does anyone else feel like this?

[study pray love]

Hey guys,

So, I feel really unfulfilled. All I do is spend my time studying and while it feels good to improve, I just feel so empty and alienated. I know i just gotta stick w. it and deal w. the grind, but I really need a sense of fulfillment outside of studying.

Can any of you relate and do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks so much.

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[iceman132]

Do you have friends?

 

[study pray love]

yes, in fact I'm actually reallly social which is why I'm kinda refraining from going out at all bc I will get too caught up in the scene, plus the study sched sucks up ALL my time on weekends when they ask me to go out =/

 

[ravupadh]

You'll just have to pull through for the next few months. I had no social life whatsoever when I was studying for my MCATs. I was working half-time so right after work I'd come home and hit the books. But I got the score I wanted on the exam so I'm thankful I was able to restrain myself.

 

[SlugMD]

.

 

[johnisles2011]

Studying for the MCAT was really crushing for me. I felt like I was going to lose it more than once. It is just a brutal test and takes an inordinate amount of time.

One thing I did that really helped is took a weekend completely off. I went to visit a girl and hung out and got drunk there and everything. I didn't even think about the MCAT for that 2-3 day span, and when I got back in I was ready to attack the material with a new enthusiasm. I did this right around the time I was starting to burn out. You sound like you're burning out just a little bit, so maybe take a few days off. Unless you're like right on your test day, a few days off won't kill you.

 

[study pray love]

thanks guys. I appreciate the encouragement, slugMD and the advice, johnisles2011. I'm on the Sn2ed sched for the april MCAT which makes it hard to take breaks but I'm gonna try to start getting ahead of the sched even if it means studying till 2:00 a.m. so i could have some breaks/ downtime.

 

[ridethecliche]

Balance.

Life sucks if you only do the first two things in your username.

Live a little. There are break days for a reason.

 

[study pray love]

Balance.

Life sucks if you only do the first two things in your username.

Live a little. There are break days for a reason.

Ridethecliche, I really like your point. It is so incisive and you are right. The thing is, I had the last part of my username w. my study buddy but that didn't work out (altho we're still study buddies). In fact, that's kinda what sent me on this mental whole downward spiral...
hoping he's not reading this thread
*awkward*

 

[ridethecliche]

Ridethecliche, I really like your point. It is so incisive and you are right. The thing is, I had the last part of my username w. my study buddy but that didn't work out (altho we're still study buddies). In fact, that's kinda what sent me on this mental whole downward spiral...
hoping he's not reading this thread
*awkward*

If being around him is awkward and breaks your concentration, it might be better to take a break till you're done. You're both probably going to be around after the exam and time sometimes makes things not so awkward.

Good luck!

 

[study pray love]

thanks, ridethecliche =) u rock and I appreciate you advice so much.

 

[Spikedsoymilk]

I can relate to your experience, somewhat.

When I was in the middle of studying for the MCAT the first time, my significant other broke up with me and also revealed that they had cheated on me multiple times. The outcome was awful for me, and I ended up not studying as effectively and also did poorly on the MCAT. In retrospect, I really shouldn't have taken it.

My best advice for you is to learn from my mistake if you can, and try to keep moving on and don't let this social turmoil defeat you. It's okay to take a break from studying if you need to. And if necessary, it's also okay to postpone the MCAT if you need to clear your mind in order to get a better score. There is nothing I regret more than having a poor score on the MCAT that highlights my below-average GPA. Alternatively, I bet it would be pretty regretful to have a low MCAT that calls your average or greater than average GPA into question.

If it's really just your reduced social time that is getting you down, one suggestion would be to identify a day where YOU are relatively free, and invite your friends to hang out. You might not be able to conform to their more open schedule of going out and having fun. That doesn't mean they can't find time to hang out with you when your schedule is more open and the timing is more convenient for you.

 

[ridethecliche]

Good words right there.

Someone once told me that their schedule was set up so that they'd study during the week, take a practice test on Saturday AM and go out with friends on saturday night.

It gave her something to look forward to every week and her friends knew her schedule and were probably doing something fun anyway

Sunday was either off or review of the practice exam.

 

[Spikedsoymilk]

Sounds like a solid plan to me!

 

[study pray love]

thanks, spiked soy milk. I really appreciate your condor and support, In my case, i met my study buddy randomly in sbux ~3 weeks ago and it seemed like we were perfect study buddies for each other. The other day however, we both acknowledged that we were totally falling in love, but we can never be together bc we come from diametrically opposed religious backgrounds.

Studying w. him is emotional torture and studying without him is emotional torture.
It's hilarious considering I know romantic drama is my weakness which is why i stopped talking to all guys who posed a distraction before i started studying. FML.

Maybe I need a study break to get my mind in check and to start creating some break time like you and ridethecliche suggested and possibly push my MCAT a week...

 

[iceman132]

thanks, spiked soy milk. I really appreciate your condor and support, In my case, i met my study buddy randomly in sbux ~3 weeks ago and it seemed like we were perfect study buddies for each other. The other day however, we both acknowledged that we were totally falling in love, but we can never be together bc we come from diametrically opposed religious backgrounds.

Studying w. him is emotional torture and studying without him is emotional torture.
It's hilarious considering I know romantic drama is my weakness which is why i stopped talking to all guys who posed a distraction before i started studying. FML.

Maybe I need a study break to get my mind in check and to start creating some break time like you and ridethecliche suggested and possibly push my MCAT a week...

You are a smart girl. I have a lot of respect for someone like you who puts their brain before their emotional state.

 

[BKN89]

Good advice in this thread. Try setting aside a weekend to do something like a day trip or a weekend trip with your friends. Go snowboarding for a day, or go have a beach bbq...things like that helped me get through the studying period and the contentment usually lasted me a while and made me feel a whole lot better. But basically, make a point to set aside a specific time to do something specific.

Or if you're like me and you're lazy to plan that stuff, just go indulge yourself that weekend with friends...go to your favorite restaurant, your favorite bar, and have a good time.

 

[study pray love]

thanks iceman132 and BKN89 for your feedback. I will start contacting friends to get out =)

 

[elsaied]

Ridethecliche, I really like your point. It is so incisive and you are right. The thing is, I had the last part of my username w. my study buddy but that didn't work out (altho we're still study buddies). In fact, that's kinda what sent me on this mental whole downward spiral...
hoping he's not reading this thread
*awkward*

What are the odds that he would see this? Come on now, the internet is a pretty big place. I'm sure he loves you very much though. Why don't you guys just get married?

 

[MedPR]

Got 2 years of pre-clinical years where you'll be studying even more than you are now...

 

[Caitlin0206]

You'll just have to pull through for the next few months. I had no social life whatsoever when I was studying for my MCATs. I was working half-time so right after work I'd come home and hit the books. But I got the score I wanted on the exam so I'm thankful I was able to restrain myself.

I haven't had a social life in 6 years.

In all seriousness. I hated studying for the mcat so much that I looked forward to going to work.

 

[kasho11]

I broke up with my girlfriend and moved to a new city where I knew literally no one. This was incidental as I was moving to do a grad program, but my mcat studying has benefitted from it. Of course I've made some friends and gone out partying about 5 times so far, but that's significantly less than what I am used to.

Long story short, spend less time with friends - but whenever you are feeling burnt out you need to stop and go have fun. Any studying attempted when completely burnt out will be near fruitless. You're going into medical school soon, you need to be able to balance a lot of work with some semblance of a social life. Unless you're used to rolling E every weekend as a club rat, I don't see why you can't avoid getting "caught up in the scene". Have a beer at happy hour and watch a movie with some friends, go smoke a bowl, have a slumber party with your girlfriends and talk about boys and ponytails and justin bieber or whatever it is girls do together.


Edit - damnit people stop bumping old threads because I'm too lazy to look at the date

 

[MedPR]

I broke up with my girlfriend and moved to a new city where I knew literally no one. This was incidental as I was moving to do a grad program, but my mcat studying has benefitted from it. Of course I've made some friends and gone out partying about 5 times so far, but that's significantly less than what I am used to.

Long story short, spend less time with friends - but whenever you are feeling burnt out you need to stop and go have fun. Any studying attempted when completely burnt out will be near fruitless. You're going into medical school soon, you need to be able to balance a lot of work with some semblance of a social life. Unless you're used to rolling E every weekend as a club rat, I don't see why you can't avoid getting "caught up in the scene". Have a beer at happy hour and watch a movie with some friends, go smoke a bowl, have a slumber party with your girlfriends and talk about boys and ponytails and justin bieber or whatever it is girls do together.


Edit - damnit people stop bumping old threads because I'm too lazy to look at the date

Damn I didn't notice either.

 

[study pray love]

ur feedback is great and certainly timely and relevant to many! thanks guys=)!