of studying you used while drunk is not going to be the same methods that work for you sober. High I could not take notes and make outlines and get easy As. In my sober periods (now being one of them) I have to take mroe detailed notes and take my time on things. You can't expect a rabbit to come out of a hat on this. Yes, it will take you longer but if you work hard you will still get A's and be sober at the same time.
IMO you need to learn how to be in college sober before you hit pharmacy school. I have a friend there right now and it is tough.
It does get better! Welcome and Keep Coming Back,
Chavo
I'm also a college student in recovery. Does your University have a counseling center? At my University counseling is free and it's part of the tuition we pay anyways. Free counseling on campus is completely confidential and is very supportive.
The same methods of studying you used while drunk is not going to be the same methods that work for you sober. High I could not take notes and make outlines and get easy As. In my sober periods (now being one of them) I have to take mroe detailed notes and take my time on things. You can't expect a rabbit to come out of a hat on this. Yes, it will take you longer but if you work hard you will still get A's and be sober at the same time.
IMO you need to learn how to be in college sober before you hit pharmacy school. I have a friend there right now and it is tough.
It does get better! Welcome and Keep Coming Back,
Chavo
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,776
See a doctor if you're really feeling crappy, but whatever you do - don't drink! You'll have to make some changes and sacrifices to stay sober but the rewards of living sober are worth the effort. Don't start drinking again, it won't make anything better and in the long run will make things a lot worse.
Welcome to the SR family!
Welcome to the SR family!
April 18, 2010
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,117
Hi Calinacain. Welcome!
I can only speak for my own experience, but I also had pretty bad brain fog after qutting. The good news is that it went away quickly! (By the third week or so.)
You might have to work a bit harder now, but it will get much easier soon. To me it seems like all the studying will be a good way to keep you distracted and busy during these first few weeks when it can seem we have too much time on our hands now that drinking is gone.
Good luck!
I can only speak for my own experience, but I also had pretty bad brain fog after qutting. The good news is that it went away quickly! (By the third week or so.)
You might have to work a bit harder now, but it will get much easier soon. To me it seems like all the studying will be a good way to keep you distracted and busy during these first few weeks when it can seem we have too much time on our hands now that drinking is gone.
Good luck!
Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 715
Welcome to SR, Calinacain.
I'm a student as well and can say from my experience that I had difficulty concentrating for the first two weeks, but quickly I gained a mental clarity for greater than I ever had while drinking consistently. This happened around week 3. Be cautious about using things as an excuse to postpone sobriety though. I did that for about eight months: I'll quit after this test, I'll quit after this project, I'll quit when I have a break. It just gets worse and those "moments of clarity" that come when heavy drinking are too rare to be squandered.
Best of luck
I'm a student as well and can say from my experience that I had difficulty concentrating for the first two weeks, but quickly I gained a mental clarity for greater than I ever had while drinking consistently. This happened around week 3. Be cautious about using things as an excuse to postpone sobriety though. I did that for about eight months: I'll quit after this test, I'll quit after this project, I'll quit when I have a break. It just gets worse and those "moments of clarity" that come when heavy drinking are too rare to be squandered.
Best of luck
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