I'm in my first year of a BSW program, and I'm struggling mentally

Vents

Hey everyone. I (25m) started a BSW program this fall after finishing my associates at community college, and I'm barely keeping my head above water. I've been trying to do self-care, spend time with my friends, and engage in hobbies, but I started burning out last week. This week is finals week, so I know I'm almost done, but I'm really concerned about how horrible my mental health has become in such a short amount of time because of just how many assignments ive had. My classmates and I have all been encouraged to talk about our stress, and I know I'm not the only one. So many of my classmates have reported repeatedly getting sick or having panic attacks during midterms and finals, and we get told to just keep continue doing self care because this is just how the program is. I'm lucky enough to be able to live at home while getting my bachelors, so I don't have to worry about money besides saving up to be able to move out for my master's. But despite that, my anxiety has been increasing throughout this semester and it's reaching a breaking point. Yesterday, I went for a hike, and while I was eating lunch in a canyon, someone's kids up above started kicking snow at me, and it landed on me and my lunch. Normally, I'd be pretty annoyed but I'd brush it off, but I couldn't seem to let it go. I ended up feeling so angry for a good 15 minutes, and when I calmed down, I saw the father of the kids and let him know that his kids were not kicking snow into an empty canyon, and I got hit a couple of times. But anyways, it's not normal for me to take 15 minutes to calm down after something like that, and I'm becoming really concerned about my mental state. The only thing I've identified so far that may be a factor is that I'm a massive perfectionist, and it looks like I'll be getting straight A's this semester. But with how difficult this has been, I think I'm going to need to be okay with a few B's. I'm hoping that'll lessen some of my anxiety next semester, although I know it'll be a really uncomfortable experience for me.

Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? I do have a couple of mental health conditions, but they've been manageable for quite some time now, besides my anxiety kicking my butt this semester. Although, it seems more situational than anything else. Does anyone have any tips for surviving the next year and a half? How the hell am I supposed to do this? And is being a social worker easier than the schooling?

Posted Dec 7, 2025, 11:42 PM UTC

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