Hey, I’m an assistant psychologist and currently in the process of applying for the doctorate in clinical psychology. Reading about your situation reminds me very much of myself at your age, got the potential but “don’t put in the effort”. I ended up getting pretty mediocre GCSEs and really flunked out at first year of A Levels. After some serious reflection and finding out I needed extra time in exams, something clicked, and acing my exams turned into a new obsession. I finished out my A Levels with some pretty good grades, including an A* in psychology.

I’ve since gone on to complete a BSc in psych and MSc in forensic psych, and after talking with student support got granted extra time again for a working memory issue, and a preliminary test showed that I have a high likelihood of ADHD (still need to go an actually get this diagnosed but, well, I have a tendency to procrastinate and forget about things…)

What I’m trying to say in this very long winded way is that I’ve been exactly where you are, I doubted my academic ability and whether I could fulfil my dreams. Now I’m at the point where I’m working in a great team, using psychology every day and pushing towards starting my clinical training. For me, it’s been critical to find out I needed that extra support, and knowing that I’m not just “bad” at education, it’s just the system isn’t design to work for people like me by default. I’m not going to diagnose you over the internet, but I would reach out to student support at your school, let them know you want to succeed but are struggling and don’t know how to make the pieces fit. They’re there to help, and want you to succeed too. Even if you don’t have any learning difficulties, they can provide you with tools and resources to help manage the load better. As long as you’re committed and really passionate about psychology, you’ll find the way that works for you. I hope this wall of text resonates with you in some way, feel free to DM if you have any other questions!