College is hard...any major is hard. But if you are a psychology student, you definitely will encounter this at some point, if you have not already. So, here are some struggles I see psychology students struggle with often.
1. General psychology classes are only a brief overview what the brain is capable of.
It is so much more complicated than any of us expected. If I have learned anything from biopsychology, it is that there is so much more to know about the processes of the brain than what I expected from general psychology.
2. As we begin to learn about disorders, we have the tendency to think we have some of them.
Similar to medical students, psychology students have gone through the whole, "do I have that?" internal conversation, even though, we probably do not.
3. Understanding the human brain is both a blessing and a curse.
You are not as judgemental because there is more of an explanation of why someone might be thinking they way they are. But sometimes that is a curse because sometimes you would rather be aloof to it all.
4. Always be ready to learn about theories... and more theories.
There are so many theories.
5. People will think you are analyzing them when you're probably not.
You do not actually spend your time trying to figure them out or what is "wrong with them", but some people do and you might never hear the end of it.
6. Everyone assumes you want to be a shrink.
"Oh, you are majoring in psychology? Do you want to be a shrink?" Shockingly enough, there is so much more to psychology and you can do so much more with a psychology degree rather than just becoming a clinical psychologist.
7. Psychology has become extremely competitive.
You have to stand out among the rest in order to be recognized and graduate school is an "every-man-for-himself" situation.
8. It is actually exciting when you finally understand what is truly going on inside someone's mind.
There are moments you finally realize why some people act the way they do and sometimes that is the most exciting thing you will learn all semester.
