Can you handle the stress????

[RoxyG1624]

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All this talk about how much work and information you have to learn in dental school is stressing me out!! I am the type of person who cracks under pressure (I'm working on this) and am afraid I won't be able to handle dental school. I currently work 40 hours a week and take 12 credit hours a semester and I can barely handle that.

Is anyone in this same situation. I don't want to spend all of my time, energy and money on trying to get into dental school and when i get there crack and fail or drop out. I sometimes wonder if I should be working towards something a little less stressful...like dental hygiene?

I know if I do make it through dental school I could handle owning my own business. Sounds weird and little backwards, but I know how to run a business, I just have a hard time trying to remember a TON of stuff at once.

Any advise, critizism, help, would be great. Thanks.

 

[QuackDentist]

All this talk about how much work and information you have to learn in dental school is stressing me out!! I am the type of person who cracks under pressure (I'm working on this) and am afraid I won't be able to handle dental school. I currently work 40 hours a week and take 12 credit hours a semester and I can barely handle that.

Is anyone in this same situation. I don't want to spend all of my time, energy and money on trying to get into dental school and when i get there crack and fail or drop out. I sometimes wonder if I should be working towards something a little less stressful...like dental hygiene?

I know if I do make it through dental school I could handle owning my own business. Sounds weird and little backwards, but I know how to run a business, I just have a hard time trying to remember a TON of stuff at once.

Any advise, critizism, help, would be great. Thanks.

working 40 hours a week is definitely stressful when you're taking a full class load. Just try to be positive and try to work through your stress. Ultimately, you have to determine if dentistry is truly worth the stress. If it is your passion, then by all means, proceed. Also, dental hygiene is very different from dentistry; it's more relaxed but nowhere near as exciting.

Dental school is very tough from what I hear... but nothing worth having ever really came easy. Just think that all of your tears and worry as an investment for a happier future.

My advise to you is keep your head up, work on your stress level, and look at all of the options. Do some introspection and determine what kind of job you would really want.

 

[tinman831]

If you can handle a 40hr/week job AND go to school full time, you'll be okay in dental school.

 

[pmantz]

Beer!!!

 

[QuackDentist]

Beer!!!

here goes the beer thread again 😱

 

[pmantz]

here goes the beer thread again 😱

Sorry, I am not trying to go there. I prefer to just cope with stress then talk about it. Whenever I talk about stress I get more stressed out.

 

[QuackDentist]

Sorry, I am not trying to go there. I prefer to just cope with stress then talk about it. Whenever I talk about stress I get more stressed out.

oh i didnt mean it badly... i still like u.🙂

 

[denteng]

Beer!!!

here goes the beer thread again 😱

Better than him saying pus*y. I know that helps me destress ;-)




(* substitute with whatever floats your boat ;-) )

 

[in her drawer]

Better than him saying pus*y. I know that helps me destress ;-)




(* substitute with whatever floats your boat ;-) )

I like to get unstressed by wasting time. There is nothing I love better than wasting time.

 

[smec]

Spend 5 - 20 minutes each day doing deep breathing. It will help relieve stress and give you a clearer mind throughout the day. It's part of holistic attainment making the mind, body, and sprit coherently integrated to overcome any obstacle you're going to encounter.

 

[denteng]

here goes the beer thread again 😱

Spend 5 - 20 minutes each day doing deep breathing. It will help relieve stress and give you a clearer mind throughout the day. It's part of holistic attainment making the mind, body, and sprit coherently integrated to overcome any obstacle you're going to encounter.

Actually on a more serious note, daily cardio exercise of 30 minutes does wonders. Takes about 3 weeks to kick in, but I highly recommend it. There are numerous medical studies on this topic, and this advice is rampant in business/management books. Your body responds in a manner that helps you focus, think clearer, understand and grasp more complicated topics. Plus it helps keep yourself in shape, and a great excuse to run or rollerblade for 30-60 minutes.

My earlier suggestion still is a favorite of mine to destress, but intense cardio is another good one ;-). Hope it helps!

 

[Yellow Snow]

Stress is having to live in a seperate country from your wife and child because they don't have any jobs in your home country. Or losing a finger at the factory where you work without insurance and unable to work after. Just keep it in perspective man. I have known people in the above situations and these were people who smiled and cracked jokes and did what had to be done everyday. If you are priveleged to be accepted as a doctoral cantidate in the U.S. you have it made it the f*cking shade. Enjoy it and give back when possible.

 

[in her drawer]

Stress is having to live in a seperate country from your wife and child because they don't have any jobs in your home country. Or losing a finger at the factory where you work without insurance and unable to work after. Just keep it in perspective man. I have known people in the above situations and these were people who smiled and cracked jokes and did what had to be done everyday. If you are priveleged to be accepted as a doctoral cantidate in the U.S. you have it made it the f*cking shade. Enjoy it and give back when possible.

If it snowed in Arizona, I would de-stress by making yellow snow. 🙂

[EDIT]
No, I did not mean northern Arizona.

 

[QuackDentist]

If it snowed in Arizona, I would de-stress by making yellow snow. 🙂

LOL... you are soooo random.

P.S. I literally laughed out loud.

 

[INFNITE]

it's only the 4th week for me, and I'm already stressed out. I've slowly adjusted though, and I've come to accept the reality that I'll be studying 80% of the time outside of classes and sleep. It's all about time management, staying ahead of the material and just not losing your focus. If you keep up with the pace, you will be fine. Right now, i'm one week behind on anatomy and basic sciences, and it really isn't fun staying up till 3:00AM every night just to try to catch up.

 

[RoxyG1624]

Wow, thank you everyone for the advise. I think last night I was a little stressed. It doesn't help that I put so much pressure on myself to perform. I can't help that all I want is straight As!

I started working out before this semester, but haven't had time to figure out when and where in my schedule I can fit that in yet.

I do want to be a dentist and I guess I will just have to hope for the best and don't look back.

Thanks again everyone.

P.S. My 21st B-day is this weekend, so maybe I'll try that Beer thing 🙂

 

[RDH2DDS]

!

 

[Tallgolfer]

Put it this way, working your tail off for the next 4 to 5 years is like starting off in the business world as some entry level peon trying to work their way up the ladder. But in this case you are working to have a business of your own in which you make the choices on when you work, where you work, how you work, and even have a great influence on what you make. I'd say that is worth any amount of stress to put up with for the next few years. Not to mention I will bet you will look back on the time you spend in dental school and wonder where all the time went...at least this is how I'm thinking about it...😀

 

[Nasem]

All this talk about how much work and information you have to learn in dental school is stressing me out!! I am the type of person who cracks under pressure (I'm working on this) and am afraid I won't be able to handle dental school. I currently work 40 hours a week and take 12 credit hours a semester and I can barely handle that.

Is anyone in this same situation. I don't want to spend all of my time, energy and money on trying to get into dental school and when i get there crack and fail or drop out. I sometimes wonder if I should be working towards something a little less stressful...like dental hygiene?

I know if I do make it through dental school I could handle owning my own business. Sounds weird and little backwards, but I know how to run a business, I just have a hard time trying to remember a TON of stuff at once.

Any advise, critizism, help, would be great. Thanks.

Believe me, anyone with ANY common sense will tell you that if you finish your pre-dents and you get a good GPA and a good DAT score, trust me, when you enter into dental, your only 4 YEARS AWAY FROM GLORY, it doesn't matter how hard it is, it doesn't matter if you have to study 8hrs per day for 4 years straight, YOUR ONLY 4 YEARS AWAY FROM YOUR DREAM.... your going to let some hard biology / anatomy / whatever else stop you ???? If you have any common sense, you'd never drop out no matter how hard dentistry is...

 

[ItsGavinC]

After 3.5 years of dental school, here is my answer: dental school is only as stressful as you make it.

 

[RoxyG1624]

Good points! If I just sacrifice now, I will be rewarded later on!

 

[ruth11]

im not in dskool but i did stay at a holiday inn....


seriously though, im taking graduate level/PhD level neuroanatomy right now...that's supposed to be the killer 1st yr dental school course and it isn't too bad...just a LOT of memorization...so hopefully I'll be in the game once the real deal comes along in DS1. Although I'm not taking into factor the crazy lab hours and other courseload that comes along with DS1

 

[DentalBoarder]

Good points! If I just sacrifice now, I will be rewarded later on!

i feel ya. i worked 45 hrs a week and volunteered 12 hrs a week my last yr of college... of course i took 10 units, but still, it was tough. gotta look at the whole picture though. good luck and take care.