How to survive college whilst living with an abusive mother

Hello everyone, these last few days, I’ve been very lost…
I’m 17 years old and just started college (applied computer science.)
Ontop of finding the classes difficult because I have no background in it, I also have my mom to stress me out 24/7. It seriously eats me alive every day, and it feels more and more as if I’m a kid again and that I’ll never escape.

i thought college would be better, but really, nothing has changed. My mom is still controlling and abusive, and my anxiety and health keep getting worse and worse…
I don’t even know if I will keep doing this major or not ,because i’m having such difficulties.. I was thinking to switch to sociology, since it genuinely interests me, but she fought me about it and won’t let me because she thinks i’m not smart enough to do it.. lol.
I also didn’t expect my mom to just… become more abusive? I’ve been anxious and dissociating 24/7, I feel like I can barely function. I feel like I won’t be able to get a degree because of how difficult everything is.

Maybe if I didn’t live with my mom it wouldn’t have been so difficult.. I’ve always done better on my own or with people I trust.. I actually enjoy living in those cases, and most of my health problems go away…but, she pays for my education.. I also don’t have my own money to move out at all.. i’ve always wanted to but I just dont know how I will do it.. do I start working? I want to try but everything scares me so much. I thought I was on the right path but I keep having anxiety attacks about every single thing… i don’t know what to do… i remember telling myself years back that I would move out as soon as I could, but now I’m just so stuck… I’m too scared to try anything…

i know I should move out at one point.. It’s what everyones been telling me.. Realistically, I might even fall more ill if I stay here.. i already have a range of health issues that destroy my will to live and besides that, my mom also denies me medical care… I’ve always had to ask friends if they could get medication for me etc.. It’s just horrible.. Lifestyle and diet is important to me, but living by those rules is impossible here… My health only started improving a bit this year because I decided to take matters into my own hands but even then, my mom has almost all control over me.
I want to leave this place so bad.. I’m tired of being scared.. I want to be healthier so I won’t be in pain anymore… I don’t want to be trapped in a mind like this either…

Does anyone know what to do? I don’t even know the right questions to ask because it’s so much..

Posted Sep 23, 2026, 8:36 AM UTC

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