Stress in Med School + How I'm Handling It

Long time, no post >_<

I'm so sorry for neglecting my blog. The deal is... school is hectic (we all know) and when I do get downtime, relaxing is my first priority. To be honest, Instagram is getting more and more difficult to keep up too, but I'm here and I've made it a priority to finish this blog post for you guys to update you, as well as shed some light on the most inevitable feeling in med school: stress.

That saying everyone says when you start any professional schooling: "___ school is like drinking water from a fire hose." The almighty statement that gets everyone shaking basically. They totally meant it and I'm not kidding when I say they just throw everything at you in an hour lecture, move on, and give you just as much info in the next hour, and the next, and the next. Before I started med school, I thought 4 years was too long to train to become physicians, now I'm in that mind set where 4 years is just not enough! I get stressed out in class because I'm just at an awe about how much information there is to be learned in so little time. In class, it's rare I'm even paying attention because 1) I can't learn as fast as they're talking and can't keep up, and 2) I'm worried about our next exam so I'm probably studying for that.

At my school, we have exams every week. There's pros and cons to any school's scheduling but having exams every week puts you in fight or flight mode 80% of the time especially when they schedule 2 or 3 exams right after one another. Taking exams gives me a lot of stress in general so taking into account the gravity of the exam has on my grade and the amount of info to be covered, the stress is multiplied by 10.

On top of all of the stress from school, you've got stress coming from your personal life. Family, friends, relationships. Just recently, something in my life has completely changed everything -- my schedule, my studying, and I don't know what's going to happen in the next few weeks. You can't control it but things just happen. A lot of bad things have happened to me and my friends in our personal lives and it rattles you. You feel like you can't concentrate or continue studying without breaking down or freak out. An important thing to remember is that life doesn't stop for med school. Yes, it seems like your world revolves around med school but in reality, it's not. Things will happen -- sickness, death, fights, feuds, etc. 

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Compared to Block 1, I think I'm balancing life and school way better. Block 1 was a mess to be honest and looking back, I don't know how I did it. School has gotten tougher material wise but we've been scheduled less lectures and less exams which allows us more time to do things other than study. This block I've developed more of a life outside of school and I'm kind of loving my schedule and how much free time I can actually afford. So here are a few ways I've been distracting myself and not stressing about school:

• Scheduled Breaks -- I've developed a reasonable schedule for myself so that I can constantly take breaks. I'm not someone who can study for hours straight and I never have been. I try always take Friday afternoons off. School is non stop for the most part during the week and I need a mental break of just nothing school-related so Fridays are my relax days. If I absolutely cannot take Friday off because I have something scheduled for the weekend or it's just not feasible I will study a few lectures but I won't stress myself out about it. While studying, I tell myself to take a break after 30 min or after 1 lecture. I need small breaks in between to keep me going. 
• Mini Road Trips -- the one thing I look forward to the most at the end of the week is mini road trips. Since I take most Fridays off, my boyfriend and I will drive 40 minutes out of town to one of the major cities not too far away to eat good food, shop, and just get out of the small town. I've never lived in a college town and I haven't been acclimated to the lifestyle yet. When I have the whole Friday off, we'll drive to Atlanta which is less than 2 hours away for a nice day trip.
• Food -- I've never been more motivated by something than food. I look forward to nice meals and good dessert/foods that I can't get on a regular basis. So when I'm craving something I'll try to work harder and treat myself. There's no feeling better than dessert to be honest. I mean why is stressed spelled backwards desserts?
• Shopping -- this is self-explanatory haha.
• Knowing When Enough is Enough -- an important lesson I've learned in med school is "know your limits." Your brain can only learn so much and your body can only handle so much stress. Coming home from a long day of lectures and lab or just a rough day in general, you have to let yourself relax. I used to be so strict, telling myself I can only take a 30 minute break or 1 hour. I've learned that taking an hour, 2 hours, or maybe more is probably the best option so that you can carry on to study more effectively.
• Putting Things in Perspective -- Block 1 was a transition time for all of us. Coming from undergrad and med school apps where grades were everything to us, it was hard to let that go. Med school is about learning for the future not just a grade. I couldn't feasibly be so hard on myself because yes, it's a lot of material and sometimes it can't all be mastered with an A grade.  I've let that part of me go, and now I try my best without the restraint of "wanting that A."