student life in optometry schools?

[ALOHA84]

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do students in optometry have a life? i mean do they go out, have fun and relax...or is it constant studying with overwhelming stress on everyday basis?i'm asking this because i've anxiety issues...i actually took mcat and had a panic attack a wk before and from there i realized medicine is not a good fit...i like optometry as a profession...its a clean profession w/ good money and respect...i worked w/ an optometrist over the summer but it was terrible...i always felt so dumb there and was never able to learn anything...as a result, it hurt my confidence even more...so after constant failures in my life, i'm v. v. hesitant to commit myself to do anything ...i'm an average student and physics is probably my weakest subject...its been over a yr and i'm still debating if i should go into this career or not...pls. help me with ur suggestions...

 

[mupreopt]

Have a life?:
I'm not an optometry student yet but from what I've read, it will probably depend on the individual. Those who study faster will probably have some life. But those who study slow, will have less of a life. I study slow so I probably won't have a life. But I don't go out and do things anyways I don't require hanging out, etc. However, I do study slow and I have distractions. So this is a challenge for me to overcome. But the distraction for me is probably due to living at home and have distractions such as family, noise, able to watch TV. But in optometry school I will have my own apartment and these distractions won't exist. So I will do better. When I am by myself, I tend to get more things done.

You said "so after constant failures in my life, i'm v. v. hesitant to commit myself to do anything":
I don't know exactly what you mean but I may have a similar situation.
In high school I chose architecture but in my senior year, I found out that it didn't have good job security. So I chose optometry. But now in my senior year of college I am finding out about the oversupply of optometry and the loss of respect of optometrists. If I were to change career paths, I don't know what I would choose. I am afraid to change majors because what if that major/career choice don't work out for me either? How many more times will I change my career path and major before I am satisified? If I keep changing career paths, I feel like I'm just stuck in one point in my life and not moving foward. There is going to be some negative about every career choice. Therefore I've decided to stick with optometry no matter what. I've set a goal to become an optometrist and I am going to reach it.

 

[mupreopt]

...i worked w/ an optometrist over the summer but it was terrible...i always felt so dumb there and was never able to learn anything...

can you explain? What exactly did you mean by dumb? Did you mean that you could not absorb the infomation? Or did you just get so nervous that you felt dumb and didn't learn anything?
I believe I have social anxiety disorder so when I shadow/work for an optometrist in the future, I may get nervous and sometime have a confuse/dumb look on my face even though I'm not confused, just nervous. Maybe because I feel inferior and afraid of what people might think or that I'm doing something wrong if I have to pre test patients. However, if I am working for myself as an optometrist, I won't have this problem. I feel that I would enjoy it. When I chose an optometry career, the work environment was one of the criteria when I chose this career.

 

[DrVitti]

If you truly feel that it has become apparent that you have some "social anxiety disorder". You should consult with a Physician not be online asking unknown people on the internet for advice....you should not allow stress to dominate you as much as you've stated it has been. Whatever career you choose you will still have to deal with you ! Seeking professional may help you develope some natural techniques to calm yourself and focus better under stress or you may have to go the medication route, again this is something you should be discusssing with a professional. BTW, I'm speaking to both of you.

 

[r_salis]

do students in optometry have a life? i mean do they go out, have fun and relax...or is it constant studying with overwhelming stress on everyday basis?i'm asking this because i've anxiety issues...i actually took mcat and had a panic attack a wk before and from there i realized medicine is not a good fit...i like optometry as a profession...its a clean profession w/ good money and respect...i worked w/ an optometrist over the summer but it was terrible...i always felt so dumb there and was never able to learn anything...as a result, it hurt my confidence even more...so after constant failures in my life, i'm v. v. hesitant to commit myself to do anything ...i'm an average student and physics is probably my weakest subject...its been over a yr and i'm still debating if i should go into this career or not...pls. help me with ur suggestions...

Optometry as a profession is not very stressful, but optometry school is another story. Everyone finds a way to have fun and relax, but optometry school is basically just an intense 4-year string of exams and practicals. Unless you find a way to manage your anxiety issues, it would be a pretty unpleasant 4 years.

 

[ALOHA84]

feeling dumb meaning i wasn't able to learn anything there as i was v. nervous there all the time and u r right that i was always afraid of making mistakes because i was thinking what would optometrist and other co-workers would think about me...i should've quit that job a long time ago...well i've learned my lesson now...

 

[mupreopt]

feeling dumb meaning i wasn't able to learn anything there as i was v. nervous there all the time and u r right that i was always afraid of making mistakes because i was thinking what would optometrist and other co-workers would think about me...i should've quit that job a long time ago...well i've learned my lesson now...

So are you going to still go into optometry? You are going to have to choose something. The way I see it, every job is going to be that way. So I just think to myself that I just have to deal with it even if I embarass myself at doing it.

The way I am is that I'll be confident but then they'll be points where I mess up or feel that I said something stupid. Then I'll be dwelling on that.