It’s okay to put yourself first sometimes
For most Guelph students, the Christmas break was an excellent opportunity to spend time with family and friends, recuperating from the stress of the fall semester and exam season. Those of us at OVC (Ontario Veterinary College), however, not only returned to classes much earlier, on Jan. 2, but also immediately jumped back into the swing of the things (no “syllabus days” for us!).
I’m not really complaining — I love my education and remind myself daily how fortunate I am to be here, on the path to my dreams. Yet there is no denying that holidays often feel too short, and this year was no exception. Despite the fact that we’re only a month into the winter semester, my schedule is already packed with labs, extracurricular meetings, and upcoming tests.
In considering that things are only going to get busier, I’ve been actively making an effort to address potential causes of burnout before they occur. The demands of any post-secondary program are undoubtedly massive, and juggling my schoolwork, health, and relationships is challenging enough at the calmest of times. Throw in employment searching, non-academic activities, and a generally hard time saying ‘no,’ and it can all sometimes, unsurprisingly, become too much.
During my undergraduate studies, it took me several years to learn what a healthy balance looks like. At the time, I observed some cohorts establishing a strict routine of ‘eat-sleep-study-repeat’ while others spent their days flipping more red solo cups than textbook pages.Obviously, varying extremes of anything are seldom a healthy choice, and university provides an ample opportunity for learning how to manage one’s time in a reasonable manner.
In vet school, some of my classmates make excellent use of their time. By this, I mean not only do they avoid unproductive habits such as procrastination, but they also fill their hours with more than just academics. Unfortunately, many others have elected to fill most of their unstructured hours with studying, whether it be after school, on weekends, or even during lunch.
Part of the reason for this may be the residual concept that we must maintain 90s on everything to justify our ‘place’ here at OVC. I’ve touched on these dangerous thinking patterns in previous articles, and they are alive and well long after the dust of first year has settled. But in an industry susceptible to burnout, I worry about the dangers of letting one aspect of life become the only aspect.I am not a qualified therapist, but I have learned plenty from both my own difficult experiences and the experiences of those I know. I believe that having positive, expectation-free relaxation time is important, whether it be going to a house party, having a date night, or simply reading a chapter of a book unrelated to school. As future veterinarians, taking care of our patients will mean showing kindness to ourselves first from both a physical and mental health perspective. Considering that we have our entire careers ahead of us, I think now is an excellent time to start.
Photo courtesy of Flickr via CC0