Question: Dear Luise: I am feeling totally lost. I had to drop out of graduate school because it became too much for me. I was really stressed and now I am seriously depressed. I recently found out that I am afraid to succeed. What in the world do I do with that information? I don’t know what I want to do with my life, and I feel like it’s crumbling around me. Sincerely, Ruth Ann
Answer: Dear Ruth Ann: It is a bit difficult to address this with you when I have been given such limited data. For instance; where did you get the information about fearing success…from your intuition, a doctor, a well-meaning friend? It sounds like you believe it to be true. The most important thing right now is how you feel physically and emotionally, (which sounds pretty darn rocky). Certainly no solutions can be found to your problems with school and career until you are well again.
This is a time for counseling regarding every angle of the difficulties you are facing. You need professional guidance. You need to undo whatever it is that has taken you down and rebuild a more solid footing for your adult life and future pursuits. That will take time, Ruth Ann, as well as patience and commitment. You need to find out what’s going on inside you. If you look back, you will probably see that the danger signals have been there for a long time. It looks like you may have now gotten to the place where you can no longer push your symptoms aside in an attempt to ignore what needs to be looked at more closely. Subtle symptoms have become acute and even sound like they may be disabling to some degree. Pay attention to this, all of it. It’s very important. Take your questions to someone who can see you through finding the answers that will put you back on track. Blessings, Luise
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