Stress in Medicine

How do I cope with the stress of being a third year medical student?

At first I drank a lot. Alcohol. Beers and wines and champagnes and liquors. But hangovers in surgery don't mix. And then I remembered what our physiology professor had told us last year in a off-handed comment, about how alcohol abuse is very common in medicine. Well, I don't like following trends, so... I should find something cooler.

Then I tried caffeine. Not like coffee or tea. Like, obscure effervescent caffeine pills with added vitamins and minerals that you can only buy in Europe. They were citrus flavored but they tasted like chalk. And then I had a caffeine withdrawal headache. It was not fun.

So then I smoked a lot. Not cigarettes, because cigarettes kill. Every first year knows that. I smoked  e-cigarettes. And boy, they are so much cooler, because they light up when you inhale. But nicotine doesn't really do anything for me. So I stopped buying them from drug stores.

I've tried various vices and engaged in some virtuous activities, but the stress of third year is something that is impossible to deal with. Sometimes I just forget about all the things I have to fill out and send in, and just focus on what I'm doing right now. Whether that's playing games on my smart phone or hanging out with patients in waiting rooms, it doesn't matter. It's me time.