Counselling and Personal Development
Student Life
Some changes in your life you choose for yourself, other changes are thrust upon you. Some changes are welcome, others are not. Either way, change involves a loss of something. Because through change something is lost, you will be unsettled until you readjust to what was lost. Many times change also involves something new in your life. Having to learn new ways of doing things also takes time and can be unsettling. It will be important for you during times of change to care for yourself so that you can keep studying as well as you can. If the changes that have taken place feel overwhelming, talking to a counsellor can bring relief and help you adjust better to the change.
Your wellbeing can be seriously affected during times of change. It will be important during and after change that you attend to all the dimensions of yourself. We suggest you do the Wheel of Life exercise again to assess where your imbalance is and correct this.
When someone you care about dies
Staying motivated to study when someone you care about dies is extremely difficult. If their death was unexpected you may feel shocked and confused for some time. Your study may seem irrelevant compared to your need to grieve. You may find that immediately after the person has died that you are unable to study, work, or do other things that you would normally. This may last for a week or more. Gradually as you will learn to live without the other person in your world, you will be able to study effectively once more.
What you can do to stay motivated
It is hard not to take a relationship breakup personally. When a relationship
ends, you can be filled with doubt about your own worth. Life without the
familiarity of your partner around may feel lonely, and your enjoyment of the
many things you did together may be lost. It is important that if someone else
stops caring for you, that you care even more for yourself. But remember, as
important as they may have been to you, they were not you. You exist whether
they are in your life or not. It will be important to be around people who care
about you, and for you to do things that allow you to feel good about yourself.
What you can do to stay motivated
Going to a university for the first time will be a big change in what is expected of you as a learner. You need to be self motivated, responsible, and organised in your learning. The campus will be much larger than school, with many more people, and you need to make sense of it all. This change is difficult enough. Having to do this and move to a campus from somewhere in Australia or overseas at the same time can sometimes feel too hard. As you wonder whether you have made the right decision to go to university, think abut this:
Some things you can do to help you adjust are:
If after a month at Deakin University you are feeling confused, lonely, and not able to study well, we recommend you speak to one of the counsellors for some confidential advice. They can talk to you about how to manage better at Deakin, how to deal with your family at home, and tell you what other supports are available to you at Deakin.
So you have your degree and now it’s time to move on. You may have mixed feelings about leaving Deakin University, perhaps excitement and relief that it is over, and maybe some sadness and regret that your time at Deakin has finished. Feeling many different things is normal. Moving on is made easier if this is the only major change that happens to you at the time. But like coming to university is more difficult if you have to move from home or another country, so if finishing at university more difficult if you have to also move again. As you move on, keep in mind the following:
Some things that you can do when you leave Deakin University are:
As you mature you change; your body, your ideas, your pastimes and your relationships. Becoming an adult in the world and enjoying the rewards that it brings is very satisfying. But to do so requires giving up many of the securities and comforts you had as a child and adolescent; a room, someone to cook your meals, someone to get you out of trouble. It can be a little frightening moving out of home, disagreeing with your parents, having to make your own money, or having a sexual partner. So take it one step at a time, don’t rush yourself, and look for opportunities to become more responsible in the world. The changes you go through are natural and normal, and necessary for you to become an adult and a professional.
What you can do to stay motivated
