Crazy daily routine makes Med School bearable ?

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TurbulentWind

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I have struggled very much to accommodate in Medical school. I have way too much energy, way too many interests and I love life way too much to be an ideal Medical student who has the patience, time and interest to study Medicine. I figured out that this was not going to work, so what to do ? Well, obviously I can't change my personality, but if I can change anything, then that is my lifestyle.

This is how I decided to make the following lifestyle changes :
  • I wake up each morning around 4-5 AM - It makes me feel fresh, wide awake and ready to seize the day.
  • I take extra cold shower
  • I go out and run around 3-5x/day - Running is great, especially in the winter. It is like an ice cold therapy that makes my body and brain relax and feel fresh at the same time.
  • I don't drive my car anymore to the medical school - I use my bike. It is an hour long ride and another hour back home, and the weather is like hell and my classmates + parents think I'm nuts, but I just love it. It's the best time of the day, when all the stress gets vanished away.
  • I weight train 3x/week, I do bodyweight training 7x/week - pushups, pullups, squats, etc.
  • I don't snack, I don't eat sweets, I don't drink alcohol.
All in all, I like to consider myself like in some sort of " mental army " and no matter how weird it seems, it's the only way I feel that I can handle Medical school. Being tough on myself always worked, but when I start to relax or " take it easy " or follow any similar advice that apparently helps many people get by, I don't get anything done. I think this is because I need constant and very strong physical stimulation through the day to keep my mind active, otherwise I get distracted and the concentration goes out of the window.

With this routine, I don't know how to explain it the best, but it's like I put myself under constant stimulation, so that my body and mind is active all the time, ready to do anything, even study boring Medical material.

Did anyone experience anything like this ?

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Your daily routine sounds like literal hell to me.

But whatever works for you! I totally understand getting easily distracted when you're just sitting in a chair studying all day. I especially have a hard time just passively watching lectures when I feel anxious, because I tend to get super jittery when I'm anxious and it makes it hard to sit still.
 
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Lol OP your daily routine sounds like its straight from 'American Psycho'. My old friend Patrick Bateman told me how he gets ready every morning...

"I live in the American Gardens building on West 81st street. My name is Patrick Bateman. I'm 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack, I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water activated gel cleanser. Then a honey almond body scrub. And on the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then apply an herb mint facial mask, which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me. Only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our life styles are probably comparable, I simply am not there."
 
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OP, do better.
 
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I don't understand the point of sarcasm :D

I specified in the title that yes, it is a crazy routine. I also tried to explain in the post why it helps me and I was interested if anyone else experienced something similar, as we could change impressions.

Also, for me, the daily routine feels like Heaven compared to Medical school. The reason why I do this routine ( if it wasn't obvious enough ) is that it's the only way I can feel good about Medical school.
 
Much like the majestic stallion in your profile pic you will not be broken!
 
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It this works for you, then this is good. How are your grades?

I have struggled very much to accommodate in Medical school. I have way too much energy, way too many interests and I love life way too much to be an ideal Medical student who has the patience, time and interest to study Medicine. I figured out that this was not going to work, so what to do ? Well, obviously I can't change my personality, but if I can change anything, then that is my lifestyle.

This is how I decided to make the following lifestyle changes :
  • I wake up each morning around 4-5 AM - It makes me feel fresh, wide awake and ready to seize the day.
  • I take extra cold shower
  • I go out and run around 3-5x/day - Running is great, especially in the winter. It is like an ice cold therapy that makes my body and brain relax and feel fresh at the same time.
  • I don't drive my car anymore to the medical school - I use my bike. It is an hour long ride and another hour back home, and the weather is like hell and my classmates + parents think I'm nuts, but I just love it. It's the best time of the day, when all the stress gets vanished away.
  • I weight train 3x/week, I do bodyweight training 7x/week - pushups, pullups, squats, etc.
  • I don't snack, I don't eat sweets, I don't drink alcohol.
All in all, I like to consider myself like in some sort of " mental army " and no matter how weird it seems, it's the only way I feel that I can handle Medical school. Being tough on myself always worked, but when I start to relax or " take it easy " or follow any similar advice that apparently helps many people get by, I don't get anything done. I think this is because I need constant and very strong physical stimulation through the day to keep my mind active, otherwise I get distracted and the concentration goes out of the window.

With this routine, I don't know how to explain it the best, but it's like I put myself under constant stimulation, so that my body and mind is active all the time, ready to do anything, even study boring Medical material.

Did anyone experience anything like this ?
 
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Don't let the troll win.
 
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I don't drink alcohol

I realized this was a joke at this point.

haha but seriously, if you do all this power to you, but I don't see how you have time to study if you run 3-5x/day and lift/gym almost every day, with a two hour commute.
 
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I used to drink coffee, but now I just cut myself.
 
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I realized this was a joke at this point.

haha but seriously, if you do all this power to you, but I don't see how you have time to study if you run 3-5x/day and lift/gym almost every day, with a two hour commute.

I work out 3-4x/week. It helps a bunch with my headache. For some reason, I have been getting regular headache 3-4 days before an exam.
 
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I work out 3-4x/week. It helps a bunch with my headache. For some reason, I have been getting regular headache 3-4 days before an exam.

Are you really doing med school right if you don't get headaches before exams?


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Noticed you post a lot about how you hate learning about medicine and medical school. Just wondering, what made you decide medicine was for you way back when you applied?
 
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I have struggled very much to accommodate in Medical school. I have way too much energy, way too many interests and I love life way too much to be an ideal Medical student who has the patience, time and interest to study Medicine. I figured out that this was not going to work, so what to do ? Well, obviously I can't change my personality, but if I can change anything, then that is my lifestyle.

This is how I decided to make the following lifestyle changes :
  • I wake up each morning around 4-5 AM - It makes me feel fresh, wide awake and ready to seize the day.
  • I take extra cold shower
  • I go out and run around 3-5x/day - Running is great, especially in the winter. It is like an ice cold therapy that makes my body and brain relax and feel fresh at the same time.
  • I don't drive my car anymore to the medical school - I use my bike. It is an hour long ride and another hour back home, and the weather is like hell and my classmates + parents think I'm nuts, but I just love it. It's the best time of the day, when all the stress gets vanished away.
  • I weight train 3x/week, I do bodyweight training 7x/week - pushups, pullups, squats, etc.
  • I don't snack, I don't eat sweets, I don't drink alcohol.
All in all, I like to consider myself like in some sort of " mental army " and no matter how weird it seems, it's the only way I feel that I can handle Medical school. Being tough on myself always worked, but when I start to relax or " take it easy " or follow any similar advice that apparently helps many people get by, I don't get anything done. I think this is because I need constant and very strong physical stimulation through the day to keep my mind active, otherwise I get distracted and the concentration goes out of the window.

With this routine, I don't know how to explain it the best, but it's like I put myself under constant stimulation, so that my body and mind is active all the time, ready to do anything, even study boring Medical material.

Did anyone experience anything like this ?

OP, this is yet another thread from you where it is clear you are not enjoying medical school. You need to seek help from your counselors. This doesn't mean you'll be told to leave medicine and on the contrary you'll like be given resources to cope with all this. I'm sorry but these kinds of posts do not make me thing that you're just too full of energy and have too many interests and that that is the problem.


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OP, this is yet another thread from you where it is clear you are not enjoying medical school. You need to seek help from your counselors. This doesn't mean you'll be told to leave medicine and on the contrary you'll like be given resources to cope with all this. I'm sorry but these kinds of posts do not make me thing that you're just too full of energy and have too many interests and that that is the problem.


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I am not enjoying it and no counseling is going to solve that. I can cope with it and I that has nothing to do with whether I enjoy it or not.
 
I am not enjoying it and no counseling is going to solve that. I can cope with it and I that has nothing to do with whether I enjoy it or not.

Is that really the way you want to live your life, though? Just "coping"? What's the point of committing your entire life to something you don't even enjoy?


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It this works for you, then this is good. How are your grades?
Mediocre, I have to admit. I don't like what I study and I felt off the wagon more than once. I'm glad I managed to pull myself to together and I'll be glad if I pass my exams.
 
Is that really the way you want to live your life, though? Just "coping"? What's the point of committing your entire life to something you don't even enjoy?


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Well, everyone says that it gets better. Everyone says that MS1 is not how Medicine is going to be as a lifestyle.

Besides, I believe in adaptation : as human beings, we are meant to adapt. We find smarter and smarter ways to do so, but we need time. I remember when I first started training, it was a living hell : my family is not very active and I had no training background. I thought I was going to be sedentary for the rest of my life, because it felt so weird at the beginning and look at me now, I am a training maniac !

I want to do the same with the Medical field : to learn to love it.
My father, who is one of the greatest doctors in my city, had the same love-hate relationship with Medicine, but he was still married to Medicine all his life.
I think passion is an interesting thing : it might take time to make it work and it's still going to make you go through living hell many times, but for some people, it's the way life is supposed to be.
I don't picture myself doing anything else anyway, so I take that as a good sign that I'm on the right path.
 
@TurbulentWind, I would say that medicine and all other aspects of your life will always be periods of self-growth and reflection. We're all growing up, always, and it's important to reflect and understand what's working and not working. Studies have shown that people with more emotional intelligence do better than others in a wide variety of settings.
What I feel, having read a number of your posts, is that you're beginning to recognize there your feelings in regards to medical school and your attitude towards it are troubling you. You also feel profoundly stressed, and one of the ways you can diffuse that is through exercise.
What I would recommend (albeit my limited medical training), would be to seek out some form of short-term therapy; my friend is receiving it for $5 per session for instance because of her insurance, and so perhaps you can find an equally affordable therapist near you. So now, hear me out, as I understand you don't want "counseling," but therapy is not necessarily counseling. It is someone to talk through your feelings with, and help you reflect is hopefully a more efficient way so you begin to accelerate even more-so on the pathway towards self-growth. This should hopefully be a way for you to understand both yourself and your strengths better so you can get to where you hopefully want to go in a manner that is more satisfying for you.

I would also recommend, if you feel so much stress, to be more open with connecting to your classmates, if you aren't already, and perhaps discussing some of your concerns. I bet many of your classmates can empathize with you; we're all in this together after all.

Best of luck OP!
 
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I think your routine sounds brutal, but if it's made you feel like your life is better overall, then that's awesome. You seem to have found a way to cope with med school. I'm a huge proponent of therapy and I think everyone could find value in a therapy session every week or every other week. But don't be made to feel like something is wrong with you if you're not loving medical school. There's no reason to be miserable, but I think it's pretty common to be bored by reading a medical textbook or watching lectures all day for two years. I was bored first year and felt like I had all these other interests in life I was missing out on. (I went to med school after a few years of traveling and working around the world, and it was hard to make the transition.) I'm enjoying third year so much more (though there are days I wish I could be totally free of the pressures of med school--though then there would be whatever other kind of pressures.)

In summary: Good job not curling up into a ball and instead finding a routine that makes you feel good. There's nothing abnormal about not loving the first couple years of med school.

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I work out 3-4x/week. It helps a bunch with my headache. For some reason, I have been getting regular headache 3-4 days before an exam.

Many people do, the point I was making is that in combination with all the other stuff he/she does it seems impossible to make time to study
 
OP, this is yet another thread from you where it is clear you are not enjoying medical school. You need to seek help from your counselors. This doesn't mean you'll be told to leave medicine and on the contrary you'll like be given resources to cope with all this. I'm sorry but these kinds of posts do not make me thing that you're just too full of energy and have too many interests and that that is the problem.


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Agreed. I'm worried about you, OP. It seems like you can't be alone with your thoughts which is why you need to distract yourself constantly with this brutal physical routine.
I think it's obvious to all of us that Medicine is not for you.
Goro, how do these kids get in just because they have high stats? Why aren't schools better at picking out the kids that obviously have no passion for medicine during interviews? It seems like passion should come head and shoulders above stats in the selection process for this very reason.
 
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Admissions is and will always be an art, rather than a science. It is a very human endeavor.

I suspect that OP'S inner demons were not readily detected during the admissions process.

Goro, how do these kids get in just because they have high stats? Why aren't schools better at picking out the kids that obviously have no passion for medicine during interviews? It seems like passion should come head and shoulders above stats in the selection process for this very reason.
 
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Admissions is and will always be an art, rather than a science. It is a very human endeavor.

I suspect that OP'S inner demons were not readily detected during the admissions process.
Fair point. It's a shame so many are still devoting their lives to their parents' dreams though. I've actually had medical students at the UC I work at tell me straight up they had no strong desire for medicine, but it was what their parents wanted them to do. It's really sad
 
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It's a shame so many are still devoting their lives to their parents' dreams though. I've actually had medical students at the UC I work at tell me straight up they had no strong desire for medicine, but it was what their parents wanted them to do. It's really sad

That's a good one. Just by browsing through threads on this forum I have found TONS OF PEOPLE who are in the Medical field because it offers a good and secure job. There were more, quite long threads on this subject and no one discouraged those people from pursuing Medicine, although they certainly weren't doing it out of passion.
 
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That's a good one. Just by browsing through threads on this forum I have found TONS OF PEOPLE who are in the Medical field because it offers a good and secure job. There were more, quite long threads on this subject and no one discouraged those people from pursuing Medicine, although they certainly weren't doing it out of passion.
A) I would have and B) I still find their reasoning to be more legit than those who follow medicine out of feeling obligated to fulfill their parents' dreams. There's still intrinsic motivation in that logic, in the latter there isn't.

I'm not trying to be an ass; I'm genuinely concerned for you. You really seem like you can't be alone with your thoughts and are doing anything and everything to keep your mind distracted from them.
 
This is why I wrote what I did.
Yes, but why it is that only I am discouraged from pursuing it ?
A) I would have and B) I still find their reasoning to be more legit than those who follow medicine out of feeling obligated to fulfill their parents' dreams. There's still intrinsic motivation in that logic, in the latter there isn't.

I'm not trying to be an ass; I'm genuinely concerned for you. You really seem like you can't be alone with your thoughts and are doing anything and everything to keep your mind distracted from them.
Well, thank you, but I actually had a talk with my parents and they told me that they would be more glad if I would quit Medical school than if I would continue living miserably.
The irony at this point was that I realized that I don't want to quit it, because I can't think of anything else to do besides Medicine. It wasn't a passion, but I started to enjoy learning about it before I got into Medical school and " enjoying it " was enough for me. I was so glad that finally I am going to make something meaningful in this life and the idea of helping people was always close to my heart ( it still is ) , so the thought of quitting is horrific.
I can't imagine to end this, and everyone told me that this short period of time is going to pay off in the future and I will like the Medical field, because it is not like MS1 and MS2.

I want to be a doctor.....I just have a difficult personality to handle, even for myself.
 
Many people do, the point I was making is that in combination with all the other stuff he/she does it seems impossible to make time to study

What do you do with your headache? I'm seriously contemplating seeing a neurologist for some help. I hate taking drugs, and I'm wondering if I should be relying on it on a as needed basis.
 
Can you keep your voice down OP? The rest of us are trying to sleep.
 
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It seems like passion should come head and shoulders above stats in the selection process for this very reason.

Hahaha, you wish.
You won't even get an interview to assess your passion without the high scores.
Also, it's really impossible to tell what medical school is like and how you'll manage until you're knee deep in the stool.
Some rise up and shine, other former superstars struggle and hole up in their apartments only to surface for exams and mandatory group stuff. I disliked all the memorization and the first 2 years more than most, BUT I found a system that worked for me and went out and exercised daily to achieve balance. I had been out of school for a few years and going out to dinner and exercising often was my "old" routine. Making time to socialize and relax with a couple beers or glass of wine with dinner has other benefits. You meet people outside of the medical center. You date, and the stuff that comes with that.
Balance. It helps keep you from having to exercise for 4 hours a day.


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Il Destriero
 
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Hahaha, you wish.
You won't even get an interview to assess your passion without the high scores.
Also, it's really impossible to tell what medical school is like and how you'll manage until you're knee deep in the stool.
Some rise up and shine, other former superstars struggle and hole up in their apartments only to surface for exams and mandatory group stuff. I disliked all the memorization and the first 2 years more than most, BUT I found a system that worked for me and went out and exercised daily to achieve balance. I had been out of school for a few years and going out to dinner and exercising often was my "old" routine. Making time to socialize and relax with a couple beers or glass of wine with dinner has other benefits. You meet people outside of the medical center. You date, and the stuff that comes with that.
Balance. It helps keep you from having to exercise for 4 hours a day.


--
Il Destriero
The reason for why I exercise is that because of the stress I have a high a tendency to go overboard if I go out to eat or drink. I can turn into a binge eater or binge drinker in a matter of seconds.
Exercise, on the other hand, does not get out of control and even if it does, it does not have such side effects as eating or drinking to an excess would have.
I am not a balanced type of person, I am more of an extremist.
 
The reason for why I exercise is that because of the stress I have a high a tendency to go overboard if I go out to eat or drink. I can turn into a binge eater or binge drinker in a matter of seconds.
Exercise, on the other hand, does not get out of control and even if it does, it does not have such side effects as eating or drinking to an excess would have.
I am not a balanced type of person, I am more of an extremist.

Ever considered that extreme studying "to an excess" can get out of control and be unhealthy, too?
 
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OP, get off the internet and consult a counselor
 
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I used to drink coffee, but now I just cut myself.

Borderline, eh? I know surgery is famous for it's sociopaths, but what field do the borderline people end up in?

Are you really doing med school right if you don't get headaches before exams?

No.

What do you do with your headache? I'm seriously contemplating seeing a neurologist for some help. I hate taking drugs, and I'm wondering if I should be relying on it on a as needed basis.

Do you have any specific ideas about what's causing them? If you're sitting and staring at a computer for 12 hours a day with mediocre posture before an exam like I was, try and find a way to break that up. I realized my headaches were a combination of eye strain from staring at a screen for 12 straight hours and tension headaches from my neck and upper back being in the same position too long. I tried to do 2 hours max in front of a computer screen, followed by 1 hour of listening to a lecture or taking a break, then do the next 2 hours or so reading off of printed notes. That way I'd only spend about 1/3 to 1/2 my 12-14 hours of studying those days in front of a screen. I'd also get up and walk around or stretch my neck and back for at least 15 minutes every 2-3 hours to try and relieve some of the tension. You can also try some meditation or breathing exercises to help relax yourself if they're related to anxiety. There's a lot of videos and apps that have 5-15 minute breathing exercises that help a ton. When I'd start getting tired I'd do a 10 minute breathing session and it would feel like I just took a great nap.

I'm not saying any of those things are going to be a magic cure, or even that they'll work. Just throwing out some suggestions that worked for myself and classmates though, especially since you seem to want to avoid meds for the issue if possible. Feel free to PM me if you want specific apps or stretches/cervical treatments to try out as some of them helped me immensely second year, especially during boards studying.
 
OP, either get off the internet and consult a counselor like people suggest on each and every one of your posts or stop whining. Really. The choice is yours. The solution is pretty straightforward. The answer to every one of your posts is the same. Get off SDN and get some freaking help.
I'm not whining.
I wrote my daily routine.
 
I am Bipolar, so it's not a surpise :D
Ah. So much makes sense.

I think you definitely need to check in with your psychiatrist. Not saying this as a judgement. It just never hurts to check in and make sure your meds are doing their job for you.
 
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Ah. So much makes sense.

I think you definitely need to check in with your psychiatrist. Not saying this as a judgement. It just never hurts to check in and make sure your meds are doing their job for you.
I don't take Meds.
 
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