studying a degree with hppd

[Sammywalker2009]

Hey how hard is It doing a degree with hppd anyone out there done this kind of thing with this debilitating fucking disease

[wooshka]

David, the founder has done it. I'm sure it was definitely a challenge and required some form of compensation (guessing), but people have done it and are probably still doing it. What are your symptoms? What do you think will hinder your chances of finishing a degree?

[etardnow]

I think it depends on how severe your hppd is.

 

Mine isnt so severe, mostly to do with lights, but i think school is helping me push my hppd aside.

 

Looking at lecture hall lights, project light, far away teachers,  my attention might wander off into hppd land but it kinda gets 'old'; my hppd aint going away so might as well listen to what the prof is saying. 

 

Gives me a reason to go out everyday and even the 'small' things like 'pretending' that im fine amongst my peers helps me a bit imo.

Basically re-training my brain to think about other things rather than obsess over hppd. 

 

I dont know if i can give credit to school or it just coincides with the passage of time but i am definitely thinking less about hppd with this relatively busy life. 

 

I think reading books actually improved my text movement visuals since im constantly reading and not taking a break to notice the text movement. Its like my brain is forgetting how to make it move. I should be fucking amazed actually but text movement was mild to begin with anyway.

 

Sometimes i find myself using HPPD as an excuse to just not go to school but everyday i continue to go is another day that 'I win'.

 

I sometimes wonder if i have some cognitive setback from HPPD but i think it might be just the worrying. 

 

I might have some cognition troubles but I can't say for sure. Prior to hppd reading something once was usually enough for me to understand concepts but I think hppd is a hindrance to my mental power only when im actively thinking and worrying about hppd which is quite often. Hard to memorize/comprehend when my mind is preoccupied with thinking about hppd(reading but not actually reading, if u know what i mean). But it is slowly fading away since im 'forcing' myself and in turn teaching my brain not to think like that.

When i 'observe' myself having no problems when gaming/reading forums/ surfing internet, i cant say i have a true cognition problem, though those activities are less cognition intensive. -.-

 

This is my experience so far. Only you would know if you can handle it or not. I think the mere fact that your considering going to school is an improvement and a sign of 'moving on'. Also, I think it would help tremendously if you were actually passionate about your major/studies. Unfortunately for me, my studies arent my passion but i'm doing it for the money.

 

I like to think about how if i was financially set, how less i wouldve been affected by hppd. If i had a couple million dollars, i think i wouldnt mind so much of hppd. funny how that works. 

[Sammywalker2009]

Been having other health problems unrelated to hppd but it seems to of had an impact making things worse feeling more dizzy sick tired fatigued and things like that struggling with work so thought about the possibility of studying my hppd isn't really severe but I do have some visual snow and sensitivity to light being the worst symptoms. My cognitive function its hard to tell I feel as if I find it harder to jam information In but if its essays I might find it easier as opposed to the tests

[treespirit]

hay there, i got hppd in my first year of university (i think it was around november time). i'm currently in my third year of university and about to finish! i would say being at university has helped distract me and has given me purpose. i would recommend it if it's something you want to do. now is as good as time as any to do something that means something to you! i have found all the same things as etardnow. i can't really imagine what life would have been like had i dropped out, but uni has helped give meaning to my life and given me hope. i thoroughly recommend it. my hppd was pretty fucked up in first year, and it was quite disorientating being in a city that i didn't know, with no one i really knew. it was tough but has become progressively easier. hopefully you've already got through the tough part and uni will help to give you hope and show you that you can achieve. uni is a great experience in general. i used to find it very very hard to read but i think the persevering helped. i do still sometimes find it hard to read even now and seeing as i do an art based course i draw a lot. unfortunately i favor pen drawings (black on white paper) which means terrible after images! but even this is reducing with time good luck!

[StateOfRegret]

I would tend to agree with etardnow's original sentiment; "it depends on how severe your HPPD is" - and especially on the comorbid disorders you may suffer.

 

I had HPPD a few years before entering university. I got it in "gymnasium", which I think roughly corresponds to senior high school. The first year of university was no problem, but I continued doing drugs, and my HPPD got worse. I developed an anxiety disorder as well. I got through another half year after that - and I did very well, academically. I've held a position as a teaching assistant during my second year as well (which is, in itself, quite unusual). However, my anxiety got worse to the point of having daily panic attacks, and recently I've been forced to put my studies on hold to get my anxiety under control. I'm hoping to be able to go back to university in a month or so - we'll see. I have a teaching position waiting for me in a few months as well, and I desperately want to get somewhat better before then.

 

Perhaps I should add, for completeness, that I study physics.

 

I can only agree with treespirit that academic life is, in general, very fulfilling and enjoyable, although it is hard work as well.