Dwelling?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

mwsapphire

Office of the medical examiner.
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2017
Messages
3,580
Reaction score
2,993
Yet another thread by me
Do you guys ever dwell on lower grades/why I didn't get a 90 on that test/ why didn't I start volunteering earlier? Anything like that? Or is it just me? I look at some of the B's I got freshman year and honestly just want to slap myself. Okay, not really. But still.

Also...
Haters gonna hate
Potatoes gonna potate
Alligators gonna alligate
Acids gonna protonate
Oxidating agents gonna oxidate
 
Yes, for a quick second, I do dwell. Then I realize that making sure I don't repeat that mistake is more important.

Also, *Brønsted acids*
It would have ruined the rhythm, in my opinion.
 
I dwell and I dwell badly. Longest I've gone is 2 years or so and ongoing... Still pissed at myself for getting a C+ in friggin calc I. Still keeps haunting me to this day...
And not getting solid As where I should have... RIP GPA...

PS I'm extremely obsessive
 
I can relate to you on the bad test. Sometimes that can shake people off during the semester, especially during midterms. What I do and I suggest you do is to take 1-2 hours just to relax, listen to music, and think about the situation. Think about how you can fix it and be better. Think about your mistakes. And finally think about what you need to do to succeed this semester. Hope this helps you!
 
It's called perseveration or rumination and it's neither helpful nor healthy.
There is a spectrum of this experience, but if it interferes with your success, there are methods to manage it. Go to student health or the wellness center at your school.
 
I used to dwell a lot on bad grades, in dramatic fashion. Each time I got a less-than-stellar exam score, I'd feel like my hopes of being a physician were completely dashed. The fact is that this is never true for a single exam -- in the context of your whole application, one exam, even one class grade, means nothing. Beyond that, dwelling is a totally useless expenditure of emotional energy.

I now have a rule for myself -- when I get an exam back, I give myself 10 minutes to emotionally process the grade and mourn if necessary. Then, I put the exam away and do something totally non-academic for the next few hours (or days, if need be) to distract myself and get to a better emotional place. Physical activity really helps with this. Later, when I can look at the exam without cringing, I will thoroughly review the test to learn from my errors and make the appropriate adjustments in my study methodology. If the exam was a final and the class is over, it goes in the trash, to be thought of no more. It sounds kind of silly but this strategy has really helped my mental health as a premed.
 
Yet another thread by me
Do you guys ever dwell on lower grades/why I didn't get a 90 on that test/ why didn't I start volunteering earlier? Anything like that? Or is it just me? I look at some of the B's I got freshman year and honestly just want to slap myself. Okay, not really. But still.

Also...
Haters gonna hate
Potatoes gonna potate
Alligators gonna alligate
Acids gonna protonate
Oxidating agents gonna oxidate
Always. I dwell on quiz grades as well.
 
I used to stress sometimes about stuff that I could no longer correct or influence. You have to bring out your inner stoic philosopher and recognize when you are pointlessly beating yourself up, and put it out of your mind. It's not like thinking about it and feeling bad is going to help anything.

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment."
"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking."
"The first rule is, to keep an untroubled spirit"
- Marcus Aurelius. Smart dude that Marcus. Listening to his advice is the only way to sleep on the nights after you had a med school interview!
 
Top