Dealing with Stress: Tips and Resources for Premeds

[tessellations]

As you all might expect, the premed process can cause a lot of stress. From personal experience, I’ve become very well acquainted with stress and have some wisdom to share on dealing with it. These are only lifestyle tips and suggestions for dealing with stress and burnout. I see plenty of neuroticism on here, and while it’s easy to dismiss, this process can be overwhelming. It’s important to take care of yourself!

Self Care:

Things I do for self care:

1. Journaling
2. Getting as much sleep as possible
3. Meditation/Practicing Mindfulness
4. Talking to my mom
5. Going for walks
6. Going to fitness classes/working out
7. Drinking a lot of water
8. Baking/Cooking a favorite meal
9. Taking a long hot shower
10. Listening to music
11. Coloring/Doodling
12. Reading my favorite webcomics
13. Putting on sheet/face masks
14. Volunteering (yes - volunteering can be a form of self care!)
15. Listening to podcasts

These are just some of the things you can do for self care, but it’s helpful to come up with a self care plan so you have an idea of what to do when you are feeling stressed out. Having a plan can make things less overwhelming.

Self Care Starter Kit (University of Buffalo)

Free Coloring Pages

More Coloring Pages

Crayola227's Tips on Managing Burnout and Stress

RogueBanana's Student Fitness Thread

For people who aren’t currently active or who struggle to find time to workout (like me), try scheduling a time in your calendar where you commit to exercising. Try out fitness classes (I like yoga and zumba) or do some sort of cardio that you enjoy. Even a long walk is better than doing nothing! Don’t feel like you absolutely need to go to a gym either. There are plenty of workout apps and videos that allow you to get exercise at home. It’s easy to push exercise aside but it’s important to remember that mental health and physical health are inextricably linked.

Darebee Resources (A website with some great workout/nutrition resources - they even have superhero themed workouts and challenges!)

RogueBanana's Interview Season Stress Tips

12 Easy Ways to Drink More Water Every Day

Mindfulness/Meditation:

I’m a big fan of mindfulness and meditation. It’s what I turn to when I’m feeling particularly overwhelmed. Check out your school’s resources if you’re still an undergraduate - I know my school has some mindfulness groups as well as someone who leads mindfulness sessions twice a week. Our rec center even has a meditation corner!

Introduction to Mindful Awareness (UCLA Health) - Just as a heads up, this is an about an hour long video

Free Guided Meditations (UCLA Health)

6 Breathing Exercises to Relax in 10 Minutes or Less

How to Meditate

TED Talk: All It Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes

There are lots of guided meditations on the internet. I find these super helpful when you’re first starting out. And know that it’s ok if it feels awkward at first - that’s totally normal.

Journaling:

I find that the best way to start journaling is to either a) invest in a guided journal or b) just start writing in a journal. I started doing stream of consciousness initially, but I’m a big fan of journaling with prompts. There are lots of great guided journals you can buy off amazon. Feel free to PM me for suggestions!

There also lots of free prompts on the internet too. Some are a bit weird though, but feel free to do a search.

50 Journaling Prompts (I’d ignore the last 10 or so, but that’s just me)

If you try out stream of consciousness, try timing yourself for 10 minutes and just writing anything that comes to mind. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar - just write.

Other:

Check out spotify’s playlists - they have one for every genre, mood, and situation. I love using their Cinematic Chillout playlist for studying.

My favorite webcomics: SMBC, Poorly Drawn Lines, xkcd, Hark! A Vagrant, Safely Endangered

Crayola227 mentioned this in her post, but melatonin can be useful if you have trouble sleeping. I have struggled with insomnia for a lot of my life, and I swear by it. Keep your dosage as low as possible (stick with 3-5 mg, no need to start at 10 mg). Be aware that when you start, you might have some trippy dreams.

Recipes for What You Have in Your Kitchen

6 Time Management Tips for College Students

Tips for Eating Healthy in Dining Halls

7 Inspiring TED Talks

Feel free to suggest any resources you know about (I will gladly add it to this post) or to post about what you do for your own mental wellbeing!

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[blackroses]

Just repeating some advice that I had to learn to take and that made a huge difference for me: if you're feeling so incredibly overwhelmed on one particular day that you don't even know where to start, just don't. Chances are that you're a neurotic pre-med: you have all your assignments done ahead of time, you've started prepping for your next set of exams early, you started studying for the MCAT 4 months before you're going to take it, etc. Sometimes everything piles on and seems overwhelming for whatever reason. Take a day to do nothing. Catch up on your favorite shows. Take a nap. Go out with friends. I promise, even though it seems like you don't have time and you'll never get caught up if you take a day off, you do have time and you're already way ahead - no catching up is even needed. Your body and your brain will thank you for taking a day to recover, and you'll come back the next day feeling much calmer and much more prepared to handle everything.

 

[tessellations]

Just repeating some advice that I had to learn to take and that made a huge difference for me: if you're feeling so incredibly overwhelmed on one particular day that you don't even know where to start, just don't. Chances are that you're a neurotic pre-med: you have all your assignments done ahead of time, you've started prepping for your next set of exams early, you started studying for the MCAT 4 months before you're going to take it, etc. Sometimes everything piles on and seems overwhelming for whatever reason. Take a day to do nothing. Catch up on your favorite shows. Take a nap. Go out with friends. I promise, even though it seems like you don't have time and you'll never get caught up if you take a day off, you do have time and you're already way ahead - no catching up is even needed. Your body and your brain will thank you for taking a day to recover, and you'll come back the next day feeling much calmer and much more prepared to handle everything.

I couldn't agree more with this! Mental health days can be so key when you're feeling burnt out. I think learning to let go of guilt when practicing self care can be really difficult for some folks, but it's so important to take time off to recharge. You should never feel guilty for taking care of your mental and emotional wellbeing.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Going to really second the coloring. Meditation and mindfulness are so good for you, but some people just cannot meditate. I tried for months to do it, and it just doesn't work for me.

When I started coloring, I was able to get the same benefits. And I had some cool pictures to boot!

People used to laugh because I'd pull out my coloring books and markers on deployment. It helped me relax though.

 

[Geo16]

Also, most of colleges and universities have a some form of psychologist. Like you have paid for this service, use it!

 

[Lawpy]

My favorite webcomics: SMBC, Poorly Drawn Lines, xkcd, Hark! A Vagrant

You forgot Safely Endangered

 

[Turkishking]

I kept going when my body, and mind said no. Well, I learned my mistake.

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Keep your head up - Tupac

 

[deleted446889]

I'd also suggest spirituality as a wondrous form of stress relief. Whatever your beliefs are, becoming more spiritual is a great way to keep things in perspective and stay centered. The Power Of Now is a highly recommended book.

 

[Espressso]

The water link is gold!

 

[ChymeofPassion]

-sex
-alcohol (if youre 21 ofc no IAs for you)
-music
-sports
-sex

 

[Lawpy]

Bumping this with a new tip!

 

[Dr.Kat]

I say get a pet! My cat is a huge stress-reliever for me

 

[tessellations]

I say get a pet! My cat is a huge stress-reliever for me

I'm really hoping that I'll get the chance to adopt a cat (or maybe two) when I'm in medical school. I had two cats growing up but unfortunately they both disappeared (they were outdoor cats). I miss them dearly. Cats are the best

 

[Dr.Kat]

I'm really hoping that I'll get the chance to adopt a cat (or maybe two) when I'm in medical school. I had two cats growing up but unfortunately they both disappeared (they were outdoor cats). I miss them dearly. Cats are the best

I agree! A cat's purring has been proven to reduce stress, or so I've read online hehe

 

[Dr.Kat]

I'm really hoping that I'll get the chance to adopt a cat (or maybe two) when I'm in medical school.

you should def get a cat! super low maintenance (as you know)

 

[Dr. Slimthick]

Memes. There's always one to your specific situation.

 

[voteknope]

A friend of mine posted this and I thought this could be a useful addition to this thread. It's sort of a choose your own adventure for self-care. It is a little more geared towards those struggling with mental health, but could be helpful for anyone who is looking for concrete things to do.
http://philome.la/jace_harr/you-feel-like-****-an-interactive-self-care-guide/play