burnout from the profession as a student.

[psychstudent5]

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hi everyone,

this is my first post. i am a 5th year grad student on the east coast in a major US city. lately, i've felt so burnout and unmotivated. i feel like everyday i'm moving around this city (therapy site to lab meeting back to therapy site) like a chicken with its head cut off. i long to graduate, but i wonder is it any less strenuous. my question is does this high intensity of stress and having to do multiple things last after school? is it cause i'm a student that i feel this way? is it a function of the major US city where i reside? is it the profession? is it my program?

do other graduate or former graduate students feel this way? for the PhDs, does it get easier after school?

sometimes i wonder if i choose the right profession. i also wonder if i'll be doing anything psychology related in the next 10-15 years.

 

[erg923]

I hear ya loud a clear. With all the stress and demand of grad school, its sometimes hard to find that joy in your clinical work/duties because your mind is always coming back to the 15 million other things you need to worry about or get done that day/week/month.

 

[aequitasveritas]

Ironically the only place I feel true purpose and energy these days is at my psych assistantship seeing clients. It's the dissertation...and rent😡 that sucks me into the grad school depression vortex. haha

psychstudent5...is your program funded? Are you stipened?

 

[psychmama]

FWIW, I'm a 6th yr just finishing internship and I've gone through some mild burnout this year. 5-6 yrs is a long time to be a student for anyone. It may be that you're just tired and anxious to move on to "real life"...I know I am. Maybe ask yourself this: do I feel disenchanted with the substance of the work, or am I just juggling too many balls in the air? This may give you a clue as to why you're feeling like you do right now.

Good luck with figuring it all out. Being a grad student is not easy!

 

[justme08]

Psychstudent5: It could be a matter of logistics. You stressed the city you are in several times. Are you from a smaller city? Perhaps, it's just the travel from place to place that you feel is eating into the precious little time you have? Perhaps, you can't wait to finish so you can move to a different city. And, I can only imagine, as psychmama said, that after 5 years of being a student, you are ready to be finally done. I'm not even there yet but 5 years, even on the outside looking in, seems like a long time.

 

[Guelker]

I'm starting my 4th year (and final year on campus) of my clinical psych doc program that is NOT in a big city...a very small useless Southern town in fact. 3rd year is by far the worst for us. Over the course of year 1-3 they continue to add expectations and responsibilities until it culminates year three with classes, thesis, research projects, on-campus clinic work, off-campus assistantship work (often at multiple sites), and comprehensive exams. I completely agree with feeling that you're constantly between locations. I've felt like I spend more time driving or in meetings of some sort than doing actual clinic work. However, I rationalized this in my head as a good opportunity to get exposure to multiple aspects of the field and thereby find those that you enjoy. For me personally, its the clinical work that I enjoy...so that's my solice and the rest is just hoops to jump through. Towards the end of the program they taper off the requirements and things get better. It's my assumption that internship, though still lots of work, is at least full time focused on one location and the multiple requirements that they have. Then, professionally...you can pull yourself in as many (or few) directions as you personally and financially want to. It's all just hoops in the end.

 

[Psy01]

I was warned by an undergrad advisor that feeling burned-out is common. She said not to worry though, because you'll spring back after a while.


And one famous fellow had this to say about it:

One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year.

--Albert Einstein

 

[psychstudent5]

Ironically the only place I feel true purpose and energy these days is at my psych assistantship seeing clients. It's the dissertation...and rent😡 that sucks me into the grad school depression vortex. haha

psychstudent5...is your program funded? Are you stipened?

i am not funded at all. i've had stipends in the past, but not currently. even with the stipend, i felt very stressed out. i also feel disgruntled. sometimes i jut want to quite, but i've come too far along in the program.

 

[aequitasveritas]

i am not funded at all. i've had stipends in the past, but not currently. even with the stipend, i felt very stressed out. i also feel disgruntled. sometimes i jut want to quite, but i've come too far along in the program.

I feel ur pain bud. I have to say also that grad school is the perfect time to go into therapy. You're in the middle of America's finest psychoanalytic institute (NYC). I'd call them up and get in touch with an analyst in training. They will take you on for as little as $20 a session as they can use you to graduate through the program.

Good luck friend.

 

[TenaciousGirl]

This past May I was so over school ... and I'm only half way through! I think that grad school is a unique environment. We are juggling so many things. We have demands from many different sources. I don't see how postdoc can have the same level of stress because we will have achieved many of the things we are stressing out about now. Of course, there could always be something new to feel burn out over. But do you see what I'm saying? (just making sure ... almost 1 am my time) During school I also feel like I'm constantly running around ... class, lab, practicum, symphony rehearsal, etc. But during summer when I don't have as many academic commitments I feel much less burnout. So ... I would like to hope that during post doc when I get a full time job that is (hopefully) all encompassing (minimal running around) burnout will be more manageable.

 

[OneAtATime]

My supervisor helped me understand that there's a difference between resting and refreshing and that I needed to take time to do both. I certainly don't work *all* the time, but I feel like I *should* be, and so when I take time to do things like watch SYTYCD, it's usually because I feel too tired and worn out to do "real work," and then I feel bad and guilty the whole time.

I haven't really solved this problem, although I did choose to enjoy watching SYTYCD this weekend 🙂 , but I suspect that many of us have trouble prioritizing taking care of ourselves or giving ourselves permission to be away from work. Burnout is a real and serious problem in the profession and I'm realizing that preventing it is one of the lessons that I need to learn.

 

[psybee]

Last week, I walked into supervision and declared that I was totally burnt out: I thought that I was still doing a good job with my clients, but anything that was about doing for me - from eating good food to folding the laundry to writing an important paper for a class to exercising - I just couldn't make myself do. My supervisor helped me understand that there's a difference between resting and refreshing and that I needed to take time to do both. I certainly don't work *all* the time, but I feel like I *should* be, and so when I take time to do things like watch SYTYCD, it's usually because I feel too tired and worn out to do "real work," and then I feel bad and guilty the whole time.

I haven't really solved this problem, although I did choose to enjoy watching SYTYCD this weekend 🙂 , but I suspect that many of us have trouble prioritizing taking care of ourselves or giving ourselves permission to be away from work. Burnout is a real and serious problem in the profession and I'm realizing that preventing it is one of the lessons that I need to learn.

i love cheezy tv too and definitely like to fit some veg time into my week, but one thing i have learned is there is a difference between doing things that feel good (watching tv) and things that are good for me (doings something active, creative, or that builds on intimate relationships). i can be so exhausted after the day that it's a lot easier to just relax infront of the set or with a mystery novel, but when i take the time to refresh and do something that makes me feel more like "me", the me that can get hidden under therapeutic, academic, and research commitments, that existed before g-school it's way better in the long run.

 

[OneAtATime]

i love cheezy tv too and definitely like to fit some veg time into my week, but one thing i have learned is there is a difference between doing things that feel good (watching tv) and things that are good for me (doings something active, creative, or that builds on intimate relationships).

I think this is absolutely true and definitely agree with you. I was a professional dancer before attending college, and I find that watching SYTYCD keeps me engaged in that world, which is important to me!

 

[erg923]

Burnout is a state of mind. I think it may have to do with how we conceptualize the stress/valence of a situation.

Graduate school for many of us was/is a transition to far more responsibility and time demands from our previous existence. There is always work to do, something pressing, something on the back burner. But, professional jobs are like this, for the most part. In my job, there is always work to do, something pressing, and something on the back burner. But, I don't feel particularly stressed out. I figured this out in graduate school. I approached it like a job. I got up early every day, went to work, and worked hard (sometimes this meant working until midnight, sometimes not). I tried/try my best to keep nights and weekends clear (not always successfully, but often). It is important to maintain a sense of self. What I mean by this is that the demands of graduate school can be consuming. If you let it, it can take up every second of your day and probably a good chunk of your dreams. You start to feel guilty for having fun. This is dangerous to maintain over an extended period of time and creates burnout.

So, take a hint from zen. Live in the moment, be aware. I think the key is to be able to let go a bit.

Commutes can be okay. Get some audiobooks. If you're in a big city, there are things to see. I did my internship and postdoc in a big city. I broke up my commute by picking a gym in the middle (on my way home) and working out after work. By the time I was done working out, traffic was easy.

Good advice JS