Even after being accepted, I still can't sleep. Anyone else?

[qugesi]

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So I am a re-applicant, and I was recently accepted into temple. I am just feeling anxious and restless before school starts because i keep thinking of other things going on in my life. and for some weird reason i am not feeling as satisfied as I thought I would be.

Although I am it is probably not in the same way as me, but are others feeling restless before they start, or did feel restless?

And any advice to calm myself down would be much appreciated. Sorry for the annoying thread.

 

[FatKid]

So I am a re-applicant, and I was recently accepted. I was and still am elated.... I felt I could breathe burdenless and stressfree after what feels like a long struggle. For all this time, I felt getting in will bring me make me feel "normal" again..... Focused... Cheery... And getting enough rest! But I am feeling more and more restless now. I almost don't know what to do with myself... I was so consumed by the process, everyday just working on applying or improving myself by following my interests... And now I am filled with new concerns with other parts of my life, nervousness about med school, health concerns, relationships.... And I find myself pulling sleepless marathons as if it was some crazy return of hell week from college.... And I just search random things on sdn or facebook all night... I never cared About facebook until last week!

Humans can never be satisfied.... At least the way I am now. this Success feels just as matieralistic as anything else. I was disgusted with myself after I was excepted b/c I was suddennly happy as if my dad bought me a new toy... And the day before that I felt I was grinding away. I felt very materiListic a d it really concerned me.

Although I am it is probably not in the same way as me, but are others feeling restless before they start, or did feel restless?

And any advice to calm myself down would be much appreciated.

Step #1. Change your status. You are not a medical student for another month.

Step #2. Enjoy several ice-cold alcoholic beverages.

Step #3. Stop being a tool. We don't need more tool med students - TRUST ME.

 

[engineeredout]

 

[Mr hawkings]

step #3. Stop being a tool. We don't need more tool med students - trust me.

ouch

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Go work out.

 

[pgouda]

Okay seriously.... have all of you forgotten what it was like to find out you were accepted!!! I am sure there are a few exceptions, but for me getting accepted was half the battle. I got accepted at NUI Galway in Ireland and now they want me to maintain a 90% average... which isn't bad BUT my final exams are worth 50% of my final mark so it does put a little but of pressure on you. Then if you are going away from home you have to find a place to live, roomates, finances, transportation etc. There are so many other things you have to worry about... not to mention the extreme courseload that I am getting worried about the more and more I read about. So to the OP, you bet I know what you are going through but really you just have to take a deep breath and enjoy the couple weeks/months you have left before school starts. Go party it up at the beach/mall!

 

[OveractiveBrain]

If you are constantly confronted with stress, and you constantly respond in a negative way, you are going to die an early death.

Chill pill was a pretty good idea. Maybe you should be screened for a generalized anxiety disorder. If you have one, you should be medicated. usually I am sarcastic, but this is for serious.

Moving? Finding a place? Courseload!? How about celebrate, tell your friends, get a drink, dump that girl that has been nagging you to do something better in your life (you're about to meet a bunch of single doctors!).

There are people called realtors, and professors, and pyschiatrists, and priestess to help you get through life. Relajate, and enjoy the good times while you have them.

Because when you start med school, you wont have a life. Welcome to hell! Just remember, there is a half a mil anual paycheck 8 years down the road!

 

[Evergrey]

Just my 2 cents -- I think I've gone through what you seem to be describing. You've probably been slaving for years to reach this particular goal and now that you've attained it you're probably feeling like you're not sure what to do anymore (until medical school starts). I have that happen to me after finals week all the time, and it happened leading right up to graduation a few weeks ago (I had a ridiculously difficult final semester). My advice for you is to find things in your current life that you love, and throw your heart into them. You can't live for the future all the time. You've reached your goal, take a break, pat yourself on the back, and go fishing and drink beer with your friends or something.

 

[MossPoh]

Moving and finding a place really isn't that big of a deal. It is a few days inconvenience. If you stress about that then you're going to be screwed during school.

 

[midn]

So I am a re-applicant, and I was recently accepted into temple. I am just feeling anxious and restless before school starts because i keep thinking of other things going on in my life. and for some weird reason i am not feeling as satisfied as I thought I would be.

Although I am it is probably not in the same way as me, but are others feeling restless before they start, or did feel restless?

And any advice to calm myself down would be much appreciated. Sorry for the annoying thread.

I can understand that because you're a reapplicant, you may feel that medical school maybe especially difficult for you. If that is the case, I assure you that there is probably nothing inherent within yourself that will cause you to do poorly. Doing well in medical school is mostly effort, and, if you were accepted, then you do have the capability to weather the academic storm.

If there are other issues maybe pertaining to not having enough free time to deal with other things in your life, remember that balance is key. You can pour yourself completely into your studies and pull off an A in every class if you like, but it may leave you feeling unfulfilled in other areas. You will see some of your classmates do nothing but study and it will eat away at the back of your mind thinking that you have to match their hours. In reality, they will probably do better than you if you choose to study less, but they are not doing that without sacrificing something else that may make them happy.

I'm just kind of shotgunning here. If you could be more specific about your concerns, I could address them.

 

[Temple2013]

Buyer's remorse.

 

[SirGecko]

Moving and finding a place really isn't that big of a deal. It is a few days inconvenience. If you stress about that then you're going to be screwed during school.

Plus it can actually be fun! It's like treasure hunting.

 

[qugesi]

So to the OP, you bet I know what you are going through but really you just have to take a deep breath and enjoy the couple weeks/months you have left before school starts. Go party it up at the beach/mall!

If there are other issues maybe pertaining to not having enough free time to deal with other things in your life, remember that balance is key.

Plus it can actually be fun! It's like treasure hunting.

Just my 2 cents -- I think I've gone through what you seem to be describing. You've probably been slaving for years to reach this particular goal and now that you've attained it you're probably feeling like you're not sure what to do anymore (until medical school starts). I have that happen to me after finals week all the time, and it happened leading right up to graduation a few weeks ago (I had a ridiculously difficult final semester). My advice for you is to find things in your current life that you love, and throw your heart into them. You can't live for the future all the time. You've reached your goal, take a break, pat yourself on the back, and go fishing and drink beer with your friends or something.

Thank you to all who posted for your replies, I really appreciate your inputs.

I am not stressed out from moving and all, and yes it was somewhat like treasure hunting and fun to plan all that new stuff... and I am even excited to start school and feel confident about handling the workload and everything. Yes there are other things bothering me in my life, but your replies helped me remember that I have to realize there is always going to be something like that and I have to cope with it positively. I think going to medical school in a big city like philly will help me to be more balanced, where there a lot more things going one.

I think Evergrey hit it right on the head. And I think I need to go back to some of those hobbies I love. Sometimes the answer can be so simple, but I was obviously over thinking. Chill Pill was pretty funny.. but I think it actually hit the point home... I just need to relax with my free time. I think last night was some sort of a breaking point of my anxiety, pushing me to make this thread, and so today I took the advice from here and just did stuff I like play some baseball and soccer, got a 15 min massage, and watched half a season of 30 Rock with some friends.

I feel much better today (and exhuasted... which is a good thing because that means I am going to be sleeping like a rock, but i might add some melatonin anyways!). Again thanks to everyone who shared their input on this thread, and I apolojize if it was bothersome to anyone. But it felt good that some people were able to understand my concerns.

dump that girl that has been nagging you to do something better in your life (you're about to meet a bunch of single doctors!).

- haha that made me crack up

 

[Brinkley221]

Another thing to keep in mind is that while there are times when you just have to buckle down and focus totally on the task at hand (like for Step 1), you also want to build healthy habits that you can carry into residency and afterward. Eat right, get some exercise, schedule some time to hang out with friends and work on your hobbies EVEN DURING MED SCHOOL. It is too stressful an endeavor to try to do without these things for four whole years. Also, life for most of us will probably never get substantially less busy from here on in.

Best of luck to you! And med school is awesome, by the way. Just think of all the amazing things you will learn, and how you will succeed in improving the health and lives of patients. There's nothing better.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Neurotic stuff aside, there is something to be said about the nervousness that often follows the joy of aceptance. I've heard many, many people describe it here on sdn over the years, and its totally normal to feel a little more anxious than you expected. Plus, when you work so hard for something, and it drives you, it can be difficult to adjust when that thing goes away.

 

[450med]

I think it's totally normal to be a bit anxious after getting accepted. Congrats on getting in BTW! For many I think it's fear of the unknown. Plus, you've probably been working so hard to get in and stressing about is that it's likely a bit hard to just unwind and be excited. For me it was definitely daunting to look ahead at the giant mountain I was about to climb, so I completely know where you're coming from!

Step #1. Change your status. You are not a medical student for another month.

Step #2. Enjoy several ice-cold alcoholic beverages.

Step #3. Stop being a tool. We don't need more tool med students - TRUST ME.

1) Accepted = medical student.
3) See #1 - Nitpicking over someone's status like that is toolish beyond belief.

 

[genswim24]

1) Accepted = medical student.

How can you honestly believe that? If you haven't sat in one class and are not actually enrolled in the medical school how are you a medical student? Did you consider yourself a college student when you graduated high school and were goofing around the summer before your freshman year?

 

[fahimaz7]

Is it bad if I consider myself an attending? I have an acceptance and a masters degree...
























🙂

 

[450med]

How can you honestly believe that? If you haven't sat in one class and are not actually enrolled in the medical school how are you a medical student? Did you consider yourself a college student when you graduated high school and were goofing around the summer before your freshman year?

I was under the impression that they had accepted the spot, my bad.

 

[SB100]

A couple drinks always help me sleep when I'm anxious/alert.

 

[dd128]

I think I was the most ecstatic I'd ever been in the months between acceptance and matriculation. It's a pretty hard drop off once you start, so if you're already feeling down I'd do anything I could to drastically alter my mood. Celebrate! You've earned it 👍

 

[apricot3]

So I am a re-applicant, and I was recently accepted into temple. I am just feeling anxious and restless before school starts because i keep thinking of other things going on in my life. and for some weird reason i am not feeling as satisfied as I thought I would be.

Although I am it is probably not in the same way as me, but are others feeling restless before they start, or did feel restless?

And any advice to calm myself down would be much appreciated. Sorry for the annoying thread.

I'm an entering MSW student, but my partner is an entering med student. He was a 3rd time reapplicant and got in off the waitlist pretty late in the game. We were both under huge amounts of stress waiting to find out where we would be/if he would be in school.
I still struggle with feeling stressed out. We were talking about it last night, and its like my "stress meter" got thrown out of wack. So now I'm at a heightened state all the time, and little things like apartment hunting send me into a tizzy.

I would echo some of the more thoughtful responses, like finding something you enjoy doing and dedicating time to it, getting some physical activity in, but also try practicing mindfulness, maybe through meditation. This might help you in the upcoming years as a student too. Try taking a meditation class. I'm just starting, but I've already found it can be very helpful when I get worked up to be aware of the things that will calm me down.

If you feel like its just falling asleep thats the problem, try a hot bath with lavender oil in it.

The feelings of being let down seem pretty normal too. If you've been hoping and waiting for something for so long, it can almost feel like a bit of a disappointment when it actually happens. A let down of all that energy and anticipation.