GS1 who's burnt out looking for advices

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Vasculitis

New Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2015
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Long story short, I dragged my Step 1 study much longer than I should have, mostly because I was anxious about the test and wanted to get my dream score. I studied 15 hours/day for straight 11 weeks without any breaks. After the test, despite some break time, I still became so burned out that I started to lose all purposes in life. I started to feel lost and don't know why I'm doing what I'm doing. It's been a few weeks into my research, but I have no motivation and energy going forward at all. I'm working for a bright and highly motivated PI whose lab is relatively young. I know my PI has a lot expectation in me that I hit the ground running hard and help advance the project forward fast. Apparently with my current state, I'm not reciprocating my PI's expectation. I haven't talked to my PI or my program director about this yet because I'm afraid I will look like a liability that's full of drama to them, given that they had already allowed me to postpone my research for extra time to study. But at the same time, I just don't know what to do now. I still like science and still want to finish my MD/PhD training, but at the moment I've just lost all purposes in life. Have any of you experienced this and what advices would you have for me ?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Tell the PI you need 1-2 weeks (or however much you think you may need) off. If you trust the PI, you can be honest with what you've written here. Use the time to do things that matter to you (family, friends, travel), and do not do any school work during this time. Then when you have reset, get back to work. I think this could be more beneficial than a psychiatrist/therapist (since you are completely burnt/worked out), although those could be beneficial as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I agree with what StIGMA said; I knew I was going to be burnt out after Step 1, so my PI graciously let me have a month between Step 1 and starting in lab to rest and recharge.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Top