dealing with grad school stress

[Phedre]

Hey guys,

How is everyone already in grad school dealing with stress?? I lived through my first year last year, no problem-- but this year I'm teaching AND taking classes and I think my brain is going to explode. Also being a perfectionist means that I'm constantly down on myself for only being able to give "pretty good" effort across the board.

Any good thoughts/secrets/organization tips? I'm trying to avoid the shameless-drinking lifestyle but it looks like I'm headed that route.

[Reef Traverse]

Working out and eating right will do wonders. It's easy to let it slide, especially when you've got a full schedule, but you've got to acquire the mindset that self-care is an essential priority. When I was in law school a few years back, I found that my stress and anxiety levels were always much worse when I wasn't working out regularly. Also, if you have insurance or can otherwise afford it, a little counseling can really make a difference. Boozing it up should be avoided.

[mlle]

I found myself going the shameless-coffee-drinking-and-Xanax-popping route during my last master's program. I'm trying my best to avoid getting into that niche again for this degree. It's just so hard not to disregard taking care of yourself when you're stretched thin and spending your days appeasing type-A academics who are even more frazzled and off-kilter than you find yourself becoming (it was that way in my department, at least).

I loathe "working out" for the sake of working out but I do need to get out every day for a walk in the park, if only for fresh air. As much as trying to literally take care of myself and have good habits and all that, it helps me to just put things in perspective and not be down on myself for not meeting higher standards of perfection, and to remember that it's normal and natural to feel stressed as hell in grad school. I used to take the angst I felt about the demands of grad school and trying to balance my assistantship with my coursework as a sign that I wasn't cut out for what I was doing, but I realized after I finished the program that that's not the case. One of my new professors recently said half-jokingly that he thinks if you're in grad school and you're not feeling overwhelmed and anxious, then you're not getting your money's worth--so for me it provides solace, in a sad and sick way, to know that it's not just me; my classmates feel like their heads are going to explode too......

[kahlan_amnell]

Boozing it up should be avoided.

Depends what you mean by that.

Drinking by yourself to deal with stress= bad.

Going to a social event with fellow grad students to vent about stress while drinking responsibly= a good way to deal with stress.

Find something to do to get you away from work. Work out, keep up a hobby, go to a movie, whatever works for you. Socialize with other grad students, and vent about stress, if you have a department culture where that is done. I've been enjoying the grad student social events in my department.