Self-Care Post

[deleted1064759]

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0400 hours 08/07/2020, reflecting on 08/06/2020:

Today was a rough day. Didn't hear a peep from schools. I could feel the cortisol rushing through my veins but it's okay, I've faced much worse and came out stronger because of it.

On the bright side, got in a 2-mile jog and my heavy bag came in today. Normally I don't do LIIT cardio and HIIT on the same day but today was different; got in a good hour on the heavy bag. Knuckles got a little scuffed up but nothing some wrap and bandaids can't fix. Better than shadow boxing, I said (going to continue with low-intensity jogs). Would be nice to hit the weights again though.

One word reflecting on this year: nutty. It's okay though, my motto going into this cycle is "No school/man can judge or define me, for that is reserved only for God", and I intend to keep it.

While physically draining my body, I started thinking about my role models: Mathers, Gandhi, and Tyson. The last one is in my avi and got me through MCAT studying. It's funny because the proctor probably looked at me like I was on drugs when I shadow boxing in the testing room -- no biggie, just high on life.

Physically exhausted every fiber in my body now. Probably going to watch a couple of Iron Mike's old videos and call it a night.



Always a beauty seeing Mike and Cus, especially with the political climate today. Gives me genuine hope.

V/R,
CommyØ

 

[Hzreio]

0400 hours 08/07/2020, reflecting on 08/06/2020:

Today was a rough day. DIdn't hear a peep from schools. I could feel the cortisol rushing through my veins but it's okay, I've faced much worse and came out stronger because of it.

On the bright side, got in a 2-mile jog and my heavy bag came in today. Normally I don't do LIIT cardio and HIIT on the same day but today was different; got in a good hour on the heavy bag. Knuckles got a little scuffed up but nothing some wrap and bandaids can't fix. Better than shadow boxing, I said (going to continue with low-intensity jogs). Would be nice to pump some iron again though.

One word reflecting on this year: nutty. It's okay though, my motto going into this cycle is "No school/man can judge or define me, for that is reserved only for God", and I intend to keep it.

While physically draining my body, I started thinking about my role models: Mathers, Gandhi, and Tyson. The last one is in my avi and got me through MCAT studying. It's funny because the proctor probably looked at me like I was on drugs when I shadow boxing in the testing room -- no biggie, just high on life.

Physically exhausted every fiber in my body now. Probably going to watch a couple of Iron Mike's old videos and call it a night.



Always a beauty seeing Mike and Cus, especially with the political climate today. Gives me genuine hope.

V/R,
CommyØ

Why is Tyson your role model? I’m just curious?

 

[Goro]

0400 hours 08/07/2020, reflecting on 08/06/2020:

Today was a rough day. DIdn't hear a peep from schools. I could feel the cortisol rushing through my veins but it's okay, I've faced much worse and came out stronger because of it.

On the bright side, got in a 2-mile jog and my heavy bag came in today. Normally I don't do LIIT cardio and HIIT on the same day but today was different; got in a good hour on the heavy bag. Knuckles got a little scuffed up but nothing some wrap and bandaids can't fix. Better than shadow boxing, I said (going to continue with low-intensity jogs). Would be nice to pump some iron again though.

One word reflecting on this year: nutty. It's okay though, my motto going into this cycle is "No school/man can judge or define me, for that is reserved only for God", and I intend to keep it.

While physically draining my body, I started thinking about my role models: Mathers, Gandhi, and Tyson. The last one is in my avi and got me through MCAT studying. It's funny because the proctor probably looked at me like I was on drugs when I shadow boxing in the testing room -- no biggie, just high on life.

Physically exhausted every fiber in my body now. Probably going to watch a couple of Iron Mike's old videos and call it a night.



Always a beauty seeing Mike and Cus, especially with the political climate today. Gives me genuine hope.

V/R,
CommyØ

You need to take a healthier attitude about this process. Expecting responses from schools daily is going to be a draining process.

For starters, you are rejected until you get those IIs and accept email in your Inbox.

Second, Patience is a virtue; the need for instant gratification is not.

Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out secondaries or IIs merely in chronological order.

Secondaries are often a tax on the hopelessly naïve, if not pathologically optimistic.

 

[Morc]

Wishing you the best during this cycle, but I just want to say being awake at 4am, unless you slept at like 9pm, doesn’t seem like the best self-care

 

[deleted987519]

Pls be satire

 

[Damson]

agree with @Morc that unless you're asleep at 9 or 10, being awake at 4:00 AM probably means you're not getting enough sleep

 

[Shotapp]

Focus on the things that's in your control. Also adequate rest is just as important as proper training.

 

[Bacchus]

You need to take a healthier attitude about this process. Expecting responses from schools daily is going to be a draining process.

For starters, you are rejected until you get those IIs and accept email in your Inbox.

Second, Patience is a virtue; the need for instant gratification is not.

Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out secondaries or IIs merely in chronological order.

Secondaries are often a tax on the hopelessly naïve, if not pathologically optimistic.

I’m going to support the OP. This is patronizing.

I couldn’t imagine going through this process during the COVID pandemic. We check daily for status updates on more benign and less life altering actions than professional school admissions. Realism is great, I embrace it, but it can be promoted in a way that doesn’t pee in someone’s Cheerios. We don’t have to be rainbows and confetti but I didn’t find this helpful at all. At most, giving it credit that I don’t think it deserves, this serves up realism via a 2X4 to the face.

 

[Goro]

I’m going to support the OP. This is patronizing.

I couldn’t imagine going through this process during the COVID pandemic. We check daily for status updates on more benign and less life altering actions than professional school admissions. Realism is great, I embrace it, but it can be promoted in a way that doesn’t pee in someone’s Cheerios. We don’t have to be rainbows and confetti but I didn’t find this helpful at all. At most, giving it credit that I don’t think it deserves, this serves up realism via a 2X4 to the face.

When someone writes " Today was a rough day. Didn't hear a peep from schools. I could feel the cortisol rushing through my veins ", a 2x4 of reality is a good thing.

The wise @Angus Avagadro has mentioned repeatedly about how Adcoms want people with grit. Checking updates daily and then getting sick over it is the is the opposite.

The entire med education experience, from application to finally landing a job, is a decade long exercise in delayed gratification. Feeding one's neuroses can never be a good thing.

This is the time of year where SDN is deluged with posts like "I sent my app in, where are my interview invites"? It's a mentality that needs to be stopped, and delayed gratification nurtured, as well as healthy coping skills.

 

[Bacchus]

When someone writes " Today was a rough day. Didn't hear a peep from schools. I could feel the cortisol rushing through my veins ", a 2x4 of reality is a good thing.

The wise @Angus Avagadro has mentioned repeatedly about how Adcoms want people with grit. Checking updates daily and then getting sick over it is the is the opposite.

The entire med education experience, from application to finally landing a job, is a decade long exercise in delayed gratification. Feeding one's neuroses can never be a good thing.

This is the time of year where SDN is deluged with posts like "I sent my app in, where are my interview invites"? It's a mentality that needs to be stopped, and delayed gratification nurtured, as well as healthy coping skills.

Agree to disagree. These expectations of having grit, expecting less, not voicing our feelings is what leads us to throwing ourselves off parking decks and heli pads, drinking ourselves silly. I feel the minority of people make it through school and residency without being brow beaten and it’s disgusting.

 

[Goro]

Agree to disagree. These expectations of having grit, expecting less, not voicing our feelings is what leads us to throwing ourselves off parking decks and heli pads, drinking ourselves silly. I feel the minority of people make it through school and residency without being brow beaten and it’s disgusting.

Agree that you should voice your feelings, but still, it's important at the pre-med stage to not engage in behavior that leads to the corrosion of one's psyche.

We should commend the OP for having good coping mechanisms, and everyone should stay off the computer a little more often

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Social media is a fairly new cultural phenomena. Writing long missives and venting on social media appears a generational thing. Certainly, not unhealthy, but is it getting you any further toward your goal? Applying during Covid really piles more stress onto the whole app process. And yes, medical education will test the character of all but elite students. Learning to cope with anxiety and setbacks will be necessary for most. So grit is an essential quality Imo, for most students. I think OP would be better served venting their frustration within their support group rather on anonymous social networks where sympathy may not be in abundance. Getting the Better buckle up Buttercup, speech from fellow applicants or faculty might give them a chance to reflect. OP appears to have some good methods of managing the stress. They need to remember they are in the same boat as everyone else who is applying.

 

[deleted1064759]

Goro was on to something. Waiting for IIs is pretty brutal and it's so easy to let it get to your head. I mean we write our essays and who knows what adcoms are going to think. The night I wrote this, I was second-guessing every single part of my application wondering where I went wrong and it's still early-mid August.

This isn't healthy and I have bad habits of going down rabbit holes like this and getting myself into trouble. That's why I added Tyson's videos -- it gives me the strength to endure in moments of weakness and self-doubt.

I like to release everything through physical activity because if you're putting your body through hell then your mind is not going to be worried about superficial things like IIs.

Another point I want to touch on: it's not so much the delayed gratification as it is the uncertainty of whether such gratification exists for us. I, like many premeds, like control and order but when that's taken away, all we have are our primal selves struggling to survive (figuratively speaking).

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Goro was on to something. Waiting for IIs is pretty brutal and it's so easy to let it get to your head. I mean we write our essays and who knows what adcoms are going to think. The night I wrote this, I was second-guessing every single part of my application wondering where I went wrong and it's still early-mid August.

This isn't healthy and I have bad habits of going down rabbit holes like this and getting myself into trouble. That's why I added Tyson's videos -- it gives me the strength to endure in moments of weakness and self-doubt.

I like to release everything through physical activity because if you're putting your body through hell then your mind is not going to be worried about superficial things like IIs.

Another point I want to touch on: it's not so much the delayed gratification as it is the uncertainty of whether such gratification exists for us. I, like many premeds, like control and order but when that's taken away, all we have are our primal selves struggling to survive (figuratively speaking).

Should you be fortunate enough to be admitted, I advise my students, (and my self proclaimed Meathead son), that you should develop a workout you can get done in 1 hr while a med student. Most wont find time for that 3 hr lift in med school. Some quite bright and organized can, but plan on 1 hr so that wont be another stress to your stressful 1 st year. You can always expand it once you get your feet underneath you. Good luck and best wishes!