Tips for Studying from a Medical Student who has Depression and Anxiety โจ
Disclaimer: this comes from my experience, from my trials and errors, from my bad and relatively good days. This is what kind of works for me and I say kind of because there are days when nothing works and I'm just left with the choice to take the day completely off.
I don't know if you guys like long posts or not, but I need to say something first. I am in my second year, and the times that I've tried things and dropped them are almost countless. I'm sure you've seen such posts, saw videos talk about such things, and I've watched and read A LOT, but I almost always don't find what I need, and it made things extremely hard because now I have to go through things and experience them in order to know if they work or not, in process sacrificing time, sanity, marks and a lot more.
Med School needs time, a lot of it, and a lot of days we feel like 24 hours are never enough. The measures for med school are different than other majors and I'm not saying they're not hard as well, don't misinterpret. For us 1 week before the exam is tight time, and a stack worth 200 papers to cram almost seems like a bliss. Med school isn't a dream, it's a nightmare, and we love-hate it.
I have anxiety, i have depression, probably other shit as well, but these two are what cripple my learning process and my life in general the most, so here are just some tips and important points to understand and maybe apply in your own life, see what fits you and use it to your advantage, you may find stuff that work for you even if you're not a med kid. And for my med kids, i stand in solidarity.
1) Your leisure time is as important as your work time
I learned this the hardest way, when exams happened and I was too burnt out to study, and why? Because I made my life about studying. And this is wrong. Designate time for you, for fun, for leisure, for rest. Watch Netflix, Youtube, Tiktok, whatever in that time. Knit, write, read, play, draw, paint, journal, anything you do for fun in that time. Resting is self care, and self care is important for work.
2) productivity doesn't have a measure, and your worth doesn't depend on it
We all, especially those who have been told that if you're not studying then you're nothing, believe that who we are as people depends on how many hours we're ploughing each day. That's not true, I'm yet to work on this mindset, and you should too. Every day your productivity varies, the hours of focus and tasks done vary. Everyone with depression experiences it on different levels, so do your work according to those levels, do what you CAN, and don't force yourself into areas that weigh you down and make shit worse. Today you finish 5 lectures, tomorrow you may do only two, next Monday maybe you won't be able to do anything and that's okay, we're not robots. Forcing yourself into something when depression isn't allowing you to will only lead to burn out and with this I'm NOT SAYING THAT YOU SHOULD JUST GIVE UP, I'M SAYING DO WHAT YOU CAN, SMALL THINGS MATTER.
Have a folder system on your device with your studying material, the slides, the textbooks, the lecture audio/video, all your resources, organize your material so it's easier to find and you don't get anxious and start panicking when you find something missing.
Same thing for physical notes and papers and print outs, have folders.
Your belongings, organize them, your drawers and closets and all that. The thought that you still have to do THAT will bug you while you study, so in breaks try to organize and clean around your space.
Use a planner, digital or physical, whatever your preference. Write what you need to do in steps, everything, that makes things look clear to you and less of a thought blur.
Write down your assignments, when you have to revise or review, your due flashcards, your appointments, all that on your calendar.
4) don't take other people's experience as textbook, make your own
I see this a lot. My colleagues keep on asking what's better resource to study X and Y from older students, and really they're gonna tell you what worked for them personally and people are different so what fit them might not fit you, for that see what you're comfortable with and go on with that. If you work better with textbooks than videos, use that. If you can't be calm unless you have written notes you made yourself, do that. Do what feels right to you, what serves your needs and purposes and what gives you the best results. Utilize scientific proven techs like Spaced Repetition, Active Recall, Pomodoro, Feynman, Cornell, whatever.
Just don't solely follow someone's advice without thinking if it works for you first.
5) work more on your good days so you can afford to have bad days
Med kids can't afford to have days off. But these are necessary. Mark a day every two weeks that is completely off, no studying, no school work, nothing, nought, nada.
To actually be comfortable and not anxious about doing that, work more on your good days, try to marks off tasks more, but don't go overboard. Stay withing your comfort zone but try to push a bit once in a while, that way you build resilience. Give yourself a headstart, so when the bad days roll in you won't drown and guilt and beat yourself up. I understand that these thoughts will still come, but less is better right?
Remember what I said before, work with the levels of distress you have that day. And use whatever calming techniques you can that actually do their job
6) when you feel like you're shutting down, drop everything and rest.
There will be days when you're so exhausted and winded out that lifting a finger seems impossible, don't work. Don't study. It's better to take the day to regain some rest and energy than to work with half a brain and have no focus, you're not winning anything. Even if you're late, taking a rest is more vital for you, because working while being exhausted and burnt out beyond ability will make things worse and everyday this effect will be cumulative until you end up in deep shit. Trust me.
7) find your ambience and your workspace
This is so important, I can't stress enough how hard it was for me to study in places I'm not comfortable with. Besides, I can't go to study Cafe's and Libraries because those don't exist, not in my immediate radius anyway, and study Cafe's means spending money and I'm already spending my tops and bottoms on education that is online because of Covid. So, it's important that you find a place you are comfortable in, that calms you, doesn't stress you, that is either noisy or noise-free however you like it, that has good lighting and airing, that has a good temperature. Make sure your seating and table are comfortable for you, that your immediate space has everything you need. Also, see what you focus best in, some people like music, others like prayers, some like white noise and background noise, others like complete silence like me or ocean/rain sounds also like me in special cases. Light a candle, spray a fragrance, make the space work for you.
8) make summaries for tight time
This is something I wish I did because there was time where I still haven't reached and studied a certain material and I didn't have time to even open anything and cussed my naiveness out for not making a summary. so guys, please, after you finish a chapter or topic, make a summary or a mind map of the most important points and store them in a folder or something. It's lifesaving. I'mma do it.
9) learn to change plans and have multiple ones depending on time
There will be times, and I'm sure you went through something like this, when you just don't have time to study the material a certain way and you need a shortcut to it.
I'mma give an example to explain:
Say you study X by reading the textbook chapter, then going through slides, making flashcards, reviewing them and then doing practice qs.
But it so happens, that you ran out of the time that is comfortable for you to do your usual routine and you start to panic.
This is why, risk plans are important. Have a plan to study something in a shorter duration and different way.
So for our example, you can watch a 20 minute video and then read the summary at the end of the book chapter, or read the ppt and do questions.
This way you still cover the material enough to help you pass the test and get you a decent grade.
10) use apps and tools available to you to make tasks easier
These keep getting released every month almost, there's TONS of those. Utilize them to help you with your tasks, to track habits/marks/homework, to plan, to make reminders, to take notes and make mind maps, to focus, I have examples for those so if you want any just dm me or comment below.
11) disconnect from negative people
In my faculty, we have an FB group for our batch and it gets so negative and unmotivating and depressing when you see 200+ (it has 900 people) people complain every day constantly. It brings you down, it gives you anxiety, especially when you see others panic. So disconnect if it bears too much weight on you. Check in once in a while for the sake of important updates then leave.
12) disconnect from your phone
Less stimuli from social media platforms is better for you, leave your phone when you notice yourself stalling, procrastinating and using it as an excuse to run away. Please, trust me on this one. Limit the use and filter what you see, follow those accounts that inspire you and help you feel understood other than those who make you constantly compare yourself to them.
13) find things that calm you
It's important you find a safe space for yourself, and safe people and things that grant you peace and quite. I posted a post once about anxiety tips, so look thru my posts and you'll find it. But generally, just try to minimize and manage your stress.
14) marks don't measure your effort
A lot of things affect your exam performance, your mental health is one of those, your anxiety and fear and overthinking, so don't beat yourself up if your marks are low, remember that you made an effort no matter how small, that's what matters and that's what counts. You're learning and growing and this isn't measured by marks. The exams could be too hard because your prof is an asshole, valid. They are stressful because you didn't have time to prepare properly, or the system is unfair, or the questions are from testbank. A million things affect the situation, so your marks aren't a measure. Try what you can to eliminate things that affect your performance but at the end of the day, the science and knowledge are what matters because that's part of what makes you a doctor.
Lastly, sleep is very important to maintain. Cut out that night owl shit cuz it don't feed you bread. Your body is made to be in a certain way, sleep properly, have 8 hrs of sleep, and wake up early in the day. Nap when you need to but nap smartly, i know how daunting it is to wake up, trust me, I'm still learning myself, but managing your sleep is major for your energy levels, because when you're so drained and tired you won't be able to get proper work done. So create a habit of sleeping early and waking up early, it worked wonders for me.
So that's it i guess. I hope you took some benefit, share it around, maybe it can help others. I love you ๐ค๐ผโจ
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