Architect cannot help you with this issue. 

You should seek professional help and get yourself into treatment today. Seriously, after reading this go get help. Your time in graduate school cannot and should not define your life.

My program continued to lose people up until graduation. Changing programs, even at the end is not uncommon.  

Meditate and run - then no stress - stress is your reaction to external events - we must learn not to react - architecture is a walk in the park once you graduate that is.

Whatever you start - you must complete - if your don't complete this, then you will be setting up a habit to not complete anything else worthwhile - I know why too many people who don't complete things and end up as failures mooching off people who are successful - do yourself and society a favor by completing architecture school.

It's a good thing you chimed in.  While we can't provide direct support, if you have already experienced psychological trauma as you described, there is a mental health practitioner who knows your situation and, even if an available practitioner doesn't, because it's outside of hours or you're in a different location, you MUST contact them right away.   I would start there.  This includes the ER, if need be.  If readily available, seek a faculty adviser or trusted friend (who already knows what you have experienced and has been tight lipped) who can help you get to help.  Doing something drastic is not the way to go and there are ways to fix things.

You and your health are more important than your family's needs or desires.  I can empathize with you.  Graduate study, especially in architecture, can be stressful and both physically and emotionally tiring.  I experienced some "What am I doing here? Can I quit?" episodes in undergraduate, with various inputs from family and friends, and what I learned is that only what you feel and think count.  There's a lot  we don't know, such as why you are in a-school, what the stressors are, and if this is a path that is sustainable, both in the academic and work setting, for your well-being.  That's none of our business, though.  However, the gut and the mind are often good barometers of what distress one is experiencing and need to be listened to.

Please see to it that you get professional help and don't hold back on what you are thinking and feeling so they can help you.

Hi,

first see a counselor before dropping, he or she might help.

you're almost done with a degree.  1 year will go by quickly.  Then decide if you want to pursue another degree.

I know students struggling with architecture and the number one reason is that they struggle developing a concept quickly and they spend time struggling and by finals things are piling up that produces so much stress.

I was a victim of that myself .

The solution that I came up with is during winter break or summer break I spent time reading and preparing a set of concepts that I can utilize during school year.  I also asked professors from upper studios what I will end up doing next semester when I have them so I can further prepare myself.

by doing that I spent one week (2 studios and weekend) working on a concept and from there my work flow became steady without stress. 

Also, some people are productive at night while others during the day.  Work during the time that suits you.

Try this and you'll thank me later.

I know some might say ...Why would I spend my vacation time doing stuff.  Well if you want to reduce future stress be prepared. Simple as that.

Good Luck and please see your counselor or doctor.

Nagi :)

I've seen many, many, health professionals. I have seen career counsellors. They all have no idea what they are doing. I have been misdiagnosed and made sicker because of drugs. I have had cbt psychiatrists sit down and listen to me talk for an hour, tell me that life isn't fair, and then ask for their $170 paycheck. I saw a counsellor before I started arch school because I was experiencing doubts, and she told me to ignore my anxiety and just do it, and it was only money, one shouldn't worry about money, before she took her $110 paycheck and went back to her life.

I have a screwed up life and I really needed one thing to work out. That was my career. Now it's gone too, and it took what was left of my health with it.

I found an architect to be my 'mentor' and teach me about the profession before I decided to enter it. She told me absolutely nothing and made it seem like it was this great, fun career. I entered as clueless as all the other fools who entered, who the schools scam. I struggled in the beginning, but I figured it out. I can do projects now without the all nighters and less stress. I cannot do this long term because I have strengths that do not relate to drawing lines for 18 hours a day, and I could be using them in a much less stressful career, doing something that would actually help people, and making a lot more money. And I wouldn't have to deal with arrogant psuedo-intellectuals designing ugly buildings who are incapable of logical thought. The study of architecture is not human. It's just for artists who have no other place to go. Anyone with a hint of skill in anything else, should do something else.

My strengths are in writing, and I should have entered a profession that related to that.

I'm alone, sick, back in an abusive house, trapped in a degree that is killing me physically, emotionally, psychologically, intellectually. No, I cannot survive a career in architecture. I've never had any support or guidance from anyone in my life. Sometimes, it makes more sense to kill yourself.

There is no correct answer here since we don't know ANY of the specifics.  Also, if the OP is in grad school, then they have already completed a baccalaureate degree and that speaks to their tenacity.  The answer to drop, continue, take time off, or reduced credit load are not within our purview.  This needs to be decided by the OP, mental health providers, and resources at the school who are empathetic and can help the individual. Therapy, medication, and other assistance to help cope with the stressors, in some combination, are what is needed, more so than us dispensing advice without knowing ANY of the specifics.

Please seek both professional help in the way of health providers and assistance from someone at the school who can be a resource and may likely have seen this before.

I have some intimate experience with mental health issues. You are correct about mental health professionals seeming to not know what the hell they are doing. Most seem to just push more meds and hope the problem goes away, but they just get worse.

At this point you are overwhelmed and feeling hopeless, but please know there is always a way to turn things around. First things first...focus on a few things. Focus on getting information. Get all the information needed to do what it takes to get out from under the stress that architecture school is causing you. But, before you do that, see if there is a free hotline or something you can call to get immediate help to talk with someone to address your state of mind. You are truely never alone, there is someone out there who can help.

Next, be a bit selfish...I think right now you have to be, if you are this miserable you should be thinking of yourself and not how family or others will react. In the long run, it will be either forgotten or understood, but you need to take care of yourself and your current situation NOW.

Get all the facts, answers and options so you can make the next move. You have options. I really do understand how you are feeling right now. But first and foremost take care of yourself immediately.

I totally feel you about family pressure and expectations.  Little do they know what the outlook for architects really is.  I can't imagine family still pressuring to get it done.  I'm sure they could see the toll its having on you.  What else can you do beside architecture?  What professions do you think might work for you?

Since the OP completed an undergraduate degree, it would be somewhat helpful to know its subject area and what options are available with that. 

While seconding the suggestions to get help, I would say that you should take a year off and try something else. "Alternative careers" are a trendy topic on this website an in some architecture programs, and there are other fields which you can move into. 

See if you could get an internship (or take classes if you have the money) in something like graphic design, web design, publications/print design, environmental graphics/design, urban planning, something environmental/sustainability related, interior design, working as some kind of an artist assistant, in marketing, something with an architecture magazine ... there's lots of possibilities out there, some of which I know that my former classmates have done.

The idea would be to buy yourself some time to reflect on what happened, while simultaneously learning about another possible career field, gaining a new perspective on architecture itself, and hopefully also having more free time to rest and to enrich your personal life. I don't know if you took time off before entering graduate school, but if you went straight through then you should especially consider taking time off now.

You shouldn't feel that you have wasted the years.  You learned something about yourself and a profession in the process.  There are so many very successful people that had false starts in other careers before finding their way to what "clicked."

I second the advice to take a year off to try something else out.

Architecture is just one of millions of ways to interact with the world and to contribute your unique talents to it.  Just because architecture isn't working out doesn't mean that the world is uninhabitable.

I have no idea of your background, so this suggestion might be totally off-base, but maybe you should considering teaching English abroad (Southeast Asian and East Asian countries seem to always be hiring) for a year or two.  The pay is usually very livable and it would be a fun change of pace and an opportunity to get a fresh start (and learn a language or two in the process).

(Sorry for the run-on sentence...)

However, a couple of things are still unknown:

- what the OP did before architecture, which could help make suggestions for combinations, additions, and deletions to possibilities

- the OP indicated they now managed the time commitments satisfactorily, but expressed a frustration with the program, faculty, and the prospect of working in the field.  The frustration with the program and the faculty is understandable, and even in a more pragmatic place, there are some airheads who teach and who study there.  The work may or may not frustrate you because it's not like school.  It's more realistic and, depending on where you work, 8 or 8.5 hour days may be the norm.

At any rate, there's a lot of angst in the tone of your posts and seeking the proper channels for help, including advisers at the school, who will not be charging you for their time, and/or mental health professionals at school, who will not be charging you, are ways to start.

Thank you so much for some of the comments made. They actually made me feel better which I didn't think was possible at this point. I am in the middle of my year off, and have done nothing for 6 months but stay with family. I am looking into the teaching english abroad option, particularly if I decide to quit, and project management if I decide to finish the degree. With the second option, I know I will probably be depressed for life but we'll see.

observant - I completed a double bachelor in english and philosophy for my undergraduate degrees, with a year of medical school prerequisite science classes. Many people have told me to go to law school, including the career counselors I visited. The career counselors were incredibly ignorant of the nature of the professions they discussed, however, so I do not trust their advice. The mental health professionals I visited at my school are delusional scam artists. They could use some lithium themselves, instead of spending 20 minutes of an appointment talking about it regarding another patient.

I am not an artist, I am not a designer - that much I know for certain. I have very limited creative ability. I can force it but it is agony. Utilizing my technical ability for long periods of time makes me suicidal - I need something that absorbs the logical part of my mind in the way that philosophy or math does. The engineering classes were the only classes I enjoyed in arch, but I'm not interested in pursuing this as a career. 

Thank you again for some of the comments.

Get out-at least for a while.  Clear your head.  The hell with what others want.  If you hate it this much, there is absolutely no reason to stay.  You are not walking away from great riches, God knows, and you most likely are not walking away from all that much fun either.

You will find out whether the problem is architecture or something else.  Don't afraid to admit a mistake, no matter how far down the road you are.  If you take a wrong exit on the freeway, do you keep going or turn around?  The answer is obvious (easy for me to say, I know).

I live with this internal conflict every single day - uncertain of whether I have what it takes to pursue design.  I graduated a few years ago - it took me four years (m.arch) and by the time I got done, I wasn't sure if I ready to move forward in the profession just yet.  It took two months working in a firm to confirm this.

The drive to pursue design is still apparent but I had a lot of exploring and growing up to do despite the fact I will be turning 31 soon.  For now, as long as I'm creating and putting in a few hours each day after work doing whatever I can to find my niche - I'm quite alright with that. 

P.S.  My former degree was in philosophy and biology (questionable whether those years wasted or not but there were a lot of pressure and expectations involved that were not my own - leaving me in resentment awhile back.  Definitely not something I would recommend falling into.)

I have empathy for your situation.

I dropped an entire semester because it became too emotionally and physically taxing.  I then switched majors, still graduating with an architecture degree however a different one than I was in, with a focus on another field.  Ultimately, the entire experience, while often quite miserable, I now would consider to have had a positive affect on myself in that it helped open my mind to other options.

You haven't wasted your time.  Even when times feel miserable, they are not a waste.  Experiences all build and grow on themselves .  Although at times they may seem like terrible experiences, they will lead you to an epiphany down the road.  Think if architecture school was mundane to you, you got through it fine, graduated and entered into the field - then what - a life of something you are possibly not really meant to do, all the while something else is gently calling / tugging you.

I would suggest you quit architecture, and switch majors ( but only switch AFTER you know for sure what you want to go into - make sure it is useful to.  There is no point in switching and getting a total bs degree that cant help in finding a job - if at very least go the general route and get a business degree ( maybe even from a community college - a lot of credits should transfer )  You may not even need to finish a degree depending on career route you go.  If you can get into a career without a degree, I say go for it as well.  Even with a degree it doesn't guarantee you anything - most people enter fields totally unrelated to their degree.

 From what you said about not wanting to do artistic creative work, and like analytic / math would suggest accounting / finance.  You need to use the logical part of your mind for that.  It is actually pretty close to architecture in the way you actually do the job , but at the same time obviously different.  That field has many more job prospects and higher pay, and less mentally destroying work hours.  You could also try construction management - estimating requires a lot of analytical ability.  Neither offer the philosophical requirement however.

Its better to realize you do not want to do something and quit while you still can, than realize what you want to really do and then not be able to.

The OP's post a few up gives us more insight, in saying that they're not a designer or an artist but liked their structures courses, though wouldn't be an engineer. However, they are concerned with the lack of using their ability for writing and creative expression in other media in a forthcoming job.

For one thing, the OP is out of that setting at this time.  I though the OP was IN school.  At least, they are currently taking time off.  Here's what I saw and I did a 3 year.  First year was the roughest because it was a shock to the system.  The shock to the system was worse than the work load, at least to me. Second year just felt long and tiring.  And the third year had a light at the end of the tunnel.  I also chose not to finish with a thesis studio, which was the most cultish of the choices presented.  I picked electives that were tailored to my interests and weren't that hard.  Electives in arch. school aren't that hard, anyway.  Can this reprieve you are taking enable you to push out the last year, if you pick an easier path and can without having it mess with you?

Go to a community college in your area and take an assessment test.  They are cheap.  Screw the high-money counselors.  These tests will point out numerous career options.  One is the Strong Inventory.  $20 and a couple of hours and nobody talking down to you.

I also agree with construction management and estimating.  It will have a lot of written communication and verbal communication as well as the structure it looks like you need.  The thing with the accounting-finance recommendation is that you don't know the industry you end up in and it flavors the job.  With an arch. degree, if you are up for more school and actually like construction, it's 1 year for a master's in building construction and it's full of practical things. I don't know how much money you have and your stamina.  It's a "business like" degree applied to construction, in essence.  Then again, you may want out of the design and construction industry altogether.  If this is the case, career testing (the cheapo route) is one way to go.  Also, it's good to know you are CURRENTLY away from the academic setting.  It sounds like you need to be to catch your breath.

Oh my........

Dear tstmstr,

I wish i can beam some consolation to you. i will share my story maybe it might incur a resonant empathy...or maybe to drown in self pity and sorrow :o)

I was miserable at architecture school but then again i was also miserable most of the time before that. but architecture school was a pretty bad hit. i don't think it was just architecture school but it sure didn't help.  no one could actually. no one can comprehend how a bright educated youngster can be stand paralyzed in front of the fast approaching headlights of their future.  

it took me long to finish, i can say that i felt trapped by expectations - but i think really i was trapped by time. i had always thought i would die before 13, 15, 18, 20 so what the fuck was happening? now it is existence at the brink of adulthood; no one has expectations anymore. anyway, after school there are no expectations. there is ..what do you call him....Mr. man...yes, marry, make babies, have a career and contract cancer and die so your kids can go through that cycle. but  perhaps i have some few lingering ones, expectations i mean, maybe i should kill those off as well. in retrospect,i wish i had just stopped to take a long breath of air and not take things to seriously, to paralyze myself with expactations and preempted regrets and to be more confident and make my own choices. perhaps you can do that for yourself?  you know how horrible preempted regrets can be. feeling like a bitter old man in young man skin. now i hope to cast a lighter shadow.  

councelors, cranial excavators...i once saw one. he was going to put my papa into my pants so that was the last time i bothered. funny, i learnt after it was a bit too late that  there was a canon in two lives, haha.

i hope you are able to take easy breaths in and out, thats the best thing life has to offer.

you see, i;m not saying that you should or should not quit architecture. but that there is no "should" in the first place. please get your family to confront that no matter what your decision is.  i didn't have the guts or the opportunity to do it myself. all the best, sincrerely.

I agree with the posts above that say you did not waste your years studying architecture.  Sure you may not end up being the starchitect you wanted to become when you ventured into this field, but there are so many different things you can do with an architecture education.  It may not seem its directly related either but the skills you've learnt make you versatile in many fields.

you can take your architecture education and be a video game artist and make twice as much -