Anyone Else Feel "burned Out"?

[cw2lu4]

Hey guys,

 

I've been browsing this forum quite extensively for the past 2 weeks. Since most of us are pre-med students, I was hoping I could get some of your insights and at the same time express some of my feelings. After completing 4 years of undergrad where we're constantly striving to get a 4.0 GPA while maintaining extracurriculars, does anyone else feel completely burned out?

 

I find that I was so much more resilient back in first and second year, but come third and fourth year everything was just miserable. I finished my fourth year at Waterloo and I'm currently taking one course for the Spring semester. I have to say, this place really sucks. Do you guys feel that way too? 

 

I'll be heading to Queen's for grad studies this Fall so I'm hoping things will get better. But anyway, I was just looking for an alternative perspective from you guys.

 

[biochem4]

Hey guys,

 

I've been browsing this forum quite extensively for the past 2 weeks. Since most of us are pre-med students, I was hoping I could get some of your insights and at the same time express some of my feelings. After completing 4 years of undergrad where we're constantly striving to get a 4.0 GPA while maintaining extracurriculars, does anyone else feel completely burned out?

 

I find that I was so much more resilient back in first and second year, but come third and fourth year everything was just miserable. I finished my fourth year at Waterloo and I'm currently taking one course for the Spring semester. I have to say, this place really sucks. Do you guys feel that way too?

 

I'll be heading to Queen's for grad studies this Fall so I'm hoping things will get better. But anyway, I was just looking for an alternative perspective from you guys.

Did you only take major courses that are beyond the required credits per year level? that might be the reason why you felt really burned out all these years. idk

[Guest]

Yeah I feel burned out but I only finished my first year of undergrad with very few extracurricular activties.. woo!

[biochem4]

Yeah I feel burned out but I only finished my first year of undergrad with very few extracurricular activties.. woo!

another person who took only major courses the entire year. why are you guys being hard on yourselves? some courses could be taken in summer

[zaxop]

another person who took only major courses the entire year. why are you guys being hard on yourselves? some courses could be taken in summer

Taking summer courses can help ease the load, but some people have summer commitments (work, family obligations, etc) that get in the way of taking courses. Also, not all schools offer a robust catalogue of summer courses (e.g. of the 20 courses I need to finish my program, only two are offered in the summer semester). And while taking hard courses during the year may definitely contribute to burnout, doing a full year of school, with no summer break, presents its own challenges to mental health and well-being.

 

 

Hey guys,

 

I've been browsing this forum quite extensively for the past 2 weeks. Since most of us are pre-med students, I was hoping I could get some of your insights and at the same time express some of my feelings. After completing 4 years of undergrad where we're constantly striving to get a 4.0 GPA while maintaining extracurriculars, does anyone else feel completely burned out?

 

I find that I was so much more resilient back in first and second year, but come third and fourth year everything was just miserable. I finished my fourth year at Waterloo and I'm currently taking one course for the Spring semester. I have to say, this place really sucks. Do you guys feel that way too? 

 

I'll be heading to Queen's for grad studies this Fall so I'm hoping things will get better. But anyway, I was just looking for an alternative perspective from you guys.

Burnout suuuuuuucks. Between school, work, ECs, volunteering, family commitments, and a (nonexistent) social life, I felt like an overstretched rubber band that was perpetually on the verge of snapping. And I did snap eventually- I attempted suicide in the summer after my third year. Things are better now but it took a huge overhaul of the goals and expectations I had for myself to get to a healthy place.

 

I totally feel you on the sense of losing some resiliency. It's hard to give 100% of yourself for a goal that seems so far away, especially when it feels like so many people around you are moving on to the place you want to be. It's even harder to keep going in the face of rejection, when it feels like all of it has been for nothing. IMO a part of the problem is conflating personal development with professional development, in that there's an expectation that even things we do for ourselves will/should benefit our med school applications and/or future careers (i.e. "demonstrating well-roundedness"). But it's OK- necessary, even- to do things just for yourself, just because you want to do them, and not give two thoughts about how it will look on a med school app. 

 

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk Also, Good2Talk, the post-secondary student helpline, is a really wonderful resource when you just need to vent or get something off your chest.

[Edict]

Hey guys,

 

I've been browsing this forum quite extensively for the past 2 weeks. Since most of us are pre-med students, I was hoping I could get some of your insights and at the same time express some of my feelings. After completing 4 years of undergrad where we're constantly striving to get a 4.0 GPA while maintaining extracurriculars, does anyone else feel completely burned out?

 

I find that I was so much more resilient back in first and second year, but come third and fourth year everything was just miserable. I finished my fourth year at Waterloo and I'm currently taking one course for the Spring semester. I have to say, this place really sucks. Do you guys feel that way too? 

 

I'll be heading to Queen's for grad studies this Fall so I'm hoping things will get better. But anyway, I was just looking for an alternative perspective from you guys.

 

I wish I could say it gets better in medical school, but I just want to say the best thing you can do now is make sure you get some extracurriculars you actually enjoy and not just ones you do for medical school. Also, make sure to know your limits and know when to adjust your goals and expectations so that you don't burn yourself out. 

[FeelingTheBern]

Definitely get the whole feeling burned out piece.

I just make sure to channel my inner lawyer and party equally hard or even harder. 

 

But I agree with Edict.

 

Find extracurriculars that are not only good for your CV, but also enjoyable. If you hate research, but don't do research, it's going to feel like you're putting more on your plate. If you like team sports, do intramural!

 

If you like cooking, join a cooking club! Just make sure that you are doing something that you like in a way that you can still list on your CV.

[cw2lu4]

Thanks so much for your perspectives guys! 

[Intrepid86]

another person who took only major courses the entire year. why are you guys being hard on yourselves? some courses could be taken in summer

 

Many people do summer courses, but I don't recommend it. Anything that extends the school year directly contributes to feelings of burnout. If you truly worked hard during the Fall and Winter terms, then by the time Spring comes around, you should be tired. That's normal. Leaving summers open gives you time to rest, and your mind some much needed blank space so you're recharged come Fall again.

[Bambi]

In undergrad, I worked incredibly hard always, plus I devoted considerable t ime to volunteering & ECs. So, yes, I constantly felt burn-out. I was totally exhausted at the end of every semester year after year. I always remained motivated, kept my eye on the goal and wanted to live with no regrets afterwards in the sense that I was giving it my all, my best shot. 

 

Med school was tough too. I kept one weekend day to relaxing and family. Then, comes residency where it it gruelling, however, you learn to adjust to the rythym and go with the flow. It seems to never end, although your coping skills do improve in the sense that you learn to adjust to the hectic pace. 

[OwnerOfTheTARDIS]

another person who took only major courses the entire year. why are you guys being hard on yourselves? some courses could be taken in summer

 

I had a couple semesters where I only/mostly took major courses - they actually happened to be two of my favourite and least stressful semesters because they were so interesting to me. As was said before, many schools have limited courses offered in summer or people need to work. Additionally, while some people may find lighter course loads year round easier to manage, others may prefer to push hard through fall and winter and then take the summers completely off so burnout is very personal.

 

I was highly involved in ECs and coursework which led to feeling a lot of burnout in 3rd and 4th year which became nearly unbearable as I got close to graduation (a few things went wrong with my thesis and I was regularly in lab at 4am or 11pm to meet deadlines and work with the organism life cycle constraints). Fortunately a few weeks of really good sleep, really good food, and spending time outdoors helped me bounce back pretty quick since I finished exams in mid-April. 

 

One thing that really really helps me rejuvenate is short weekend holidays. If it is feasible with your work/school/family obligations, I found that booking a 1 or 2 night getaway in somewhere like Whistler, Victoria, or Harrison Hot Springs (I'm from Greater Vancouver) did wonders for relieving stress and burnout. Using AirBNB I got great deals and was able to book rooms with kitchenettes to prepare my own food and keep costs down. Doing a weekend getaway like this once a semester was fantastic - and I didn't have to take time off work/school the way you do for longer holidays! Some might argue that it's not necessary to travel - you could just relax at home, but I found that getting away from home worked better for me to get back in a positive headspace.