7 answers
Mehakpreet
Student
10
Questions
Asked
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How should one manage the stress that comes with going to medical school?
#medicine # #doctor
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7 answers
Sean Story
Software Engineer
3
Answers
Nashville, Tennessee
Updated
Sean’s Answer
Great question!
1) Sleep. Eight hours every night - you will learn in medical school that the human body never becomes accustomed to getting less than this. You'll have peers who stay up all night studying, hoping it will help them be ready for a test - but your brain will always perform better after rest than after cramming.
2) Exercise. Endorphins are your body's natural way to combat Cortisol (the stress hormone). Find a cheap gym, and learn to love the treadmill. Or run outside. Or lift weights. Or get into Hot Yoga. Whatever it is, get your heart rate up for 30 minutes every day.
3) Spend time outdoors. This can be hard while in school, so you have to be intentional to carve out time. Studies show that looking at grass and trees naturally lowers stress levels.
4) Understand that stress, in-and-of-itself, is not the enemy. Check out this TED talk to understand that Stress can actually help you to overcome periods of difficulty: https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en
5) Be social. People who isolate and neglect their relationships record significantly higher levels of stress. Set aside time to be with friends, smile, laugh, and have fun.
Things that DON'T help with stress, and you should AVOID:
1) DO NOT keep pushing to accomplish something after it's clear that it won't happen. Go to bed once you realize you can't learn everything by the morning. Drop a class if you realize that your course load is just too high this semester.
2) Trying extreme diets. Don't do a juice cleanse, OR eat 100% carbs. Both will upset your body chemistry.
3) Get competitive with classmates. Even if your classes are graded on a curve, helping a classmate is likely to help you too. Teaching something is the best way to learn something, so share what you understand with your peers. You'll make friends, keep stress low, and have folks you can call on the next time you need help. Those relationships will stay with you after school too - and it's important to have a professional network.
1) Sleep. Eight hours every night - you will learn in medical school that the human body never becomes accustomed to getting less than this. You'll have peers who stay up all night studying, hoping it will help them be ready for a test - but your brain will always perform better after rest than after cramming.
2) Exercise. Endorphins are your body's natural way to combat Cortisol (the stress hormone). Find a cheap gym, and learn to love the treadmill. Or run outside. Or lift weights. Or get into Hot Yoga. Whatever it is, get your heart rate up for 30 minutes every day.
3) Spend time outdoors. This can be hard while in school, so you have to be intentional to carve out time. Studies show that looking at grass and trees naturally lowers stress levels.
4) Understand that stress, in-and-of-itself, is not the enemy. Check out this TED talk to understand that Stress can actually help you to overcome periods of difficulty: https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en
5) Be social. People who isolate and neglect their relationships record significantly higher levels of stress. Set aside time to be with friends, smile, laugh, and have fun.
Things that DON'T help with stress, and you should AVOID:
1) DO NOT keep pushing to accomplish something after it's clear that it won't happen. Go to bed once you realize you can't learn everything by the morning. Drop a class if you realize that your course load is just too high this semester.
2) Trying extreme diets. Don't do a juice cleanse, OR eat 100% carbs. Both will upset your body chemistry.
3) Get competitive with classmates. Even if your classes are graded on a curve, helping a classmate is likely to help you too. Teaching something is the best way to learn something, so share what you understand with your peers. You'll make friends, keep stress low, and have folks you can call on the next time you need help. Those relationships will stay with you after school too - and it's important to have a professional network.
Rachel Weinheimer
Surgeon
1121
Answers
Amarillo, Texas
Updated
Rachel’s Answer
Do the things that allow you to maintain a healthy perspective on life. If you like to run, try to jog regularly to stay healthy. Volunteering can often help to get students out of their study bubble and show them that others have much greater problems than the score on their next test. Many people are heavily involved in church groups and community outreach.
Tara D.
Business Performance Analyst, Crude Oil Leasing & Marketing
6
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Tara’s Answer
I haven't been to med school, but if law school experiences carries over (and I suspect certain aspects and personality types do), I can add this:
Realize that the work is a constant. There's always something you could be doing. Rather than letting that be a source of pressure, let it become the background for how you live your life. The work will still be there after you've done laundry, cooked dinner, and gotten some sleep. It's a steady flow of work always. So keep it all in perspective while you live your life and stay healthy.
(But also do stock up on extra socks and underwear, because you probably will be doing less laundry)
Have a life outside of school, even if you're busy and it's limited to just a few hours a week. Try to have friends who aren't in class with you and maintain those relationships, even if it's just a text or a coffee when you can spare a minute. Join an exercise class or an outside gym. Something, anything that regularly gets you off campus and out of your house (and out of your head). Running was always my stress relief, but find what works for you and make sure that you do it.
Don't get sucked into other people's anxiety spirals. There will always be people who feel the need to complain loudly about how hard the material is, how much time they're spending in the library, or compete over all-nighters and self-induced study misery. Usually, if those people spent half as much time working as they did complaining or were better at time management, they wouldn't need all those all-nighters. You're not obligated to indulge other people's whining or let them make you feel stressed. You can and should politely tune it out and go about your business.
This is going to seem obvious, but you're always allowed to say no. Even if weird people are weird about it, that doesn't mean that everyone else is. You're not obligated to get involved in a dozen different organizations, go for drinks with people you don't enjoy, or attend all the class social events. For me at least, when I started saying no to things I didn't want to do, I also found that my people (my like-minded people) came out of the woodwork and I finally found the friends I'd been looking for in law school but was too overwhelmed by all the noise to find.
Realize that the work is a constant. There's always something you could be doing. Rather than letting that be a source of pressure, let it become the background for how you live your life. The work will still be there after you've done laundry, cooked dinner, and gotten some sleep. It's a steady flow of work always. So keep it all in perspective while you live your life and stay healthy.
(But also do stock up on extra socks and underwear, because you probably will be doing less laundry)
Have a life outside of school, even if you're busy and it's limited to just a few hours a week. Try to have friends who aren't in class with you and maintain those relationships, even if it's just a text or a coffee when you can spare a minute. Join an exercise class or an outside gym. Something, anything that regularly gets you off campus and out of your house (and out of your head). Running was always my stress relief, but find what works for you and make sure that you do it.
Don't get sucked into other people's anxiety spirals. There will always be people who feel the need to complain loudly about how hard the material is, how much time they're spending in the library, or compete over all-nighters and self-induced study misery. Usually, if those people spent half as much time working as they did complaining or were better at time management, they wouldn't need all those all-nighters. You're not obligated to indulge other people's whining or let them make you feel stressed. You can and should politely tune it out and go about your business.
This is going to seem obvious, but you're always allowed to say no. Even if weird people are weird about it, that doesn't mean that everyone else is. You're not obligated to get involved in a dozen different organizations, go for drinks with people you don't enjoy, or attend all the class social events. For me at least, when I started saying no to things I didn't want to do, I also found that my people (my like-minded people) came out of the woodwork and I finally found the friends I'd been looking for in law school but was too overwhelmed by all the noise to find.
Richard A.
physician
2150
Answers
Updated
Richard’s Answer
Time management is key. If you can go to class, maintain good grades and still have time for yourself (exercise, playing an instrument etc) you will thrive.
Estelle Archer
Gynecologist
1321
Answers
United States
Updated
Estelle’s Answer
Great advice above! Personally, I found that exercise was the best investment that I made during medical school to reduce my stress level. In addition, people who exercise tend to have healthier diets and sleep better. If you have time, lots of people benefit from meditation. I am sure that you will find the outlet that works best for you!
Good luck!
Good luck!
Mallory D
Medical Student
20
Answers
Springfield, Missouri
Updated
Mallory’s Answer
Another piece of advice - find a hobby that you are passionate about to maintain your mental health. Remember that you are more than a student - you are a person! Take time on the weekends to focus on your hobby - learn an instrument, adopt a pet, prepare for a marathon! Just stay motivated without losing a sense of yourself. Good luck!
Theodore Valley II DC, MSN, BS, LMT
Chiropractic
9
Answers
St. Louis, MO
Updated
Theodore’s Answer
These are not necessarily in the order of importance but more of a general list:
1. It is important to find and maintain balance in your life
2. Get the right amount of rest. Each of us has different sleeping requirements and it is important to do your best to maintain this schedule even and especially when in medical school. I made the mistake of initially spending too much time studying and staying up to the wee hours of the morning getting very little sleep. I was under the impression that it was necessary to be successful and what I found out is that I got the opposite result.
3. Find the right daily activity, social time and studying rituals and once these patterns have been established do not veer from them. A program that helped me out a great deal https://0472fa0nwhjufn59ylhhwaxfft.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=DRTED
4. Meditation using bineural beats for relaxation (Theta - Delta) as well as the appropriate frequencies utilized while studying (Alpha)
5. Eating a well balanced diet and getting enough micro-nutrients to sustain a proper stress response and maintain optimum functioning. Be careful not to overdo it on caffeine as this coupled with a high stress environment and a lack of sleep can lead to adrenal fatigue or exhaustion and therefore some major medical consequences.
Take pride in your decision to be a healthcare provider and focus on your WHY! It will make each day a little easier as you go through the gauntlet. These programs are not meant to be easy nor are they going to coddle you along the way. You must take each day as it comes and maintain your eyes on the prize. Again, only you know your reason for wanting to be a doctor. If it is for money then you are not really in it for the right reasons. Money will come but that should not be your why as a healthcare provider. You can have secondary income to create excesses of financial freedom. People should be why you get up in the morning not the paycheck. That doesn't mean you should have a poverty mindset or work for free it just means that you really should think about what it means to you. Besides there are a lot of other things you could do that are a lot easier and more lucrative than becoming a doctor to make money :0)
Research how to effectively use bineural beats for relaxation and study along with diverse studying techniques
Learn more about how to optimize your diet and nutrition so that you can operate at a higher level mentally and physically
Create a mission statement and determine your WHY
1. It is important to find and maintain balance in your life
2. Get the right amount of rest. Each of us has different sleeping requirements and it is important to do your best to maintain this schedule even and especially when in medical school. I made the mistake of initially spending too much time studying and staying up to the wee hours of the morning getting very little sleep. I was under the impression that it was necessary to be successful and what I found out is that I got the opposite result.
3. Find the right daily activity, social time and studying rituals and once these patterns have been established do not veer from them. A program that helped me out a great deal https://0472fa0nwhjufn59ylhhwaxfft.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=DRTED
4. Meditation using bineural beats for relaxation (Theta - Delta) as well as the appropriate frequencies utilized while studying (Alpha)
5. Eating a well balanced diet and getting enough micro-nutrients to sustain a proper stress response and maintain optimum functioning. Be careful not to overdo it on caffeine as this coupled with a high stress environment and a lack of sleep can lead to adrenal fatigue or exhaustion and therefore some major medical consequences.
Take pride in your decision to be a healthcare provider and focus on your WHY! It will make each day a little easier as you go through the gauntlet. These programs are not meant to be easy nor are they going to coddle you along the way. You must take each day as it comes and maintain your eyes on the prize. Again, only you know your reason for wanting to be a doctor. If it is for money then you are not really in it for the right reasons. Money will come but that should not be your why as a healthcare provider. You can have secondary income to create excesses of financial freedom. People should be why you get up in the morning not the paycheck. That doesn't mean you should have a poverty mindset or work for free it just means that you really should think about what it means to you. Besides there are a lot of other things you could do that are a lot easier and more lucrative than becoming a doctor to make money :0)
Theodore recommends the following next steps: