1L Depressed Already? Forum

[femmefatale]

Already depressed about law school.
It's so hard to find success stories about people who are happy.

Whenever I try to talk to my family/friends about how I fell they just write me off.

How do you stay positive?

[NYSprague]

Have you thought about waiting another year and applying early instead of January?
I know that doesn't answer your question. You sound like you're not ready to go and maybe you should listen to that.

[yomisterd]

Alcohol and self-delusion.

[femmefatale]

Have you thought about waiting another year and applying early instead of January?
I know that doesn't answer your question. You sound like you're not ready to go and maybe you should listen to that.

I have. I tried running this by my family multiple times, but they made me feel terrible about it and are pressuring me to go now.
I know that may seem silly to some people, but they are the ones who will be supporting me.
I've already quit my job and secured housing. I feel like I've gone too far down the road to turn back now.

[Pokemon]

Sex? Sometimes that helps me when I am stressed or depressed. Of course, take all the necessary precautions.

[sublime]

..

[Mal Reynolds]

1L sucks man. It can make you feel stupid and bored and hopeless. You get upset at not understanding shit you shouldn't really care about to begin with. People all around you are super into this stuff and you might have barely gotten through the reading the night before, if at all.

1L isn't all bad. But it's a grind and you have to be really confident you are doing the right things for yourself. Also you really need to make sure your relationships outside of the 1L class are solid because you're gonna need them at some point during the year.

At the end of the day you can get through it though. Everyone does.

[Pokemon]

Ok... I hope this will help you.

Law school might be intimidating but is really not that bad. The biggest stress for a lot of people are jobs. But beyond that, classes are not that bad and people tend to exaggerate a bit the bad sides of it.

If you think law school is not for you, then this is the time to stop. However, a lot of people might just get nervous before big changes, so make sure that you are quitting because you do not want law school, and not because you are worried/intimidated.

[chizzy]

It's probably fear and anxiety. if you're looking for at least some success stories to cheer you up, you should look through this thread:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=229640

other than that, OP please focus on what makes you happy for the rest of the summer.

[NYSprague]

Have you thought about waiting another year and applying early instead of January?
I know that doesn't answer your question. You sound like you're not ready to go and maybe you should listen to that.

I have. I tried running this by my family multiple times, but they made me feel terrible about it and are pressuring me to go now.
I know that may seem silly to some people, but they are the ones who will be supporting me.
I've already quit my job and secured housing. I feel like I've gone too far down the road to turn back now.

It isn't silly. But you need to figure this out for yourself. They may think you are just nervous, but maybe your doubts are deeper than that.

I'm just suggesting you don't ignore how you feel. It is never too late to change your mind, if you feel it is the wrong decision.

[jbates14]

If you are depressed already and haven't begun 1L then you should definitely not begin like this. Being a 1L and going through the first year is hell. People may say it's not all that bad, but it is. It's not so much the work, but the constant anxiety, confusion, and feeling like your worthless. It's more of a mental test than anything because everyone can put in the work. If you are not prepared mentally, seriously consider doing something that'll make you happy and you won't regret it at all.

[bailey8078]

If you do decide to wait a year think about retaking and reapplying. I was headed to BU, decided to wait and am very happy at NYU now. My family was disappointed too, but it was definitely the right choice to wait until I was happy with my options and certain that law was what I wanted to pursue.

[OutCold]

If your family is paying, there really shouldn't be any worrying. The depression in law comes from being shackled to doing something you hate in order to pay off your debt or from not having a job to pay back your debt. Both sources of stress are alleviated by not having debt.

[CicerBRo]

I went through 1L with depression and an anxiety disorder that I still have and I recommend seeking help before you tackle it. My mental issues made 1L even harder than it would have otherwise been. Either seek counseling now to get to a better mental place, or wait a year while you recover and really think about whether law school is something you want to do. 1L will demand all of your cognitive capacity; if some of that capacity is preoccupied with depression or anxiety, things become extremely difficult--trust me.

[Cogburn87]

If your family is paying, there really shouldn't be any worrying. The depression in law comes from being shackled to doing something you hate in order to pay off your debt or from not having a job to pay back your debt. Both sources of stress are alleviated by not having debt.

lol. 100% false. If you hate getting up every day to go to your meaningless comma-jockey job, you will hate your life regardless of your debt situation.

The idea that all the unhappiness in this profession stems from debt is just delusional.

[OutCold]

If your family is paying, there really shouldn't be any worrying. The depression in law comes from being shackled to doing something you hate in order to pay off your debt or from not having a job to pay back your debt. Both sources of stress are alleviated by not having debt.

lol. 100% false. If you hate getting up every day to go to your meaningless comma-jockey job, you will hate your life regardless of your debt situation.

The idea that all the unhappiness in this profession stems from debt is just delusional.

The point is you don't have to be a comma-jockey with no debt. You could be a basket-weaver if it makes you happy.

[Cogburn87]

The point is you don't have to be a comma-jockey with no debt. You could be a basket-weaver if it makes you happy.

Then don't go in the first place?

[BVest]

See a therapist. And don't seek anti-depressive qualities of alcohol... they're not there.

[femmefatale]

Ok... I hope this will help you.

Law school might be intimidating but is really not that bad. The biggest stress for a lot of people are jobs. But beyond that, classes are not that bad and people tend to exaggerate a bit the bad sides of it.

If you think law school is not for you, then this is the time to stop. However, a lot of people might just get nervous before big changes, so make sure that you are quitting because you do not want law school, and not because you are worried/intimidated.

Thank you Pokemon. This really helped. I do feel that law school is for me, however, the complete lack of control that I have in terms of my grades is quite frustrating.

It is not so much the classes part of it that terrifies me. It is the joblessness and debt situation that everyone describes.

Do I feel that I have the stamina, intellectual ability, and networking skills needed to separate me from my class? Yes.

But, that's how everyone feels before starting law school.

[femmefatale]

1L sucks man. It can make you feel stupid and bored and hopeless. You get upset at not understanding shit you shouldn't really care about to begin with. People all around you are super into this stuff and you might have barely gotten through the reading the night before, if at all.

1L isn't all bad. But it's a grind and you have to be really confident you are doing the right things for yourself. Also you really need to make sure your relationships outside of the 1L class are solid because you're gonna need them at some point during the year.

At the end of the day you can get through it though. Everyone does.

With all of the work that you have to do in law school, how much time is there to form real, lasting relationships and still be at the top of your class?

This is one of the things that is upsetting to me.

Forming genuine friendships, dating, and extracurriculars are all things that make me feel more whole as an individual. People always make it sound as if once you start law school you have to sacrifice all of these things.

[femmefatale]

It's probably fear and anxiety. if you're looking for at least some success stories to cheer you up, you should look through this thread:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=229640

other than that, OP please focus on what makes you happy for the rest of the summer.

Thank you chizzy!

[Mal Reynolds]

With all of the work that you have to do in law school, how much time is there to form real, lasting relationships and still be at the top of your class?

Oh jesus christ.

[oblitigate]

1L sucks man. It can make you feel stupid and bored and hopeless. You get upset at not understanding shit you shouldn't really care about to begin with. People all around you are super into this stuff and you might have barely gotten through the reading the night before, if at all.

1L isn't all bad. But it's a grind and you have to be really confident you are doing the right things for yourself. Also you really need to make sure your relationships outside of the 1L class are solid because you're gonna need them at some point during the year.

At the end of the day you can get through it though. Everyone does.

With all of the work that you have to do in law school, how much time is there to form real, lasting relationships and still be at the top of your class?

This is one of the things that is upsetting to me.

Forming genuine friendships, dating, and extracurriculars are all things that make me feel more whole as an individual. People always make it sound as if once you start law school you have to sacrifice all of these things.

I got fucked up all the timeeee in law school. When alcohol wasn't enough, I turned to splashing my drinks with Rx drugs. Shit was wild; was like group sex and counseling with a lot of ppl you wouldn't otherwise want to have sex with.

But I wasn't at the top of my class. In fact, no where near it. Therefore, take this post for what you will.

[Mal Reynolds]

I can see you're one of those histrionic types. Stop posting here and deal with your weirdness. It has nothing to do with law school.

[A. Nony Mouse]

1L sucks man. It can make you feel stupid and bored and hopeless. You get upset at not understanding shit you shouldn't really care about to begin with. People all around you are super into this stuff and you might have barely gotten through the reading the night before, if at all.

1L isn't all bad. But it's a grind and you have to be really confident you are doing the right things for yourself. Also you really need to make sure your relationships outside of the 1L class are solid because you're gonna need them at some point during the year.

At the end of the day you can get through it though. Everyone does.

With all of the work that you have to do in law school, how much time is there to form real, lasting relationships and still be at the top of your class?

This is one of the things that is upsetting to me.

Forming genuine friendships, dating, and extracurriculars are all things that make me feel more whole as an individual. People always make it sound as if once you start law school you have to sacrifice all of these things.

You don't. Some people do sacrifice these things, for a variety of reasons, but except for brief periods around finals (maybe when legal writing assignments are due), you can live a totally normal life in law school.

Biglaw, not so much. But law school is fine.

(Not at the top of my class, but the people at the top of my class had lives, too.)