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I once saw a counselor while going to college about a year ago, but I am not sure if they have documented proof that I have social anxiety or depression.
Once when I was attending college, I was having difficulty with being comfortable socializing with people, and while I did make good grades, I did poorly in some classes, was largely unmotivated to do well in all of my classes for reasons I can't remember. That, and I wasn't sure what major to choose.
My counselor advised me to see the school doctor and get prescribed for anti-depressants. I took the first bottle for a month and completed it, but I had no health insurance at the time, and I could not afford it, and when I went back home for break, my father refused to let me get more medication, stating that I did not need it. Me not having anywhere else to go, and being out in the middle of the country, I just decided to go with his advice, and I started exercising as a form of anti-depressants, and to get into shape for the military so I can pursue a career there and get out of my parents' house.
When I returned to my counselor the next semester and asked her about me exercising as an anti-depressant and my records of me taking anti-depressants and seeing the school doctor, she supported the idea of me exercising instead, and said something along the line of I think either not knowing if I have medical records with the doctor, or that I did not, and that if I was to see her again, then there would be a record of me seeing the doctor for those reasons. On top of that, the school doctor seemed awfully casual about giving me anti-depressants, stating that "we all need something to help us get by during rough times." I never agreed with that mentality, but at the time, I was just tired of feeling like an outsider and not knowing what I want to do in life, so I went with it. If I would have known that it would close off doors, I would have never seen a counselor. It's not like I got any happier or more productive until I actually started working with disability students as a Student Assistant and Volunteer Tutor last semester, and did summer volunteer work with a conservation corps.
Either way, I have been off the anti-depressants for over a year, have continued to take classes on campus and online with no issues, and served in a volunteer organization for three months one summer with no issues.
Right now, I'm taking online classes while living with my parents, but my mom has just recently decided to split from my father and has been having an affair behind his back for at least a few months, I'm guessing, and now that I am starting to think and see that not all is well with my family, I'm starting to get tired of being caught in the middle of their messes. I'm planning on moving out, doing a 10-month volunteer program with AmeriCorps where I will hopefully save up $2,000 - $4,000 by the end of it, but it still seems very difficult to find a place to live where I can afford to find a skilled, decent-paying job that I can get to without a vehicle. Partially because I don't have a lot of money, partially because I don't have any carpentry, cooking, or metal-working skills because I've been spending nearly four years chasing a geography degree that almost only seems to be good for working with the National Forest Service, which I do want to do someday, as one career path that I want to pursue is being a Park Ranger.
When going to an Air Force recruiter about this, would you think that I would still have a chance at enlisting? I am assuming that I will need to get forums showing proof of me seeing a school counselor and doctor for what may or may not have been depression or social anxiety. When I asked someone else on reddit, they told me that there would have to be proof that I am stable for three years, and that a doctor would have to "take me off my meds", even though I have none. I can wait for three years to join, but by then, I may be too old to enlist (25), or I will have already found a way out of this mess and found a place in life where I'm content. For what it's worth, I'm about a year away from finishing my degree.
You have hope, eventually. The DODI 6130 6130, the regulation the covers entry, says you are disqualified for "Depressive disorder not otherwise specified (311), or unspecified mood disorder (296.90),
UNLESS:
(1) Outpatient care was not required for longer than 24 months (cumulative) by a
physician or other mental health professional. (you meet this standard)
(2) The applicant has been stable without treatment for the past 36 continuous months. (you do NOT meet this yet from the way your story reads)
(3) The applicant did not require any inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential
facility. (You do meet this)"
Once 36 months have elapsed since you stopped taking medications, WITH MEDICAL RECORDS, you should be able to get in.
Then I better contact my previous health care provider about this, do NCCC, and stay in college. I'm assuming that with medical records means with regular checkups?
Is there any other legitimate way in sooner than three years?
You could potentially get a Surgeon General waiver prior to the 36 months, but it will depend on the diagnosis given and what exactly your medical records say from the doctor. The waiver is easy to get, just give all your records to a recruiter and see what happens. Good luck!!
I sent you a PM after reading your other thread -- dmarie123 is correct on the regulation.
Since you meet 2 of 3 qualifications, and it was a small diagnosis from a college psychologist, I'd say there's a pretty good chance of a waiver being accepted. Essentially, your recruiter can submit paperwork, saying "TinBo wasn't treated for longer than 24 months, they were never hospitalized, and it was their first diagnosis, by a college professional. Even though TinBo hasn't hit the 36 month mark, there's no reason to assume they wouldn't make it to 36 months." That gets put up the chain, gets approved or denied, and sent back down.
Worst case, your waiver gets denied, and you have to wait a few more years until eligible. Best case, it gets accepted, and you're allowed in.
As I said in my PM, I wouldn't suggest looking into Air Force or Navy if you want to get out as soon as possible. Both branches have long waitlists to get in. Army will get you out the door the fastest, if you're open to accepting any job. If you want a specific job, you might have to wait slightly longer, but you can generally get out the door within 2-3 months.
Keep in mind that boot camp, and tours in a war zone, will be remarkably stressful, and you risk a relapse. But I encourage you to go for it as it will be rewarding in the long run. Good luck.
Honestly, even if I DID have some mood disorder, I know for a fact that perpetually being stuck in teenhood living with my parents out in the middle of nowhere and struggling to get to two jobs without a vehicle, one most likely a waiter job, the other most likely a factory job or McDonald's job, is actually going to improve my mood any, so I have to at least see.
At least with the military there is an increased since of purpose and duty, AND the pay is better, and I can be a part of one of the best teams there are.
OK, so I talked to a USMC officer recruiter since I filled out some information on the USMC website. Honestly, I wasn't trying to talk to a recruiter just yet because I wasn't sure if I had all of my questions together, and I would have preferred to talk in person, but the website was like, "We sent your phone and contact information to a recruiter and they will speak with you in a few days", so, OK.
The phone conversation I just had was a bit choppy in signal, so it was hard to remember everything he said, but he basically told me that since I am a year away from getting my degree and am going to be gone for about a year with NCCC, I would be eligible for Officer Candidate School, and that once I re-enroll full-time in college next year, I could go through that, which works differently from enlistment. Something about how DEP doesn't apply or is different for officer candidates. He said that I should give him a call or he'll give me a call in about a year's time and once I'm back in school.
I told him about how I was once prescribed anti-depressants in college and took a month's worth of anti-depressants before switching to exercise, and how I read that it can be disqualifying, and from what I remember, he said basically what you all said: Since it was a short time and I switched to exercise, I could talk to a doctor (can't remember if he meant MY doctor or a general surgeon) and show proof that I've been going to the gym and exercising and doing other things without medication, and they most likely will be able to get me cleared for entry.
I pretty much decided that going back to college full-time to finish my degree is really the best route at this point: Whether if it's to join the U.S. Marine Corps, join the Peace Corps, or find a job, make some money, and find a place to live.
I pretty much decided that going back to college full-time to finish my degree is really the best route at this point: Whether if it's to join the U.S. Marine Corps, join the Peace Corps, or find a job, make some money, and find a place to live.
Have you talked to a counselor at your school as far as getting career guidance?
You seem like a great young man who deserves a good life.
All it seems you need is a little guidance.
I try to be my best. I just seem to get oddly selfish, lazy and whiny when I'm stuck in one place for too long.
If by my counselor that I talked to for personal issues at school, I have not talked to her in almost a year now, and she will not talk to me unless I'm a student. There is a lady I know who manages a minority student STEM group at my old college that I used to be in on and off due to my major being Earth Science and not being seen as a STEM field in some of my earlier semesters. She's not really a counselor, but she has counseling skills, and even though she technically wasn't supposed to be counseling me when I was outside of the group, I couldn't help but to still go to her at times for advice about things, and she did. She felt like an aunt, almost, whereas my school counselor felt like a school counselor. I can't say that either of those things are good or bad, but I felt better and more confident in talking to the STEM manager.
Anyways, if I had to ask her, I would suspect that she would encourage me to finish my degree but that ultimately, what I want to do in life is up to me. She would probably give me SOME advice and point me in the right direction in trying to do something like moving out, but that would be it.
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