Really debating the Military.

[BrokenAge]

I'm 17 years old and I'm really tempting joining the Marines. It's been my life long goal even before my anxiety. I devolped anxiety from a bad experience from Marijuana just about 2 years ago. All my friends are joining as we're all of age now and it's making me very jealous. I have anxiety/OCD type intrusive thoughts but none of that concerns me of I joined the military. All of them disappear when my mind is on something else or if I'm in a social situations but what does bother me is depersonalization. That's what worries me if I would feel disconnected during boot camp it would scare me.

[unspoken]

Hello. I'm not sure the military would be the best career with anxiety. It is very intense and there's a lot of pressure because they have to know that you're tough enough and your mind is able to focus without getting distracted. It's hard to get time out from it when you're at boot camp and it could be overwhelming. There would be situations you'd never experienced before and there would be times where your mind wouldn't have other things to focus on.

Are you getting any support with your anxiety from a doctor or counsellor? It may be worth taking the time to get some therapy and learn some ways to deal with the anxiety before making a decision about joining the military.

This probably isn't what you want to hear as it's been your life goal, but sometimes there are things that can make anxiety worse that should be avoided for your own health.

[NoPoet]

^^ I agree, except to say joining the military would potentially be a "make or break" situation, so there is hope it would help you a lot. You should get some kind of support in place for your anxiety issues before making any decision.

There's no rush for you to commit yourself. Don't succumb to peer pressure. You should live your life the way you want, not the way others tell you -- they certainly wouldn't take or surrender life opportunities based on what you're doing.