TylerDMD said:
I am for sure. All I do is study. I have no social life. My exams make me feel terrible every month. I have no money. I'm accumulating huge amounts of debt. My family is 2,000 miles away. I have nothing to look forward to for at least 3 more years. I'm sleep deprived. I feel guilty when I'm not studying. There aren't possibly enough hours in the day to complete my work.
The only thing that keeps me alive is the thought of all the luxuries I will buy when I'm out.
Yeh, I'm depressed.
I read some Harvard study that something silly like 50% of all people in health professional education are seriously depressed at sometime...
Anybody else?
Tyler, you made a choice to spend 8 years of your life in a formal classroom setting. School isn't fun for anyone, be he/she an undegrad, med student, dental student, law student, or PhD student. Life will truly suck until you have graduated and passed your licensing boards.
Remember one thing, you need to balance school life with real life. Go see a movie. Go out to eat when you can. Visit your friends and family if they are nearby. Go out on dates when you can. Buy things for yourself when you can afford to. Don't buy into that crap that they try to instill into you in your first year. I remember my first year of medical school hearing some whiney ass professor say "You will have to spend about 60 hours per week studying. For every 4 hour lecture class, you will need to study 8 hours; for every 2 hour lab, you need to study 4 hours." That is utter nonsense.
School and grades are important, but so is living life. Some suggestions:
1) Take one day, either during the week or on the weekend, and devote that day to yourself -- not studying. See a movie, read a book, relax, sleep in, go out to eat, clean the house, cook, visit, etc. For me, it was always EITHER Fridays or Saturdays. I did nothing academic on those days. After my MD, and residency, I went to law school. I did the same thing in law school: took one day for myself only. Try it!
2) Take frequent study breaks to stretch, move around, and clear your head.
3) Try to stay off campus as much as you can. I did a great deal of studying in my apartment or at Beaner's or Starbuck's. Yes, it can be distracting, but sometimes it's nice to be away from campus.
4) Relax and picture yourself, with DDS in hand, 4 years from now, earning a ton of money with no emergencies, no residency, etc.
I have a friend who earned a PhD in pharmacology after an MS and MPH (12 years of formal post secondary schooling plus a 3 year fellowship) and only earns about 55K as a researcher at a research university. You made it this far. You only have 3 more years to go and you'll be fine. Unlike my friend, after you have your DDS, you'll be making a ton of money!
🙂 It's not just you. Every medical, dental, law, pharmacy, graduate student has felt the same way at some point. However, in your case, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Also, as a psychiatrist, my advice is: stay away from anti-depressant medication if you can. Medication is not a good solution to a reactive type of depression. You're reacting to conditions that most people would find depressing. If you have health insurance, consider seeing a therapist (PhD psych or MSW) if you really feel down. Sometimes it feels good to talk to someone else who is objective. Comiserating with other students often makes it worse!
Cheer up and good luck, kid.
