Feeling burned out after just a few months?

[Homura]

Hi there! I believe this is my first post here so brief introduction-

I'm 18 years old, originally from New York, and started medical school at an overseas college this january.

I had my first module exam approx 1 week ago. the amount of cramming i did stressed me out incredibly, so i decided to study a little bit every day this module to keep up. However, i cannot for the life of me bring myself to make any effort to study. I'm constantly depressed and irritable, unable to concentrate, and sleeping wayyyy more than usual. Before the module exam, i only studied about every other day but i was able to concentrate for at least 1 or 2 hours at a time, and i only needed to sleep 4-6 hours a day. now all i can bring myself to do is sleep. its been 1 week already, and im seriously concerned about my academic and personal well-being. if anyone has gone through the same thing, id really like some advice. thank you!

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[GangaMaster]

lol is this a med school?

 

[Homura]

lol thanks for the great contribution!!!!

im sorry if im misunderstanding you, BUT- i know med school isnt supposed to be easy. i know its stressful, i know its work, etc etc etc
the reason im concerned is because, out of nowhere, i can barely function. i can't eat, it takes all the effort in the world just to wake up, im constantly having severe headaches, and im more depressed than i ever have been in my life- coming from someone who's been dealing with clinical depression for the last few years.

if this was a gradual thing, i'd be less worried. if i saw my floormates going through the same thing, id be less worried.

others have already given me the advice of going to an on campus therapist or whatever- there's no such system in place, and i can't talk to my friends about it either because theres a huge mental health stigma in the place im currently living.

So, please forgive me if i make a stupid little post on this forum looking for support/advice from people who have gone through the same thing

and if your reply wasnt meant to be condescending, i apologize.

 

[notbobtrustme]

the only reason you should be overseas at 18 is to bang foreign chicks (or dudes)

 

[GangaMaster]

No you are 18. I was wondering if you were in med school. Unless you are in those 6 year european programs.

 

[mestielest]

Yeah welcome to SDN & Medicine

While you say burned out there are some alternative meanings:

1. You really burned out because of hard work for long time and high pressure + responsibility: which is not possible for you, its your first module man come on My faculty have about 35 committee exams in 3 preclinical years + 20 clerkship exams. You will probably have to face with similar amount of exams during your medical school era. Take it easy you have a long way But keep in mind that in future you may be really burned out because of work hours and responsibility.

2. You are feeling burned out because recently you worked hard: You are in medical school therefore you will always study hard. It's a challenging school. Everyone in your class will be a doctor and you are gonna handle people's life, man. This is not a suprise. You will feel this "I'm tired always" shhitt in very next years, during the whole med school and residency. After some time things will become more easy, more familiar, more interesting and more understandable. Keep yourself up. You will develop your own study tricks and you will remind with less study time. Again keep yourself up

3. You thought you are burned out but in reality you didnt love medicine and/or med school. Again keep yourself up. Try to learn, try to spend your leisure time with the things/people you love, try to love whole things.

I hope adds a little; take care

 

[titanlord1]

are you in the caribean? maybe ur depressed because your away from family.

 

[evilbooyaa]

You need to see a professional, stigma be damned. This is clearly affecting you more than a normal person. Can I ask why you decided to go overseas for medical school rather than going through undergrad and getting into a US medical school? I'm assuming you're at a European style 6 year program.

I thought it was hard to be 20 and in medical school, I can't even imagine being 18 and having the responsibility of being a medical student.

 

[mestielest]

are you in the caribean? maybe ur depressed because your away from family.

And this is also a very possible reason I've just forgot.

And for age situation I also started to med school while I was 18 (which is very regular for my country-turkey) and I know one collague who started while he was 16

 

[GangaMaster]

I think you should quit and become a guitarist.

 

[Homura]

No you are 18. I was wondering if you were in med school. Unless you are in those 6 year european programs.

then i apologize for the outburst omg :x

I'm currently in an MBBS program in south asia, though im thinking of looking up if it's possible for me to transfer (Caribbean sounds good at times )

the reason i ended up overseas was mostly due to family pressure/complications (to put things suuuper briefly) it's been more of a cultural/social shock more than anything, and the academic attitude here was also ridiculously different than that of the states.


thank you so much for all the positive responses! i knew i'd feel a little down after exams but it's been a week since then so i was getting a bit edgy about that. im feeling a little more hopeful about things getting better

 

[GangaMaster]

then i apologize for the outburst omg :x

I'm currently in an MBBS program in south asia, though im thinking of looking up if it's possible for me to transfer (Caribbean sounds good at times )

the reason i ended up overseas was mostly due to family pressure/complications (to put things suuuper briefly) it's been more of a cultural/social shock more than anything, and the academic attitude here was also ridiculously different than that of the states.


thank you so much for all the positive responses! i knew i'd feel a little down after exams but it's been a week since then so i was getting a bit edgy about that. im feeling a little more hopeful about things getting better

The caribbean schools that accept transfers are not the ones you want to go to. You need to go back to new york and go to undergrad, that time will give you a chance to focus on your stability and prepare your emotions for medical school. No school in the US will ever know about you going to India for school.

Come back home, America loves you.

 

[evilbooyaa]

The caribbean schools that accept transfers are not the ones you want to go to. You need to go back to new york and go to undergrad, that time will give you a chance to focus on your stability and prepare your emotions for medical school. No school in the US will ever know about you going to India for school.

Come back home, America loves you.

Lol @ the last line, but I agree with the rest of the post. It'd be one thing if you were handling being in South Asia OK, but clearly you're not. I think your best bet is to come back to the US, get into an undergrad, rock that, and get into a US medical school. This will make the next step (residency matching) much easier as well. If you continue to flounder at your Indian medical school, your shots of getting a residency in the US will be extremely low.

 

[Litth]

Hi there! I believe this is my first post here so brief introduction-

I'm 18 years old, originally from New York, and started medical school at an overseas college this january.

I had my first module exam approx 1 week ago. the amount of cramming i did stressed me out incredibly, so i decided to study a little bit every day this module to keep up. However, i cannot for the life of me bring myself to make any effort to study. I'm constantly depressed and irritable, unable to concentrate, and sleeping wayyyy more than usual. Before the module exam, i only studied about every other day but i was able to concentrate for at least 1 or 2 hours at a time, and i only needed to sleep 4-6 hours a day. now all i can bring myself to do is sleep. its been 1 week already, and im seriously concerned about my academic and personal well-being. if anyone has gone through the same thing, id really like some advice. thank you!

Don't let it get you. Medical school is tough, as you have started to experience it already. If it was easy everybody would do it, right?
Try to get some exercise in between. You shouldn't be getting 4 hours of sleep (unless its the exam week). Just laser focus and don't get off the track you will be fine.

Good luck!

 

[Kahreek]

Hi there! I believe this is my first post here so brief introduction-

I'm 18 years old, originally from New York, and started medical school at an overseas college this january.

I had my first module exam approx 1 week ago. the amount of cramming i did stressed me out incredibly, so i decided to study a little bit every day this module to keep up. However, i cannot for the life of me bring myself to make any effort to study. I'm constantly depressed and irritable, unable to concentrate, and sleeping wayyyy more than usual. Before the module exam, i only studied about every other day but i was able to concentrate for at least 1 or 2 hours at a time, and i only needed to sleep 4-6 hours a day. now all i can bring myself to do is sleep. its been 1 week already, and im seriously concerned about my academic and personal well-being. if anyone has gone through the same thing, id really like some advice. thank you!

you might have a depression, wanting to do nothing but sleep is a classical symptom.
Force yourself to do what you think is right, force yourself to get out and do something else, the your body is pulling you down, your mind is unmotivated, you could spend 24 hours in your bedroom and not absorb a page of material, overwhelmed by all these new challenges and the thoughts of failure. The stress arises because suddenly you find yourself with adversities that are harder than you ever seen before. Set your goal, study smart. Know when to stop your study and when to start it.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

http://www.thehappymd.com/

How do you start medical school at 18?

 

[GangaMaster]

http://www.thehappymd.com/

How do you start medical school at 18?

I hope this is a joke website.

 

[tmn]

http://www.thehappymd.com/

Edit: Lolz

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

I hope this is a joke website.

??