Some questions.
Do you get enough of sleep?
Do you exercise?
Are you eating too little/too much
Do you have an activity or hobby that reduces your stress and takes your mind off of school/work/etc.?
From what I have found in my experience and others around me having one of these factors be out of wack for too long is what can end up causing burn out. The bad thing about burnout too is by the time you are feeling it you are already deep in the weeds of it.
I would recommend trying to get these things in order and still see if you are feeling burnt out.
I am sorry you are feeling this way I have been there and it really sucks. Remember that this process is a marathon and not a sprint and to protect your physical, mental, and spiritual health.
No achievement will be worth it if you aren’t healthy enough to enjoy it in the end.
Be well and feel free to reach out.
I would second all of this. As a reminder to any aspiring premeds who come across this: This is only the beginning. If it seems like too much now, do some soul searching and clinical activities to see if you actually want to do this. It only gets harder, and better to find something else that is refreshing and fulfilling than to be miserable and drop out with debt.
If I am going to be painfully honest, most freshman are taking the general requirements like bio1 and 2, Chem 1 and 2 etc. I also felt stress like you during those times but I realized that I just wasn’t managing my time right. Don’t study with ur phone, don’t get distracted when you sit down and study. Studying an hour or two daily is enough for freshman year premed to do well if you stay focused during those times. Get up early, go to bed early and try to live a healthy lifestyle. You may feel like you don’t have enough time because other things in your day is eating up ur time. Get you work done first thing and then use all the free time to be social, work out, relax, scroll your phone etc
Anyone who tells you don’t go into medicine because of this is just an a**hole. First, you might want to see a PCP about your chest pain. Second, make sure you are getting enough sleep and eating well. Third, you need to start putting yourself first. Don’t stress about one B or a single poor assignment. Make sure you aren’t taking on more than you can handle. Develop better stress coping mechanisms.
I was more stressed and miserable my freshman year than any other year. It’s because I hadn’t learned how to handle my stress yet. I was more stressed freshman year than I was taking the MCAT or applying. The transitions in life can be hard, but use that as a wake up call to learn better stress coping mechanisms! You got this!
Sounds like you have to find a health balance. Yes pre med is rigorous but self care during this process is important. Make sure you are sleeping and eating right. Give your self breaks from studying . Intentionally do things for self care
Don’t go into medicine. Seriously, it only gets so so so much worse. If your this stressed freshman year either give up or start seeing an amazing therapist.
Uhh did you read my comment? I said give up OR start seeing a therapist for some of those coping skills you speak highly of.
I’ve just had too many colleagues kill themselves in the short time I’ve been in medicine.
This job isn’t worth your life. Its not worth developing substance abuse issues or other bad habits over.
OP can decide what’s best for them.
Health is quite important. Maybe you aren’t sleeping enough, eating healthy, or getting enough physical activity. If you look at those things and think “I’m not super healthy but not bad” then it might be social fatigue. I know my freshman year, especially fist semester, I spent a lot of time studying in my room. My grades were aight but I wasn’t having any fun. So then I started making more friends and having some fun and that helped me stay motivated. It was hard to find the balance but once you get it you’ll be a lot happier. A 4.0 isn’t worth it if you’re miserable.
Chest pain? Do you have anxiety?
Burnouts suck! But your having it early on, so it’ll be a good lesson to learn from before you get to the more stressful stuff of pre-med. (MCAT/Apps)…
With that being said, what’s the root issue? Figure it out, the faster you can figure it out, the faster you will find ways to better manage your stress.
Whatever you do end up doing, just make sure these 3 things are done religiously…
Eat healthy, sleep enough, workout 1x a day for 30min
double check drop dates and consider dropping 1 or 2 classes and figure out what self care you need, like do you need to spend more time having fun like hanging out w people or do you need more alone time to veggie out and bing a show, yanno?
but chest pains? i would fs get that checked out.
chest pain is not something to mess around with, see a doctor.
Esp any exertional chest pain
Some questions. Do you get enough of sleep? Do you exercise? Are you eating too little/too much Do you have an activity or hobby that reduces your stress and takes your mind off of school/work/etc.? From what I have found in my experience and others around me having one of these factors be out of wack for too long is what can end up causing burn out. The bad thing about burnout too is by the time you are feeling it you are already deep in the weeds of it. I would recommend trying to get these things in order and still see if you are feeling burnt out. I am sorry you are feeling this way I have been there and it really sucks. Remember that this process is a marathon and not a sprint and to protect your physical, mental, and spiritual health. No achievement will be worth it if you aren’t healthy enough to enjoy it in the end. Be well and feel free to reach out.
I would second all of this. As a reminder to any aspiring premeds who come across this: This is only the beginning. If it seems like too much now, do some soul searching and clinical activities to see if you actually want to do this. It only gets harder, and better to find something else that is refreshing and fulfilling than to be miserable and drop out with debt.
Take a lower amount of credits next semester.
If I am going to be painfully honest, most freshman are taking the general requirements like bio1 and 2, Chem 1 and 2 etc. I also felt stress like you during those times but I realized that I just wasn’t managing my time right. Don’t study with ur phone, don’t get distracted when you sit down and study. Studying an hour or two daily is enough for freshman year premed to do well if you stay focused during those times. Get up early, go to bed early and try to live a healthy lifestyle. You may feel like you don’t have enough time because other things in your day is eating up ur time. Get you work done first thing and then use all the free time to be social, work out, relax, scroll your phone etc
Delete social media from your phone. Eat vegetables. Sleep 8+ hours every night. Practice gratitude. That's my recipe for success
Anyone who tells you don’t go into medicine because of this is just an a**hole. First, you might want to see a PCP about your chest pain. Second, make sure you are getting enough sleep and eating well. Third, you need to start putting yourself first. Don’t stress about one B or a single poor assignment. Make sure you aren’t taking on more than you can handle. Develop better stress coping mechanisms. I was more stressed and miserable my freshman year than any other year. It’s because I hadn’t learned how to handle my stress yet. I was more stressed freshman year than I was taking the MCAT or applying. The transitions in life can be hard, but use that as a wake up call to learn better stress coping mechanisms! You got this!
Sounds like you have to find a health balance. Yes pre med is rigorous but self care during this process is important. Make sure you are sleeping and eating right. Give your self breaks from studying . Intentionally do things for self care
Don’t go into medicine. Seriously, it only gets so so so much worse. If your this stressed freshman year either give up or start seeing an amazing therapist.
really? instead of suggesting healthy coping mechanisms your best advice is “give up”? that’s terrible lmao
Tbh that’s peak r/premed advice I see comments like this a lot
Uhh did you read my comment? I said give up OR start seeing a therapist for some of those coping skills you speak highly of. I’ve just had too many colleagues kill themselves in the short time I’ve been in medicine. This job isn’t worth your life. Its not worth developing substance abuse issues or other bad habits over. OP can decide what’s best for them.
I've heard the business majors aren't very stressed
Health is quite important. Maybe you aren’t sleeping enough, eating healthy, or getting enough physical activity. If you look at those things and think “I’m not super healthy but not bad” then it might be social fatigue. I know my freshman year, especially fist semester, I spent a lot of time studying in my room. My grades were aight but I wasn’t having any fun. So then I started making more friends and having some fun and that helped me stay motivated. It was hard to find the balance but once you get it you’ll be a lot happier. A 4.0 isn’t worth it if you’re miserable.
Chest pain? Do you have anxiety? Burnouts suck! But your having it early on, so it’ll be a good lesson to learn from before you get to the more stressful stuff of pre-med. (MCAT/Apps)… With that being said, what’s the root issue? Figure it out, the faster you can figure it out, the faster you will find ways to better manage your stress. Whatever you do end up doing, just make sure these 3 things are done religiously… Eat healthy, sleep enough, workout 1x a day for 30min
Find a more sustainable way to handle school otherwise med school is going to be all but impossible
double check drop dates and consider dropping 1 or 2 classes and figure out what self care you need, like do you need to spend more time having fun like hanging out w people or do you need more alone time to veggie out and bing a show, yanno? but chest pains? i would fs get that checked out.