Getting Overwhelmed in College and Fear of Learning

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Hi everyone,

I have a fear or aversion to learning in some contexts which has always hamstrung my academic career; it's more difficult for me to concentrate and focus on work in a disciplined and consistent way such that I'm satisfied with the end result and manage my time efficiently overall. I usually end up avoiding what I need to do until it's absolutely necessary. How do you avoid getting overwhelmed with the dual demands of academics and work/other things you need to do, and if you have some fear or aversion to learning things in detail, how do you manage it? I've managed to lurch along so far, but it's absolutely not sustainable.

I've always focused on standardizing learning and the nuances of learning to make it efficient. This mean ignoring anything that you won't remember, or don't need to. This ends up cutting most of the crap I believe education is about.

I had no idea I was autistic until after I retired. I knew I had difficulties being around groups, asking questions in class, etc. I was very tough on myself. I knew I was intelligent. I basically made myself bite the bullet and get through the classes.

I absolutely was overwhelmed most of the time in college, but I forced myself to get through it.

Is it possible that the information you are learning does not align with your interests?

I was a terrible student when I was an undergraduate. Since I was not clinically diagnosed with autism until I was 59, I suspect that this was because some of the coursework I had to take had nothing to do with my interests. An example of courses that I really disliked included chemistry and statistics because I didn't see this as being immediately relevant to my major which was education.

I did much better in graduate school when I studied Curriculum and Instruction because all of the coursework actually had something to do with my instructional program.

In terms of your situation, have you created a study schedule? In graduate school, I found that a study schedule really helped because adhering to this schedule kept me from procrastinating. It probably helped that I had a full time job as a motel desk clerk and worked the graveyard shift. This gave me plenty of time to study after the flurry of check-ins ended around 10 PM. I'd work until 6 AM, go to classes from 7 AM to 1 PM, and would then go home to sleep until around 7-8 PM.

I was not allowed to go to school after halfway through the 2nd grade, so I was self-educated after that. I now have four different degrees. When I went to college for the first time, I had no idea how I was supposed to learn things. I developed a system for myself back then that became foolproof. I have gotten an A in every class I've ever taken, except for a few that I made a moral stand in. I got a B+ in those classes. Here is my process:

1) Find out what you need to know for the tests by consulting the syllabus and asking the professor.

2) Memorize what you need to know on a schedule.

3) Use index cards and mock exams (one piece of paper with anticipated questions and a separate piece with correct answers in the acceptable format) to memorize the information.

That's it. People used to tell me that doing things this way would not lead to permanent knowledge, but that has proved to be incorrect. I took medical terminology 1, 2, and 3 in Summer 1999 in three separate accelerated classes. I earned a 99, 98, and 101 in those classes. I still remember the Latin and a good part of the anatomy. That was nearly 25 years ago. I also used this system to get a Linux certification and I know next to nothing about Linux. I just did it because it was free. I'm not that smart, either. It's just a good system. It alleviates anxiety.