![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by calamityjane on March 9, 2005, at 22:42:17
Is it normal to feel like you are the stupidest person in the class? I feel like everybody else at my whole school has got it together, and I feel like I am a total wreck waiting to happen. I take Adderall and shouldn't that be helping me?
I am posting here and not the med board b/c I want to know if anybody else feels this same way.
Posted by rainbowbrite on March 9, 2005, at 22:58:27
In reply to Feeling inferior, posted by calamityjane on March 9, 2005, at 22:42:17
I too feel like I am the stupidest person at school. I just feel slow. Everyone seems to know what the h*ll is going on and then there is me. :(
Posted by alexandra_k on March 10, 2005, at 3:16:46
In reply to Feeling inferior, posted by calamityjane on March 9, 2005, at 22:42:17
I think a lot of people get that feeling...
And they can't all be right ;-)
Sometimes a really smart person bombs out really badly in a course - but then they realise that that course was not their thing at all. They quite often go on to do a lot better in different courses.If you are passing then you are doing well :-)
Even if you are not passing I dare say you aren't the most stupid.
Quite often there can be a 'talk yourself up' kind of atmosphere. People seem to know what they are talking about because they exude confidence. Sometimes those people actually do suprisingly badly when it comes to assessment. Cause they think they know it all already and don't bother trying to learn anything new.If you don't understand something... Then it is very likely that others don't understand it either.
If you feel like you are behind or aren't confident enough to ask questions in class then take advantage of peoples office hours. Really. I get paid to do those and they can be most boring when nobody turns up. You will probably be suprised that people are often willing to give you quite a bit of their time if they can see that you are trying. You wouldn't believe how much extra help statistics I needed to pass one of my psych papers.
Posted by fiona on March 10, 2005, at 9:21:50
In reply to Re: Feeling inferior » calamityjane, posted by alexandra_k on March 10, 2005, at 3:16:46
I know exactly how you feel, sometimes it's as if everyone in my class is speaking in a foreign language! I have bipolar and this week i'm on a down and I find it sooo difficult to concentrate. It feels like i'm trying to swim through custard, and my brain isn't really with it this week. I'm doing a undergrad degree in toxicology and I'm fine with all the science/biology bits, but when it comes to my maths and statistics class i cant keep up and I feel woefully inadequate in comparison with my classmates. I guess it's just one of those things that I worry about, whether it's really true or not! I can certainly empathise :-)
Posted by calamityjane on March 10, 2005, at 19:48:02
In reply to Re: Feeling inferior » calamityjane, posted by alexandra_k on March 10, 2005, at 3:16:46
Alexandra...
Wish you were at my school! Any chance you live in TX?!? (you think I am kidding!)Most of my teachers are unapproachable. I have one or two that are awesome but the others I get really nervous around them.
Also, a year or 2 ago I had this teacher and he thought all the girls were in love with him...and he would flirt and take some of them out and stuff like that. Well, anytime I asked him for anything he would go and ask my friend if I was hitting on him. Can you imagine the nerve! Ever since I had him I have always worried about what my teacher will think of me.I guess it is totally normal to feel inferior. It still sucks though. I am almost 25 and at my school most people are younger than me and the ones that are my age are usually grad students. Its tough. On top of that I forever feel like I am making the worst grades.
Posted by alexandra_k on March 12, 2005, at 21:49:11
In reply to Re: Feeling inferior---Alexandra, posted by calamityjane on March 10, 2005, at 19:48:02
> Any chance you live in TX?!? (you think I am kidding!)
I live in New Zealand.
> Most of my teachers are unapproachable. I have one or two that are awesome but the others I get really nervous around them.Ok. Some people are unapproachable. Some academics are start raving bonkers (IMO) and best avoided... But others are ok even though they may appear a little odd... And others may be friendly enough even though they give off an air of unapproachability. Often they are happy enough to talk to a student who expresses a genuine interest.
> Also, a year or 2 ago I had this teacher and he thought all the girls were in love with him...and he would flirt and take some of them out and stuff like that. Well, anytime I asked him for anything he would go and ask my friend if I was hitting on him. Can you imagine the nerve! Ever since I had him I have always worried about what my teacher will think of me.
Ah. He would be one of the stark raving bonkers variety :-) I would say that that is the exception rather than the general rule, however. Maybe he wanted to believe you were hitting on him ;-). I dare say that the majority are different from him.
> I guess it is totally normal to feel inferior.It is a much nicer character trait than believing one is superior IMO. I think most people feel inferior at some point or other.
> It still sucks though. I am almost 25 and at my school most people are younger than me and the ones that are my age are usually grad students.
Yeah. That must be hard. Hard to see your fellow students as proper 'peers'. I am a grad student but I live in a hostel that caters mostly for undergrads. Most of the peoples I live with are around 18. That makes it hard.
>Its tough. On top of that I forever feel like I am making the worst grades.
Hmm. Have you had any results? If you are passing then you are doing ok. If you want to make better grades then you really do need to try to get some good feedback / assistance from a lecturer / tutor / marker though. Could you maybe try to approach some of the people who seem unapproachable? You could send them an email and ask when might be a suitable time to go see them, or even better just drop by. That sort of question isn't too pushy that they drop everything and talk to you right then, but it is also sort of insistant that you would like a little help.
That is part of their job - whether they want to admit to it or not ;-)
Posted by calamityjane on April 7, 2005, at 17:26:35
In reply to Re: Feeling inferior » calamityjane, posted by alexandra_k on March 12, 2005, at 21:49:11
ALexandra...
I loved your response! Sorry I am just now responding....its been an up and down whirlwhind kind of year.
Thats funny about the teacher being bonkers! he has to be! he is so obviously having a midlife crisis! Most of the girls he would go after would be fresh out of high school (he taught at a community college).
It never bothered me, until he gave me a 98 on an essay test that I KNOW I should have made a 100. (I normally do not make hundereds, or 90s for that matter, but on this I had studied and really knew the stuff) It was like he didnt want to piss off his little "girlfriend" by giving me a higher grade. I called him on it though...he raised it to a 99! the jerk!Its funny, accomplishment can sustain the feelings of "inferiority" it seems. I just realized last week that this time next year I will be getting ready to graduate. That was a big boost to my ego/self esteem
So your a psyc major? Whats your thoughts on social psychology? I think its a waste of time, personally! It seems we are learning some really cool stuff, but its all common sense. Funny, the first page in the book points out the "hindsight bias" and I find that ironic. Like its preparing you to credit hindsight balance instead of your own commonsense.
Hope I made sense in what I just wrote!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Students | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.