?😭

ive got some content left but that means ill sacrifice 2.5 hrs of sleep

i recently met this guy at uni. he’s a third-year dental student, and i’m a first-year med student. we talked for a while, and i found myself feeling attracted to him. we followed each other on social media, but neither of us has texted the other since. i barely see him at uni, because his seminars are at a dental clinic, so i really want to see/talk to him, but i can’t.

the problem is, i feel like my thoughts are completely consumed by him. i tend to have avoidant tendencies whenever i like someone, but i genuinely don’t think i’ve ever been this fixated on a guy before.

another thing is that he’s extremely smart. i’m originally from a smaller city, while he went to one of the best high schools in my country. for some reason, that makes me overthink everything even more. i keep thinking about how he’s probably surrounded by so many intelligent and accomplished girls, and i start comparing myself to them, even though i don’t actually know them. and while i’m literally studying medicine myself, i still somehow feel like i’m not smart enough. it’s honestly making me feel even more insecure, which then makes me stress about not studying, procrastinate even more, and feel worse about myself. it’s like a never-ending cycle.

i have an exam next week, and i haven’t done any studying at all. instead, i’ve been spending entire days on my phone, daydreaming about him, checking when he’s active, and just constantly thinking about him. it’s honestly getting ridiculous, especially considering i barely know him.

i don’t even necessarily want to stop liking him. i just want to be able to have a normal, healthy crush without letting it take over my entire life or make me question my own worth.

has anyone else experienced this? how do you snap out of it and stop obsessing over someone, especially when you have more important things to focus on?

I’m currently in my third year of medical school, and I’m honestly desperate for advice because I’ve been struggling with the exact same problem since first year.
Back in school, I was one of the top students. I had a study method that worked incredibly well for me, and studying was genuinely fun. I could memorize things so well, retain information, and consistently get excellent results without feeling exhausted.
Here’s what I used to do:
I had a lecturer who posted recorded lectures. The exams were based entirely on what he explained, so I knew exactly what I needed to learn. I would listen to the entire lecture, which was usually 1–1.5 hours long and very detailed and fast-paced. I would take notes and include absolutely everything he said. Then I would turn those notes into flashcards by hand and study them.
That was my routine every single day. I loved it, I never got tired of it, and my memory was excellent. I could remember almost everything I studied.
Then I started medical school, and everything fell apart.
Now I study from textbooks like Guyton, Devlin, and Robbins and Cotran. The material is much more extensive, and lecturers obviously cannot explain every single detail during class. I initially thought I just needed time to adapt to university, but I’m now in my third year, and I still have exactly the same problem.
I genuinely feel like my brain doesn’t process textbooks the way it used to process lectures.
I can read a paragraph and understand what it says. I can understand individual concepts. But when I finish reading 20 or more pages, I feel incredibly confused. I struggle to see the bigger picture, I get lost in the details, and it feels like my brain has completely ignored everything I just read.
I end up barely memorizing the core information, while my classmates seem to read the entire textbook chapter, understand it, remember the details, and know everything so well.
What makes this especially frustrating is that I used to outperform many of these same classmates in school. I actually studied more back then because I had so many different subjects, and the lectures were not short or superficial. They were detailed, fast-paced, and required me to remember a lot of information.
So I don’t think the problem is simply that medical school is harder or that there is more material. I suspect something about my study technique is no longer working.
I’ve tried studying only the most important information and breaking the material into smaller sections, but that hasn’t solved the problem either. Even when I study relatively small concepts, I struggle to learn them effectively.
I’ve practically given up on reading textbooks because the process is so confusing and frustrating. I don’t know how to extract the information, organize it in my head, and retain it the way I used to.
I also struggle with understanding how all the details fit together when I’m reading. I can understand individual sentences, but I somehow lose the overall structure of the topic by the time I finish.
I’ve become depressed over this. Going from being a top student to feeling like one of the worst students in my class has seriously affected my self-esteem. I keep comparing myself to my peers and wondering what happened to me.
Has anyone experienced something similar?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who found a study method that worked extremely well for them in school but completely stopped working in medical school.
How did you adapt? How do you study from large, detailed textbooks without getting lost in the information? And how do you retain both the big picture and the individual details?
I don’t just want advice like “use active recall” or “try spaced repetition.” I already know about flashcards, and they were actually the foundation of my old study method. The problem is that I can no longer seem to get the same results, even when I try to use similar techniques.
I really want to understand what I’m doing wrong and how to fix it, because I know I’m capable of learning well. I just can’t seem to figure out how to do it anymore.

what could be the tips, please help, and solve my issue?

I’ll sit down with a textbook, look up an hour later, and realize I’ve been folded over it the whole time.

If you study somewhere you can’t change the desk or chair, what actually helps you notice and reset?

I’m curious whether people use breaks, a book stand, or some other cue.

Every semester I'd read all my syllabi, panic, and then do nothing until the night before. What finally worked:

1. On day one, break every paper and exam into 15-45 minute chunks.

2. Tag each chunk Low, Medium or High energy.

3. Give each chunk a "do date" (not the due date).

4. Each day, pick chunks that match how much energy you actually have.

Low-energy days still move things forward, and big assignments stop being one scary blob. I also keep a "wins" list so I can see progress. Happy to share the template I use if anyone wants it.

Dear everyone !

I’m collecting responses for my EPQ research on how AI can recognise emotional distress in teenagers and support those who may be struggling. Please, only adolescents respond.

I’d be grateful if you could spare 3–4 minutes to complete. You don’t need prior experience using AI for emotional support — your opinions matter too!

https://forms.gle/MLCo2K1E6QDUFs7u5

Your responses would mean a lot and would contribute to my research. Thank you for your time and support!

​

I'm struggling with something that's been affecting my life for the past 4–5 years, and I honestly don't know what's happening to me.

I used to be an intelligent and bright student. I could understand things quickly and study properly, but now I feel like my brain just doesn't work the way it used to.

Whenever I sit down to study, I feel like I'm understanding and remembering what I'm reading. But after just 10 minutes, I can barely remember what I studied. Sometimes, I spend hours trying to understand and memorize just 10 lines, and even then, I forget most of it. The worst part is that I struggle to remember what I studied earlier, so it feels like I'm constantly starting from zero.

I also experience anxiety and panic attacks, and I'm wondering if they could be contributing to this brain fog and memory problem. I feel frustrated because I know I wasn't always like this. I remember being a good student, and it's really difficult to accept how much my ability to study has changed.

Has anyone experienced something similar? If so, what was causing it for you? Did you find anything that helped improve your memory, concentration, or brain fog?

Could anxiety be responsible for this, or could there be other underlying causes?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from anyone who has dealt with this for years and eventually found a way to improve.

Thank you.

I'm in my last year of High School. I have a very important final exam coming up by the end of the school year and barely 2 months in and I'm already falling asleep in class nearly every day.

I used to fall asleep only in boring classes that I don't care about/don't advantage me like in Chemistry or History but now I seem to be falling asleep in multiple classes per day.

Today for example I fell asleep in Computer Science and in Math which is bad because I don't understand math as is but now I am incapable of writing down all the exercises on the whiteboard (not like any of them make any sense) because I just eventually fall asleep and then wake up 5-10 minutes later with light brainfog and even more exhausted.

I don't get why I fall asleep in class...

I always just fall asleep in school for some reason and I don't understand why.

It was a non-issue in the past years but now it's very problematic for me.

Is there a way to fix it?

I've been thinking about how easy it is to get caught up in figuring out how to become productive instead of actually doing the work.

You start researching motivation, dopamine, habits, deep work, and different productivity techniques. You try new routines and systems, hoping to find something that finally makes you want to work consistently. When one approach doesn't give you the results or feelings you expected, you start another.

Before you know it, trying to figure out how to work has become a substitute for working.

I also wonder whether we put too much pressure on ourselves to feel motivated before taking action. Sometimes, starting without feeling particularly motivated can lead to progress, and that progress itself makes the work more enjoyable. Maybe motivation isn't always something we need before starting. Sometimes it develops along the way.

I've been considering a simple experiment: stop changing my productivity systems for a couple of weeks, stick with an approach that's already reasonably good, and focus on actually getting things done. Instead of constantly evaluating how motivated I feel, measure progress through the work completed and what I've learned.

Obviously, this doesn't mean ignoring genuine problems with sleep, energy, or concentration. But perhaps there's a point where analysing those problems further gives diminishing returns, and the best way forward is to start acting on what we already know.

I'm curious how others see this. Have you ever spent so much time researching productivity and trying to understand your own motivation that it became another form of procrastination? And did sticking with a good-enough system help you more than continuing to search for the perfect one?

Last year's exam, my history exam results are a lot lower than I had expected. I was a top students in history, but after the exam, the result completely turned my situation. My exam results are really poor and I almost fail the exam.

Is there any tips for revising history or where can I improve?

My exam starts in 3days. I know that i can do a lot in these next 2 days if i study consistently but i have kind of given up. Like I’m just like whatever happens, happens. I can’t be feeling like this before the exams because this is a reallyyyy important exam. Like even thoughts like failing the grade are not bothering me. How do i fix this?

Most of my subjects are humanities-based, and I struggle with managing them because whenever I focus on one subject, I start worrying about the other subjects I’m not studying. I keep thinking that I should be giving time to them too, which makes it difficult for me to fully concentrate on the subject I’m currently studying.

I need tips to stay awake and actually learn what i am reading...only have 3 days left for my exam...i want to study more hours but i end up sleeping too long...how can I stay awake and actually learn

Some people have made online study group server for people from all over the place! We want to study lots of things, such as AMCs, Olympiads, SATs, AP tests, you name it! It's a great opportunity to meet others who are like minded as well so please DM me if you are interested in joining! We're always open to new friends and members to help everyone grow!

(the link to join is also in my bio if u don't wanna DM)

I’ve never learned how to read a textbook, and it’s coming back to bite me. I’m a math major and I’ve never once been able to read a textbook. I was diagnosed with ADHD and sitting down to read textbooks felt impossible. I got through calculus off of pure memorization and luck.

I now need to read textbooks for self studying reasons and for the future when I take more advanced math classes.

Do I read every textbook front to back? What do I write down? How do I retain the information? How often do I review notes?

I just wanted to know how to stop feeling overwhelmed and focus on the work. Feeling overwhelmed leads to overthinking so how to stop that

?

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Bro, I'm genuinely freaking out right now. I have two exams tomorrow, and I've wasted the last four days doing absolutely nothing. Now I have barely a day left, and I'm scared I'm going to mess up both exams.

The thing is, I KNOW I should've started studying earlier. I kept telling myself I'd do it later, and now I'm paying for it. I can't even enjoy the time I wasted because I'm spending the remaining time panicking about the time I wasted. It's such a stupid cycle 😭

I did pretty well in my UG, so struggling this much in my PG feels weird. I'm not used to feeling this unprepared, and the thought of failing both exams is honestly scaring me.

I know I should stop overthinking and just start studying, but I keep thinking about how much I have left to cover and whether it's even possible to do anything meaningful in one day.

Has anyone here ever been in this situation? Were you able to pull through with just one day of studying? Please be honest. I need some realistic advice because right now I feel like I've completely screwed myself over. 💀

I am making a study together group intrested people dm

Im almosy on my second month of uni, im already chapters behind. I immediately got a priv tutor bc EVERYONE got one (highly competitive premed). My studying pace is superrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrer slow, im always half asleep (iron deficiency), cant focus, i end up barely with three topics of any subject.

I have 8 subjects almost, i have 1 chem
chap down, I finished a phy chap last week, didnt practice again, now im tryying to restudy it because i dont recognize anything. I have 1 botany chap down, were on the 4th💔 Then math. Death. I also have uhhhh plant repro, anatomy, histology, cytology that dont have profs, i havent started them bc i cant find the time and i get overwhelmed.

What do i do!!!

and…should i go to uni tmrw or syudy at home, since theyre already ahead of me and i have a tutor? Thanks!

This is so stressful idk why i. cant force myself to lock in

I am a student who's currently taking courses like Nucleic Acids, Proteins, Biophysics, and Clinical Biochemistry and I have just been floundering dude. I'm in:

• the red for Proteins and Nucleic acids (19 and 36 respectively for their first exams)
• In the yellow for Clinical Biochem (73 exam1, 53 exam2) and now Biophysics (97.5 exam1, 50 exam2)

Biophysics exam1 was COMICALLY easy, like everyone got high grades. So I suspect the teacher intentionally did that to inflate the class's confidence/make the grading curve look higher. It was not indicative of what the actual class will be like

I just don't know what to do honestly everyone always recommends study guru advice like SQR3 or pomodoro method but that shit literally does not work when you get complex slides that are 100+ long from 4 seperate classes WHILST getting homework WHILST going through mental shit

It doesn't help that some classes have teachers that straight up don't teach you well, so you end up just having to do the studying yourself (Proteins, I despise this class)

And because the classes I'm taking are pretty niche, it means the things I USUALLY rely on like workshops, tutoring, youtube videos, groupme class chats, accommodations

straight up don't work because barely anyone has taken these classes and thus barely any resources exist to actually excel in them. At this point they just expect you to "get it"

I dunno I just feel very hopeless honestly. I don't have anyone in my corner and I'm just not sure what I can do. I only have like Saturday and Sunday to get anything done (not even to men

I just don't know how everyone can just study 200+ notes every class every week without just mentally exploding. I dunno I guess I was just born wrong and this is all just a skill issue I just don't know

I've always been a "study alone with headphones" person. For 30 days I tried body doubling instead: studying on camera with strangers in live pomodoro rooms.

What changed:

•       My average focus went from 2 hours to 4 hours a day.

•       I stopped picking up my phone during sessions, because someone can literally see you.

•       Night sessions (11 PM to 2 AM) were my most productive, which surprised me.

What didn't:

•       Day 9 I skipped entirely, and it was hard to restart.

•       Some days the rooms were quiet, which was less motivating.

What I'd tell anyone trying it: Pick a fixed time daily, keep the camera angled at your desk rather than your face if you're shy, and do 50/10 instead of 25/5 for deep subjects.

(Disclosure: I did this on 'PopOff.club' which I built myself, so I might be a bit biased. You can try body doubling anywhere though: a friend on a video call, a library.)

Rereading feels productive because the material looks familiar, but recognizing something isn’t the same as being able to recall it. What helped me: after each section, close the notes and write down everything you remember on a blank page, then check what you missed. Those gaps are what you study next. Turn the gaps into questions (not statements) so you’re forced to answer them, and come back to them 1 day, 3 days and a week later. It feels slower and harder than rereading, which is kind of the point.