If there is one overarching lesson I’ve learned so far in my 20s, it’s the importance of taking care of my mental health. Without maintaining our mental health, we simply cannot be present in life, perform well in school, or show up for others. Here are a few things I’ve done this past year to maintain my mental health in med school.
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Surround yourself with the right people
This is a tip I’ve learned over and over throughout the first half of my 20s and I cannot stress this enough. Don’t let yourself be surrounded by people who: put you down, don’t believe in your goals, and don’t reciprocate your time, energy, or overall care. Surround yourself with those who motivate you, inspire you, and believe in you and your goals, because if someone truly cares about you they want you to succeed and they want you to be happy. If their actions don’t suggest that, then don’t let them take up your limited time and energy.
Take breaks when you need to.
While there is something to be said about pushing your limits, there’s another thing to be said about knowing when to stop. This means taking breaks: from social media, from studying, from being productive, from any arbitrary goal I’ve set or vision of myself I’m striving for. When I’m utterly overwhelmed I let myself cry, I go for a walk, then I get back to work. Without giving yourself space to just be, you’ll burn out quickly. Medical school, like many aspects of life, is a marathon, not a sprint. By allowing yourself to walk for a minute, you can continue the next 20+ miles strong and steady.
Make reasonable goals/action plans, and stick to them.
Almost every medical student I’ve ever spoken to makes goals with action plans, writes to-do lists, and keeps track of their progress regularly – and for good reason. Your brain is already working on overdrive to remember every detail about the human body, there is no need for it to also remember when assignments are due or who you need to email when. Get a planner or create your own template, and write out your goals, due dates, and your to-do list. This will be key for the days you are overwhelmed, and will also ensure you don’t fall behind.
However, writing your to-do list is only half the battle. Know how much you can realistically get done in a day. Do not overschedule yourself. If you’re struggling and find yourself with a to-do list a mile long, write out what you are going to do hour by hour and plan out your schedule. Set aside 30 minutes to send emails, 1 hour for catching up with friends, 1 hour for exercise, etc. This will eliminate the overwhelming feeling of “What should I do next?” and provides a more realistic schedule you are more likely to stick to.
Have a few mantras, quotes, or phrases and repeat them as needed.
When quarantine first started my roommate and I wrote a wall of mantras in our study room – and it may have been the best idea we’ve ever had. Not only did we see it every day we studied, but we added to it as needed, and I truly needed one of those mantras each day. Some days I needed to hear “Get sh*t done, you got this!”, other days all I needed was “P=MD.” Regardless of the day, I had an arsenal of quotes and mantras I knew resonated with me, and that I could easily reread whenever I needed.
Create a routine.
Humans are creatures of habit, and as such, many of us thrive when we have a routine. Something that significantly improved my overall mood and mental health, especially when the pandemic hit, was keeping routines. Not just a routine for studying, but morning routines, nightly routines, and daily routines. Routines allow us to avoid decision fatigue from constantly asking “what’s next”, and give us something steady to hold onto on days we feel low. Whether you have a routine set in stone
Treat medical school like a job.
Often, when someone asks me what medical school is like, I simply say it’s a full-time job but instead of producing work and getting paid, I’m paying to study. The truth is, you don’t need to be up until 2am studying, you don’t need to have your nose in a book 24/7, and like a job, medical school doesn’t need to be the only thing in your life. Medical school is a full-time job, why not actively treat it like one? While this took a little bit of time to get used to, over time I began treating medical school like a 9-5. I’d “clock in” at my desk, work until lunch, work again until 5-6, and “clock” out. It allowed me to separate my “school self” from myself and alleviated any guilt of not studying. Not to mention, similar to my previous tip, I thrived on the routine!
Don’t compare yourself to others.
I’ll say it again. Do. Not. Compare. Yourself. To. Others. This is one of the most important, yet hardest things to do. It’s part of nearly every “tips” post I write because it is so dang important. You can look to others for inspiration and motivation, but don’t compare your “success” to others, and don’t ever compare your life and your path to someone else’s. Not on social media, not in your premed courses, and not throughout your career in medicine.
Ask for help.
Personally, therapy is my saving grace. I’ve been in therapy for over 6 years, and I am someone who thinks everyone could gain something by going. However, whether or not therapy is your jam, you cannot, and should not try to survive medical school alone. Learning to ask for help when you need it is as essential as learning about the different organ systems. Whether it’s help creating a study plan, or help because you’ve been feeling down and you’re not sure who to talk to, please, please, ask for help.
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Hopefully, one of these tips resonates with you and helps you maintain your own mental health throughout medical school or life in general. As always these are a few things I’ve found helpful in my experience, but everyone is different! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or just want to chat!
Have a beautiful week!
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