Stress and neuroticism getting to me

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doctorleospaceman

doctorleospaceman

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Over the past week or two I have noticed a significant drop in my health, presumably from all the stress and personal neuroticism. I'm sleeping poorly, feel fatigued and have decreased appetite. During the actual application process I was busy either studying for the MCAT or working on my application, and knowing that I was taking small but important steps towards becoming a doctor helped me a lot. Now that I am riding out an easy senior year, I find myself stressing out over the 2 month silence and praying that the next email notification will finally break the silence. I feel like now that the outcome is completely out of my hands, I have finally let myself get burned out.

Is anyone else in the same boat? Is there anything that you are doing that helps? I am already exercising a lot more and am keeping up with my volunteering, but is there anything else?
 
Talk to a therapist. Seriously, they are probably the best people for getting you through something like this.

Additionally, spend time with close friends, especially those who aren't going into medicine, but who may have some sort of understanding of the process you're going through.

Taking a break also helps. Do something completely non-academic/medical related. Maybe cut down on the volunteering a bit so you have some more free time to rest. Take up a new novel series or a TV show. Or get a new video game.

Or go hang out in a new bar either with or without friends. Talk to new people.

There are a lot of things you can do, but no one can tell you what will work best for you. I highly recommend talking to a therapist as the first step, then everything else after that.
 
WedgeDawg said:
Talk to a therapist. Seriously, they are probably the best people for getting you through something like this.

Additionally, spend time with close friends, especially those who aren't going into medicine, but who may have some sort of understanding of the process you're going through.

Taking a break also helps. Do something completely non-academic/medical related. Maybe cut down on the volunteering a bit so you have some more free time to rest. Take up a new novel series or a TV show. Or get a new video game.

Or go hang out in a new bar either with or without friends. Talk to new people.

There are a lot of things you can do, but no one can tell you what will work best for you. I highly recommend talking to a therapist as the first step, then everything else after that.
Click to expand...

Thanks, WedgeDawg. I have been playing around with the therapist idea recently. Hanging out with my friends helps a lot, but most of them ended up having their last year as the heaviest. Hopefully as the holiday season rolls around I will be able to just go out and have fun more often.
 
*hugs*

I feel the same way. I got my score today and bombed CARS a second time. I already reached out to popular CARS tutor through here and it didn't work. Don't know what to do...will try not to kill myself tonight. 🙁
 
Do yourself a favor. Find something fun to do and stay away from SDN for a while.

The exact suggestion I made to myself...
 
SpanGal said:
*hugs*

I feel the same way. I got my score today and bombed CARS a second time. I already reached out to popular CARS tutor through here and it didn't work. Don't know what to do...will try not to kill myself tonight. 🙁
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear that. Relax and forget about these things today and perhaps this week. Think positive things and do stuff you enjoy. You need to be calm and realize that there is still hope for you to succeed in the end.

When you are ready, head on over to the MCAT Discussion Forums for more advice as to how to deal with CARS. There are many excellent strategies and members who can help you out.

But absolutely do not beat yourself up over a bad MCAT. It's just a test that happens to be wildly exaggerated here.
 
SpanGal said:
*hugs*

I feel the same way. I got my score today and bombed CARS a second time. I already reached out to popular CARS tutor through here and it didn't work. Don't know what to do...will try not to kill myself tonight. 🙁
Click to expand...
There are 3 other sections! Maybe try improving on this to compensate for CARS. You can do it 🙂
 
I'm exactly in the same boat as you, OP. I'm also in a stretch where work isn't as heavy as it was the last month, so that leaves even more time to think about schools. I also have very few friends who are around; most of them are in undergrad, grad school, or med school somewhere else.

Keep your head up, and find some fun ways to occupy the time! I've been going to the gym, watching lots of TV, reading, chatting with friends and spending time with my mom. We'll make it, I'm sure of it 🙂
 
I'm in concurrence with everybody else. I'm not going to tell you to try to forget about it (let's be honest that is not going to happen). Try not to worry about things you have no control over, go out with friends, have fun. Hope everything works out.
 
sharkbyte said:
I'm exactly in the same boat as you, OP. I'm also in a stretch where work isn't as heavy as it was the last month, so that leaves even more time to think about schools. I also have very few friends who are around; most of them are in undergrad, grad school, or med school somewhere else.

Keep your head up, and find some fun ways to occupy the time! I've been going to the gym, watching lots of TV, reading, chatting with friends and spending time with my mom. We'll make it, I'm sure of it 🙂
Click to expand...

Thursday, Sunday and Monday are nice because of football. Panthers are looking pretty good this season.
 
7O4 said:
I look forward to seeing the Patriots in the Super Bowl once again 😉.
Click to expand...

I cried after that Super Bowl. Jake Delhomme played the game of his life.
 
I'm a huge stressor myself, you just needs to find something special to calm you down. It's different for every person. For me, it's sitting down with a cup of tea and reading a book. Find something that keeps your mind preoccupied.
 
Find a hobby that you are passionate about. I spend my evenings studying, but not until after I CrossFit for at least 1-2 hours. CROSSFIT CROSSFITTTTTTTT CROSSFERT ERMMAGERD

*also meeting with a counselor/mental health next month to discuss anxiety, just in case i go crazy.
 
This may sound crazy but I've spent the last week and a half working on an epic DIY Halloween costume. I even taught myself how to sew using YouTube videos. Haha. It seriously helped! I realized that what I needed to stay sane was some kind of distraction. Being able to do something creative was majorly relaxing. I actually found myself not obsessing about II's for several consecutive hours!

Do you paint / write / make art of any kind? Even if you're not great at it, it can be a good way to unwind. :artist:

(To echo what others have said, talking to a therapist has definitely been helpful. And if I ever recover financially from this cycle, I am for sure getting a massage.)
 
thatwouldbeanarchy said:
This may sound crazy but I've spent the last week and a half working on an epic DIY Halloween costume. I even taught myself how to sew using YouTube videos. Haha. It seriously helped! I realized that what I needed to stay sane was some kind of distraction. Being able to do something creative was majorly relaxing. I actually found myself not obsessing about II's for several consecutive hours!

Do you paint / write / make art of any kind? Even if you're not great at it, it can be a good way to unwind. :artist:

(To echo what others have said, talking to a therapist has definitely been helpful. And if I ever recover financially from this cycle, I am for sure getting a massage.)
Click to expand...

YASSSSSSSSS GIRL. DIY Halloween costumes is where it is at. I hope med school still allows time for DIY Halloween costumes & Halloween events, cuz girl still needs to get his party on.:banana::banana::banana::banana:

of course, if not. that's ok toooo.
 
Last edited:
thatwouldbeanarchy said:
This may sound crazy but I've spent the last week and a half working on an epic DIY Halloween costume. I even taught myself how to sew using YouTube videos. Haha. It seriously helped! I realized that what I needed to stay sane was some kind of distraction. Being able to do something creative was majorly relaxing. I actually found myself not obsessing about II's for several consecutive hours!

Do you paint / write / make art of any kind? Even if you're not great at it, it can be a good way to unwind. :artist:

(To echo what others have said, talking to a therapist has definitely been helpful. And if I ever recover financially from this cycle, I am for sure getting a massage.)
Click to expand...

That's a great way to relieve stress!
 
SpanGal said:
*hugs*

I feel the same way. I got my score today and bombed CARS a second time. I already reached out to popular CARS tutor through here and it didn't work. Don't know what to do...will try not to kill myself tonight. 🙁
Click to expand...

I desperately hope that last line was hyperbole.
 
thatwouldbeanarchy said:
This may sound crazy but I've spent the last week and a half working on an epic DIY Halloween costume. I even taught myself how to sew using YouTube videos. Haha. It seriously helped! I realized that what I needed to stay sane was some kind of distraction. Being able to do something creative was majorly relaxing. I actually found myself not obsessing about II's for several consecutive hours!

Do you paint / write / make art of any kind? Even if you're not great at it, it can be a good way to unwind. :artist:

(To echo what others have said, talking to a therapist has definitely been helpful. And if I ever recover financially from this cycle, I am for sure getting a massage.)
Click to expand...

Unrelated, I want to learn how to tailor my own shirts. I learned how to customize ties, is fitting a shirt by hand excessively difficult to do well?
 
doctorleospaceman said:
Over the past week or two I have noticed a significant drop in my health, presumably from all the stress and personal neuroticism. I'm sleeping poorly, feel fatigued and have decreased appetite. During the actual application process I was busy either studying for the MCAT or working on my application, and knowing that I was taking small but important steps towards becoming a doctor helped me a lot. Now that I am riding out an easy senior year, I find myself stressing out over the 2 month silence and praying that the next email notification will finally break the silence. I feel like now that the outcome is completely out of my hands, I have finally let myself get burned out.

Is anyone else in the same boat? Is there anything that you are doing that helps? I am already exercising a lot more and am keeping up with my volunteering, but is there anything else?
Click to expand...

OP. Find more hobbies! Also, zen buddhism and yoga have been helping me a lot. I read about it as often as I can and try to practice breathing and personal awareness whenever I notice that nagging clinical anxiety working its way into my internal dialogue. It's not perfect, but it's progress for me.
 
Jay_W said:
Do yourself a favor. Find something fun to do and stay away from SDN for a while.

The exact suggestion I made to myself...
Click to expand...

Seriously. Whenever I am feeling anxious I avoid this site. Does nothing but make you speculate and amp you up
 
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