feeling down...

[0rgansm]

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This process seriously sucks. Every ounce of motivation has been sucked out of me. I can barely focus and im basically going through the motions each and every day.. day after day.. then maybe a day off, then back to the same old motions. I can't sleep at night, I look like ****, I feel like s*it, this is awful...

Can someone please share with me their coping mechanisms?

 

[csulapredental]

dude i feel you. I'm so tired.. i want this all to be over.. i have no idea what day of the week it is, or what the weathers like.. my days go by soo fast, i feel like i don't get **** done.
i literally cry myself to sleep everynight.
i put on make up today the first time in like a month and a half and it felt great.

 

[roy williams II]

This process seriously sucks. Every ounce of motivation has been sucked out of me. I can barely focus and im basically going through the motions each and every day.. day after day.. then maybe a day off, then back to the same old motions. I can't sleep at night, I look like ****, I feel like s*it, this is awful...

Can someone please share with me their coping mechanisms?

Are you studying for the DAT or just doing the application process?

 

[redhotchiligochu]

Edit: OP pls clarify that this is about DAT and not about being miserable about life!

 

[csulapredental]

@redhotchiligochu um we don't need counseling.. wth.. we are students, about to take the biggest test of our lives to determine if we can move on and do what we dream of doing.. OBVIOUSLY its stressful, obviously the path to get there is tough and sucky, but its an obstacle we will cross. no one said it'll be easy or FUN? u have to do some sucky things to get to where you want.. doesn't mean we need counseling... it just means we are working hard, and are tired and miss our old life. (which well get back to after our test)

 

[redhotchiligochu]

@redhotchiligochu um we don't need counseling.. wth.. we are students, about to take the biggest test of our lives to determine if we can move on and do what we dream of doing.. OBVIOUSLY its stressful, obviously the path to get there is tough and sucky, but its an obstacle we will cross. no one said it'll be easy or FUN? u have to do some sucky things to get to where you want.. doesn't mean we need counseling... it just means we are working hard, and are tired and miss our old life. (which well get back to after our test)

lol, ok good luck on the DAT!

 

[Don Kim]

DAT is two battles. One is your ability to study and the other is your mental strength. Its 50 50. Yeah, I must admit studying for DAT only for 2 months definitely had a mental toll on me, with all that doubt always at the back of my head along with pressure. But always remember that this is all part of the process of beating the DAT. You have to win both battles. Destress, take a day off each week, work out, move around, listen to music, hangout with friends, go watch a movie once in a while, have a solid plan, have grit. You got this man, stay positive.

 

[FutureDDS_11]

This process seriously sucks. Every ounce of motivation has been sucked out of me. I can barely focus and im basically going through the motions each and every day.. day after day.. then maybe a day off, then back to the same old motions. I can't sleep at night, I look like ****, I feel like s*it, this is awful...

Can someone please share with me their coping mechanisms?

If it makes you feel better we all feel like that. Like Don said, a lot of this is pushing yourself mentally. I've gained 3-4% body fat and ate so much junk food that I've never touched in 2 years. What you should do on your day of is not just stay in the house. Plan to do something fun and go somewhere you enjoy the whole day. This way you will go back to studying much more motivated. Also leave time everyday to do something you enjoy (running, workout, watch Netflix..).

How I look at it is that this is the toughest obstacle that we will face, if we overcome it, it means that we are ready for dental school. Many dental students that I talked to said that same thing to me. Time will fly by, I've been studying for 3 months straight and I can't believe my test is in 2 days.

 

[super frank]

I gained so much weight while studying for the DAT, lol. I still haven't worked it all off yet .

 

[FutureDDS_11]

I gained so much weight while studying for the DAT, lol. I still haven't worked it all off yet .

After my exam I'm going on a sugar free, fat free, carb free, calorie free diet. Basically my breakfast and lunch meals will be cubes of ice

 

[roy williams II]

After my exam I'm going on a sugar free, fat free, carb free, calorie free diet. Basically my breakfast and lunch meals will be cubes of ice

haha I've been telling everyone I'm going on a liquid diet after this test. My gosh I've eaten so much junk!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I gained so much weight while studying for the DAT, lol. I still haven't worked it all off yet .

With you right there on that one

 

[fayevalentine]

I am one of the lucky few who lost weight - I have to work out like crazy or I go into full on stressed out crazy person mode! This anxiety has been fantastic for my figure lmao.

Edit: English 🙂

 

[roy williams II]

I am one of the luck few who lost weight - I have to work out like crazy or I go into full on stressed out crazy person mode! This anxiety has been fantastic for my figure lmao.

I think the weirdest part of all is I've actually lost 15 pounds but I'm only eating junk when I do eat. I just tell myself that my brain requires glucose so I better just eat the junk food. haha

 

[fayevalentine]

I think the weirdest part of all is I've actually lost 15 pounds but I'm only eating junk when I do eat. I just tell myself that my brain requires glucose so I better just eat the junk food. haha

Same! I ate 2 whole cartons of oreos in a week... before this test I would have packed on 5 pounds just from considering purchasing them at the store.

 

[Charles_Darwin]

In terms of diet I suggest eating healthier than usual. My meals were lots of spinach, blue berries, pomegranate juice, cheese, almonds and chicken leading up to my dat. I didn't drink any coffee or soda - although I haven't for a long time,, substituted with pomegranate juice and it kept me alert 🙂

 

[csulapredental]

In terms of diet I suggest eating healthier than usual. My meals were lots of spinach, blue berries, pomegranate juice, cheese, almonds and chicken leading up to my dat. I didn't drink any coffee or soda - although I haven't for a long time,, substituted with pomegranate juice and it kept me alert 🙂

but I've been drowning myself in diet coke lol oops

 

[Mr. Krebs]

This process seriously sucks. Every ounce of motivation has been sucked out of me. I can barely focus and im basically going through the motions each and every day.. day after day.. then maybe a day off, then back to the same old motions. I can't sleep at night, I look like ****, I feel like s*it, this is awful...

Can someone please share with me their coping mechanisms?

I was feeling the same way when I was studying for the DAT. My wife had a baby 3 weeks before I was scheduled to take it, I was working full time, and I was shadowing in the mornings. I ended up dedicating 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM to study because those were the only times I was free/my baby wasn't crying. Most nights I felt like I was going through the motions and I didn't feel like I was retaining anything. I just figured as long as I was doing everything I could then it would work out.

My advice would be to TAKE BREAKS. Sometimes I would feel like I was falling behind so I would decide to hammer out 3 hours worth of studying and it never really worked. I found that 50 minutes on and 10 minutes off worked best.

Don't stress, just keep calm and KILL IT!

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I was feeling the same way when I was studying for the DAT. My wife had a baby 3 weeks before I was scheduled to take it, I was working full time, and I was shadowing in the mornings. I ended up dedicating 10:00 PM to 3:00 AM to study because those were the only times I was free/my baby wasn't crying. Most nights I felt like I was going through the motions and I didn't feel like I was retaining anything. I just figured as long as I was doing everything I could then it would work out.

My advice would be to TAKE BREAKS. Sometimes I would feel like I was falling behind so I would decide to hammer out 3 hours worth of studying and it never really worked. I found that 50 minutes on and 10 minutes off worked best.

Don't stress, just keep calm and KILL IT!

WOW that's ridiculous :O! How'd you end up doing 🙂?

 

[Mr. Krebs]

WOW that's ridiculous :O! How'd you end up doing 🙂?

I got 20 AA/19 TS/ 18 Bio/ 20 OC/ 20 GC/ 21 PAT/ 23 RC/ 18 QR.. When I started studying I was hoping to do better but at the end of the day I was excited about my score all things considered. I also don't recommend chugging water before the test... I didn't finish my last 6 QR questions because I had to go to the bathroom so bad haha.

 

[roy williams II]

I got 20 AA/19 TS/ 18 Bio/ 20 OC/ 20 GC/ 21 PAT/ 23 RC/ 18 QR.. When I started studying I was hoping to do better but at the end of the day I was excited about my score all things considered. I also don't recommend chugging water before the test... I didn't finish my last 6 QR questions because I had to go to the bathroom so bad haha.

Kudos to you! With all of that on your plate I'm more impressed with your scores then some of the 30's out there!

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I got 20 AA/19 TS/ 18 Bio/ 20 OC/ 20 GC/ 21 PAT/ 23 RC/ 18 QR.. When I started studying I was hoping to do better but at the end of the day I was excited about my score all things considered. I also don't recommend chugging water before the test... I didn't finish my last 6 QR questions because I had to go to the bathroom so bad haha.

OMG! Your TS and science scores are completely identical to my first DAT haha!! Nice PAT and RC dude!! Dude gotta limit that water intake 😉! Hey you prob could've gotten a 21+ on QR but you did a decent job anyways 😀

 

[fellowstudent92]

The way I deal with these situations, which will become the norm once you enter dental school, is to internalize all the motivational quotes/people out there. I also follow them on facebook-u need to surround yourself with this crap. Get pumped, take 30 min out to go to the gym if you have to, live and breathe motivation. Never give up--its only a small portion of your life to think about how temporarily ****ty this feels. Literally, suck it up and **** it back out. If you feel like ****, then so be it as long as you got what you need to be successful on this test. Never ****ing stop-once you think youve earned a break, thats where you slip. Motivation sucked out of you? Not an option. Only action. The more you do, the more practice you do, and the less you sit there and reflect introspectively about how your life has turned to ****, I promise you things will just end up getting better. More doing, less thinking about your emotions. Chop, chop.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

The way I deal with these situations, which will become the norm once you enter dental school, is to internalize all the motivational quotes/people out there. I also follow them on facebook-u need to surround yourself with this crap. Get pumped, take 30 min out to go to the gym if you have to, live and breathe motivation. Never give up--its only a small portion of your life to think about how temporarily ****ty this feels. Literally, suck it up and **** it back out. If you feel like ****, then so be it as long as you got what you need to be successful on this test. Never ****ing stop-once you think youve earned a break, thats where you slip. Motivation sucked out of you? Not an option. Only action. The more you do, the more practice you do, and the less you sit there and reflect introspectively about how your life has turned to ****, I promise you things will just end up getting better. More doing, less thinking about your emotions. Chop, chop.

You're... Pre-med!? We don't want you here 😉. Motivation really is limitless though. There is motivation to be found in all the things we do in life haha xD

 

[fellowstudent92]

You're... Pre-med!? We don't want you here 😉. Motivation really is limitless though. There is motivation to be found in all the things we do in life haha xD

Nope. Im in dental school

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Oh 😳. You should change your status lol! Kinda misleading bro haha

 

[gangazi]

This process seriously sucks. Every ounce of motivation has been sucked out of me. I can barely focus and im basically going through the motions each and every day.. day after day.. then maybe a day off, then back to the same old motions. I can't sleep at night, I look like ****, I feel like s*it, this is awful...

Can someone please share with me their coping mechanisms?

I listened to music that motivated me

 

[WheatLom]

I am almost to my test. Honestly, the studying like 20-25 hours a week since june 1st, with summer school. I completed 2 whole classes read about 900 pages text book, needed reading glasses after a while. It is TOUGH!!! The pressure is crazy, I missed a lot of fun stuff with the people around me. I had rescheduled from July 25th to the 9th off august. I was ready content wise about the 21st. Went to Lollapalooza, and now this last week just grinding out some practice exams and working out my flaws.


Honestly, a 4 day vacation from studying I think saved me. My practice tests are higher, I am more relaxed. And I got to see what I retained the most.

Take a deep breath, you probably won't ever feel prepared for the actual exam. Trust your gut, relax again. I found drinking A LOT of water helps me just feel cleansed and not bogged down. Today I am taking my last practice exam, tomorrow Ill probably do some math, a PAT test, and then review Organic reactions. Test day, probably do like 5 problems from each PAT test to just scan over an old exam to get into mind set, eat a snack. and GO TIME! Again relax.