Second year finals in medschool

[tracychapman]

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I'm new to SDN so I'm not sure how soon I can get a reply for this but any sort of reply would help however short.
I'm a second year medical student about to take my finals for the year. Throughout the year I worked very hard sacrificing most of the things I love. Nearing the end I performed poorly on a few exams and ever since then I've been unable to get myself to study the way I used to study. I sleep most of the day. The few friends I have don't bother listening to me because they think I'm some genius who's faking this to slow them down, so I don't confide in them. I'm not a genius, I think my brains average and the only thing that helped me get the grades I got was the amount of work I'd put in. And now that I barely study, I won't be able to perform well.
I know it's foolish but I think I let those few bad grades get to me. Initially it caused me to lose motivation to work hard and then because Id fallen so far behind in portion, I didn't know where to start even when I wanted to.
I've never felt this low. I've only got two weeks left before the first exam. I feel so paralysed with anxiety. Really I just need someone to talk to you and help me think rationally again.
How do I start studying again and somehow make the best of whatever time I have left? I consciously tried hard during the year to build concepts so I only have to be able to get myself to revise all of those concepts in order to do well.
I know it may sound silly to many so if thats the case go ahead and ignore this but if anyone's got a few minutes to spare please help me out. I'd be so grateful.

Thank you

 

[wanderingorion]

I'm so sorry to hear you're having a hard time right now. Through this process we are so accustomed to making the grades, and when that fails, we are really hard on ourselves. Just know that you are not the first med student to stumble a little, and certainly won't be the last. You can get back on your feet during these last two weeks and finish strong. The fact that you are recognizing how you've been coping recently shows that you are emerging on the other side of it.
Communication will be a good thing to have on your side right now. Reach out to your friends and confide in them, they can help you or at the very least listen. Reach out to your faculty and see what resources they might have for you. These events tend to cause us to isolate ourselves, as "failure" is such a dirty word among med students, but that is the opposite of what we need.
Apart from that, maybe make a study plan that you can stick 2 for the next few weeks to get you back on the horse. People have crammed for finals in days, nevermind weeks.

Feel free to DM me if you need. Just remember, you ARE enough and you CAN do this. Hope this helps

 

[samac]

First off, good luck.
Secondly, it sounds like you may need to speak with a professional. They can help you a lot more than SDN can.

 

[tracychapman]

First off, good luck.
Secondly, it sounds like you may need to speak with a professional. They can help you a lot more than SDN can.

Thank you. I know SDN is for educational purposes but I'm a little isolated from professional help and really any sort of real life outside support for now at least till my exams are over so I thought I'd try asking for help on here.

 

[tracychapman]

I'm so sorry to hear you're having a hard time right now. Through this process we are so accustomed to making the grades, and when that fails, we are really hard on ourselves. Just know that you are not the first med student to stumble a little, and certainly won't be the last. You can get back on your feet during these last two weeks and finish strong. The fact that you are recognizing how you've been coping recently shows that you are emerging on the other side of it.
Communication will be a good thing to have on your side right now. Reach out to your friends and confide in them, they can help you or at the very least listen. Reach out to your faculty and see what resources they might have for you. These events tend to cause us to isolate ourselves, as "failure" is such a dirty word among med students, but that is the opposite of what we need.
Apart from that, maybe make a study plan that you can stick 2 for the next few weeks to get you back on the horse. People have crammed for finals in days, nevermind weeks.

Feel free to DM me if you need. Just remember, you ARE enough and you CAN do this. Hope this helps

Thank you so much. Reading that gave me enough energy to get started. Even if the energy is temporary, covering some material will give me hope to continue. Thank you again.
I'm sorry if I'm using this forum the wrong way. I made this account when I was at my lowest just to have someone to talk to about this. I promise I'll contribute something useful down the line.

 

[wanderingorion]

This is exactly how you're supposed to use these forums. This is a community and we're all going through the same process. Your presence is your contribution. =)

Hope your studying goes well!

 

[anon6134]

Sounds like you may be experiencing some mental health issues and you may benefit from speaking to a professional to evaluate where you're at.

That said I went through similar feelings at the end of second year and I feel a lot of my classmates did as well, whether they spoke about it or not. The unfortunate thing is that your best option is going to likely be to power through this and finish your finals strong as difficult as it seems. Start doing something every day for yourself whether it's going for a run, cooking a good meal, watching a favorite show-whatever it is, take some time out of your day and do it. Set small goals for studying and build on them each day. Study with a study group or a friend more often. Get out of your apartment. You've made it this far, you can do this

 

[werd]

pretty much everyone feels stressed and stretched by the end of 2nd year. many experience depressive symptoms and anxiety, and quite a few are actually depressed or manifest an anxiety disorder. know that your classmates are probably having some of the same feelings as you.
your wording about "paralyzed with anxiety" sounds a little more worrisome though. if you feel that you are unable to prepare for your finals or continue to function and live your life, it's important to let your school know. your school wants you to succeed and very likely has support services and will try to help. in my opinion it's also important to let your friends know, as a little commiserating can go a long way.
good luck with everything.