Lived Experience Forum

[Eden1919]

@greenpea  Well thankfully most of my classes have not been super large at the uni I have been at this last year and after the first few lectures most people stop coming and just watch them online. But my old uni was bigger and had busy classes the lectures were stressful but you can just get up and go outside if you need a break. Idk most people don’t really talk that much in class just in breaks or before and after. But if you are worried you can ask to meet the unit coordinator/lecturer before class starts and let them know you are having X issue and how you would like to deal with it but for me the biggest help is being registered with the student support team cause they make a plan that has allowances for extensions and also means that if you are having an issue you don’t have to explain any details but can just say my plan says I need/am entitled to X and the lecturer has to listen. 

For the actual time time in class though I just make sure I have space before and after so that I can calm down and recharge and don’t get burnt out so quickly but mostly you just have to try and sit and deal with it you can’t control others and unless you want to tell them all why you are having problems then you kind of just have to find ways to cope. Oh but if you are like me and fidget a bit when you are stressed then take something to play with in your hands. Idk is there a particular thing that stresses you out? 

[greenpea]

@Eden1919  oh there are many things that stress me out but one of the major things is my hand tremor from my meds.  Sometimes it is unnoticeable whilst other times the whole side of my body shakes .... when I am constantly using it it stops but when I am still it starts up. 

There are other things which I cant get into on these forums unfortunately ....

[Eden1919]

@greenpea  I mean frankly if someone is bothering you about the tremor then they are not a very nice person but I would think people wouldn’t be rude about it. If it is the note taking style that will be an issue the lectures would likely be recorded so you could take notes at a later time and watch it back so you can do what you need during the lecture to manage it. I was constantly fidgeting and moving around some days and no one really cared I tend to sit a little away from the crowd though so that can help. I think if it is going to be a functional issue then talk to the lecturer about it but if it is more that is it going to make you uncomfortable and distracted then I would just take something to keep you physically occupied so that it is more settled. I have a friend with a hand tremor and they sometimes sit on their hands if it gets bad. 

As for the other things i understand the forums can only do so much. But if you think you could word it in a way that I would understand and that would be within guidelines then by all means tag me and I will do my best to play forum charades. 

[greenpea]

@Eden1919 just tried out the sitting on hands and it does work 😄 thanks for that. Will have to think how I cn word it as to not get into trouble with the powers that be. Will get back to you. peaxx