I'm a med student. Recently I've started cutting myself,

Just tell them that they should mind their own business and that you're not going to see anyone.

>>18057732
First off, you need counseling, whether or not you want it. You think you're unique in not wanting to see anyone? Nobody wants to be made to do that, no matter how egregious their behavior.

Second, welcome to the healthcare field. You picked a field that -- unlike, say, economics, or Portuguese literature -- means you get to be directly responsible for the health and wellness of other human beings. That means that your school's responsibilities extend beyond pure academics. The school that trains and eventually vouches for you (by awarding you a degree) has a responsibility to make sure you're mentally and emotionally fit to do the job they're training you for, which means that self-destructive behaviors that suggest serious emotional problems absolutely ARE their business. Guess what? If you had a serious communicable illness like HIV or some other condition that affected your ability to do the job, they'd make that their business too. Wouldn't necessarily mean you'd have to leave off studying, but damn sure you'd have to disclose it and take whatever special precautionary measures they told you to.

Don't like it? Pick a different field.

>>18057757
The fit for placement practicals were designed to see if we're fit for placement. What they're doing is adding an extra criteria for me on the suspicion I'm self harming, and surely that isn't fair? If the self harm or stress caused me to fail the practical, fine, I'd accept that, but to be dismissed from it before I've even done the practical is something else.

I mean, they made this practical to see if things like self harm or stress was getting to someone, and I'm not even being given the opportunity to prove that it isn't.

Trust me, I know what you're saying. And if they came back to me after the practical and said "You're not fit to practice at the moment" I'd book my ass into therapy so quickly. But I know I'm still fit, and don't want this to ruin 5 years of uni.

You're studying to be a doctor and you don't see the issue with self harm? How would you treat a patient cutting themself?

>>18057732
>I've started cutting myself
>but I'm still fit

If that's your honest judgment, I wouldn't trust you to pop a pimple.

>>18057776
>You're studying to be a doctor and you don't see the issue with self harm?
It's different with me. This isn't a crutch for me, it's not something I'll rely on forever. I'll admit it's not ideal, but it's a temporary fix during my placements while I finish med. Not a lifelong compulsion.

>>18057785
>I wouldn't trust you to pop a pimple.
Better than amphets which half my year is on.

>>18057797
Classic denial. You should recognize that. There is no amount of self-harm that is okay or that doesn't require therapy.

>>18057771
I don't know what to tell you. They pretty clearly consider your emotional health and stability to be part of your "fitness for placement." Like I said, if you had some kind of serious physical health problem, I'm quite certain they'd also get up in your business about that, although maybe not as part of the fit for placement practicals. This is a field that has other requirements besides command of the material. You can think it's unfair all you want; although I don't know where you live, I'm sure they have the legal right to do it, and given how many med students are depressed or suffering from other mental health issues I'm sure they'd say they have an ethical/moral obligation to do it as well.

Their primary responsibility here isn't to be fair, it's to only graduate people who they feel confident will be able to function adequately as doctors in very high-stress environments, and also to look after the wellbeing of their students. Yes, I know for a lot of med schools that's a bad joke, but that's the idea, anyway.

And, really, you should see somebody. Not necessarily through them, if you have other options, but you should see somebody. "I don't want to" is not a good enough reason not to.

>>18057797
>It's different with me. This isn't a crutch for me, it's not something I'll rely on forever

So if all your colleagues became """temporary""" alcoholics, drug addicts, etc during med school it would totally be understandable?

>>18057732
If you're cutting, you can't cope in healthy ways. Healthy being other than self-harm. Tougher times are coming after medical school. It's like running a marathon, then being asked to climb a mountain in your residency. How will you cope then? Agree to get help. I hope you are helped and found "fit."

>>18057805
Only if it's Adderall.

>>18057797
>Better than amphets which half my year is on.
Only difference there is they found out about you. Yes, I know, lucky you. If you went to the head of your year and told them "hey, (student's name) is seriously abusing Adderall" they'd take it just as seriously, I promise you that.

Yeah, everyone's abusing Adderall, I know, but they're not omniscient.

>>18057797
>Better than amphets which half my year is on.
I don't think it is.
Amphets actually improve your ability to process thoughts. They are not a typical response to depression and anxiety.

>>18057810
So then why are you holding them to a higher standard then yourself? Also why talk to 4chan, but refuse to talk to a professional therapist that could actually help you? Why cut yourself in the first place, how isn't it a cry for help?

>>18057804
They have those rules, and I understand why. What I want is to be tested under those rules and not some additional criteria that completely excludes me before I can even take their practical. I mean, what's the point of it?

>>18057805
This is different to amphets. I'm not relying on it to get me through.

I tried to keep the self harm stuff at a minimum. I could have done a huge sob story but I didn't. Just want to know how to fight this, please.

>>18057822
You are learning a valuable lesson, right now, which will serve you well through the rest of your career. You are learning, from experience, that admitting you have a problem, and allowing yourself to be helped is the hardest part of recovery.

>someone gets busted for doing crack
>"hey man maybe you should get help for your crack addiction"
>"no i want to fight the system help me"

Jokes aside op you seriously sound like you have an addiction. read the shit you said and imagine someone else saying it you just keep trying to justify the fact you might be depressed or mentally unstable

First of all, the chick that reported you is not your friend. When a friend is depressed or has trouble coping with stress you don't go and endanger their future career and causing even more stress. You talk to them first, maybe get the family involved if that doesn't work.

That being said, self harm is a problem, it's not a "suboptimal" way to solve your issues. It doesn't solve shit, only causes more problems. I feel you, I used to cut myself too, I rationalized it a lot and didn't want to talk to anyone but that's not a way to deal with this.

You need to talk to someone, a close friend, family member, basically anyone you're close with. If you don't have anyone or are too scared to talk to someone who knows you, counseling will help. These people are trained to deal with stuff like this, med school is extraordinarily difficult and you're not the only one who's having problems coping. Just go in there with an open mind, you're just going to talk with them, it really helps. Most schools aren't out there to fuck you over with this kind of shit and they genuinely want to help you pass so just go to the counseling.

>>18057732
People can't be cared for by people who don't care for themselves. If you cut yourself you're clearly unhinged to some degree, and most people aren't comfortable leaving their lives in the hands of someone who disrespects their own to such a degree.

>>18057994
This. The university is actually helping you here by offering counseling. Take it before you're expelled.

>>18057822
>before I can even take their practical
The problem is that you need to be always in good shape in order to guarantee the health of your patients, and they cannot test that with a single practical exam. Even not with a series, as your condition may develop and even if you're stable every day for an year that is no guarantee for continuing to be stable

Fellow med student here

Why the fuck are you cutting yourself again? If you're looking to unwind stress, there are better ways. Take this as a warning - stop your bullshit, find a different pathway for stress release.

I could similarly justify weed smoking, doesnt mean you'll get in any less shit caught doing it.

>>18057771
Nurse here. Look at it this way - you may end up in charge of a ward of people who rely on you to live, or be the only available clinician that people can call upon in an emergency. If you can't control your self destructive urges you might incapacitate yourself at an inopportune moment, endangering them as well as yourself. The school is just making sure everyone is safe, yourself and your future patients.

>>18057771
You are not fit. You cut your arm. Nobody ok slices their arm.