The wait is driving me crazy!

[achapiro]

When I applied for the PhD back in December I knew it would take about three months for me to get a response from the admission committees. I was fine with it too, I made my peace with the long wait and completely threw the whole thing out of my mind and focused on other things.

All was well, until about last week. A colleague from my lab got her acceptance from CMU and a short while after I got an acceptance from one of my safety schools. Now I positively can't stop thinking about the applications. I'm moody, I can't concentrate on anything and I check my e-mail every 3 minutes. Each time the phone rings or a new e-mail arrives I'm hoping it's from one of the universities.

Any tips on how to deal with the anxiety?

Cheers.

Edited February 1, 2011 by achapiro

[UFGator]

Work out. Post in the keep a word drop a word thread.

[Bonkers]

@achapiro:

I am in your situation. However, I have not heard any news from any of my schools. I am constantly clicking refresh on my inbox (even though it does it automatically), staring at the result search on this website, and whining about my fears of failure to anyone who comes my way. I cannot offer any advice on how to cope with the anticipation. Just here to commiserate.

[space-cat]

I'm going to give you the same pep talk I gave myself this morning:

It will happen when it happens, and not before. If you wake up every morning saying, "this is the day!" or looking for signs of your imminent success or failure, then all you're really doing is setting yourself up for disappointment when you don't meet your own arbitrary deadlines. You cannot spend every day between today and April 15th doing this to yourself. That is crazy, and you will be miserable. Hope for responses, but don't let the presence or absence of a response dictate your day. Acknowledge your anxiety, but don't obsess over it and make it worse. Think positively, but realize that this decision is out of your hands.

[Irishlibra]

Read through all of the threads in this forum about waiting it out and you'll know you're not alone. You may even find helpful (or not so helpful) ways to pass the time. Cheers!

[Bonkers]

I'm going to give you the same pep talk I gave myself this morning:

It will happen when it happens, and not before. If you wake up every morning saying, "this is the day!" or looking for signs of your imminent success or failure, then all you're really doing is setting yourself up for disappointment when you don't meet your own arbitrary deadlines. You cannot spend every day between today and April 15th doing this to yourself. That is crazy, and you will be miserable. Hope for responses, but don't let the presence or absence of a response dictate your day. Acknowledge your anxiety, but don't obsess over it and make it worse. Think positively, but realize that this decision is out of your hands.

Good pep talk.

[dogbert]

Work out. Post in the keep a word drop a word thread.

haha, yes! post in the keep a word drop a word thread. it is the only way i'm staying (mildly) sane at this point..

Edited February 1, 2011 by getmeoutoftexas!

[Medievalmaniac]

haha, yes! post in the keep a word drop a word thread. it is the only way i'm staying (mildly) sane at this point..

Or post awesome music in the awesome music thread. Or read the blogs and realize we are all totally freaking out right now. Hang in there!!

[CNDSoc]

I'm also going crazy..

Actually, I'm more relaxed when I'm not at work. I keep busy by heading to the gym and visiting friends/family. It's being at work in front of two computer screens that is driving me crazy. Way too many opportunities to click refresh! Totally distracted from my day job.

[achapiro]

Thanks for your kind answers, everyone!

I'm glad to say I did find a solution - a PS3 with Move and GTA4 / Dead Space 2 / etc. Didn't even think about the applications today! haha

[was1984]

Right there with ya. Every piece of junk mail I get in my inbox causes my heart to start beating faster. This is ridiculous.

[newms]

One of my schools sent an email today with a link to a survey about what they can do to improve their web presence. My. heart. almost. stopped...until I saw the subject line.

[was1984]

One of my schools sent an email today with a link to a survey about what they can do to improve their web presence. My. heart. almost. stopped...until I saw the subject line.

That's just cruel.

[space-cat]

One of my schools sent an email today with a link to a survey about what they can do to improve their web presence. My. heart. almost. stopped...until I saw the subject line.

Survey response: PUT MY ADMISSIONS DECISION ONLINE, YOU BASTARDS.

[newms]

Survey response: PUT MY ADMISSIONS DECISION ONLINE, YOU BASTARDS.

Love it!

[achapiro]

Wow, that's terrible... Thank God I didn't get any fake e-mails from my schools like that, I'd be mortified!

[Irishlibra]

I'm also going crazy..

Actually, I'm more relaxed when I'm not at work. I keep busy by heading to the gym and visiting friends/family. It's being at work in front of two computer screens that is driving me crazy. Way too many opportunities to click refresh! Totally distracted from my day job.

I feel exactly the same way! It's so hard to work when I'm always wondering. I guess I'm going to have to figure out a way to cope with the anxiety seeing as it's not just going to go away tomorrow. Let me know if you come up with any brilliant ideas!

[Arianna]

God I know how you feel. I've been checking my inbox as well as thegradcafe results every single morning. It's kind of sick but I blame two things: the fact that I WANT this so badly for my future, and the fact that we're not really told definitively when we will hear back. It's hard to live with those two things and just not... know what's going on.