Life cycles

Life's been good lately. So good that I haven't been writing much here. Isn't that usually how it goes? When there's too much going on, you don't have time to write.

I am now studying for exams later this week, and slowly starting to freak out. And procrastinating (by way of writing a blog post) is a sure sign of freaking out. 

 (How I feel under my pile of books)

I'm studying lots of biochemestry, you know, glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, Electron-chain transport, Fatty-acid oxidation, gluconeogenesis, etc. and there are a lot of cycles. Chain reactions. This thing activates that thing, which activates that thing... 

It all got me thinking about all the chain reactions that brought me here, right now. The domino-effect of our actions and decisions, that seemed so small and unimportant at the time, but have made us who we are and brought us to where we are. 

I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm happy. Somehow all the dominos fell where they were supposed to--a place I could never have predicted--and the picture is complete. 

So besides the little stress of the moment which always comes with exam week, and the inevitable feeling of being overwhelmed, I have nothing transcendent to report. 

Happy life is boring from the outside. 😉

The thing about stress...

We've been seeing a lot of things about stress lately, and how much it affects your quality of life, mental health and physical health in general. In Uruguay, the leading cause of death for those above 40 years old is cardiovascular problems.

Well, high levels of stress cause high blood pressure, increased heart rate and even mess with your cholesterol levels. Stress also disrupts sleep, which is what the body needs to recuperate and keep us healthy and sane. And I guess there's no need to mention that stress also damages our mental health and influence our lifestyles in a negative manner (people who smoke and/or drink, usually smoke and/or drink more when they're stressed, don't have time to exercise or relax, etc.)

For the two weeks before my exam, I was very stressed. I wrote about this a couple of posts down, but I didn't give many clear examples. You guys, I was really stressed. I was yelling at people for no reason. I was not sleeping well, which made me tired and cranky on top of stressed. It was not good. And the worst part was that I knew I really didn't have to be that worried about the exam, because I had been studying and knew the material, but I could not reassure myself.

So this time, I am trying to do things differently. I have 3 1/2 weeks before my second midterm, and my goal is to not become a horrible stressed out person. I made myself a schedule and I'm keeping strictly to it. It includes time to relax, time to go for a walk/run, time to see friends. Obviously, it includes lots of time for studying. But I think that if I keep to my schedule and remember that my study techniques apparently work (so far, cross your fingers!), I can keep the stress at bay and make it through the exam and on to my month off in July (here's hoping!).

This schedule, of course, may not be the "stress cure" for everyone, but I think it might work for me. I just want to encourage each of you, whether you're a med student, doctor, nurse, or nothing at all related to medicine, but as all human beings, still vulnerable to the stress of life: Try different things and see what works for you. There are lots of different things that can help with stress management, and definitely improve your health and quality of life. Your present and future self will thank you. Chances are, your friends and family will too. 

The day after...

the midterm exam, that is. It was a beautiful day, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Warm. The exam took me 2 1/2hrs (we had 3 1/2hrs total, so ample margin!) and started at 9, so I got home around noon. Changed into a bikini and a beach dress, grabbed a book and some sunscreen, and spend the afternoon on the beach, **reading a book** that had nothing to do with medicine! (Only my med-student friends will understand what this means. Oh, it was heaven!

Then I slept for about 10hrs.

And then, I got on a bus to go to Valizas, a place on the coast of Uruguay, which only has wild beaches and barely any houses or people. It was 36hrs of walking through nature, collecting delicious edible mushrooms, cooking, talking to friends, and generally just relaxing. I even turned off my cell phone for the 36hrs, in order to really disconnect from school. I knew they would be posting the answers to the exam soon, and I didn't want to see that.

Came home late at night and very tired, so I slept like a rock (for 5hrs!) and got up the next morning to start all over again. That's when I finally checked my answers and realized I had done very well on the exam. :)

Now, until the next exam, I have a little breathing space. It's only a month, but I'll take it! 

Mid-terms and stress

Just a quick post about my midterm exam: 

It's stressful. Very stressful. This is a 3-hr exam that covers ALL of the material of EVERY class we've had so far. 

The way my school is organized, we have 2 midterms and if we have an average of 80% on the exams, plus 80% on the "continuous evaluation" which includes all of homework, presentations and participation in class (and is completely subjective, which I hate!!), you get a month's vacation in July. 

If not, you have to prepare for a 3rd exam in the 3rd week of July, which covers all of the material for the entire semester. 

Folks, remember this is med-school. That well-known metaphore about drinking from a firehose is a great illustration. So the material for the entire semester, in one killer exam? I'd rather not, thanks. 

Hence why I'm currently stressed out and studying so I can get the best possible grade on this midterm. If I get less than 80%, I can forget about my chances of not going to Final Exam. It also doesn't help that my otherwise adorable kitty is going through puberty and decided to wake me up in the middle of the night, every night, meowing at the door of my bedroom. (She can't get spayed yet, she will as soon as they let me!) 

Wish me luck. I'm really stressed out, and I really shouldn't be. I know my stuff. I have been studying. But since it's the first exam, I'm not sure what to expect. 

Yey! Med school! Just 3 more years of this (before clinics)! 

P.S.: Can I please just poke somebody with a sharp object? I feel like if I don't get to handle a needle or IV line until December, that I might explode.