[Wissenschaft]

Hello everyone. Before I start, I just want to thank everyone who is taking their time and reading this "worried" post of mine and I hope that someone will be able to answer it in order to finally remove the heavy sack of fear and worry which has settled into my brain.
Well, I will begin now, I suppose.
I am currently a student in Europe and all the problems started just a few months ago. I just got into a new study-plan and the conditions (referring to the amount of effort one has to put into one's studying) have ultimately strickened. So I began to study. A lot. I have been studying for around 6-7 hours a day, every day, no breaks (not even in the holidays) and all this was just an incredibly big change for me, since I had never studied that much in my entire life. But everything would probably be fine if only all these study schedules would not (very soon) start to interfere with my sleep. I had been sleeping less and less every day and for the entire year I think I have only been sleeping for around 5 hours (not even mentioning the endless cups of coffee) a night. This, is where it began. I noticed that each day I was more and more tired, quick-tempered, sad and just....just empty. About a few weeks ago I couldn't even think normally anymore. And this is what is currently happening. I am completely blocked, I cannot think logically at all, it's like I can't even connect pieces of a story together when I watch a movie for example or read something. I have also started forgeting things really fast and it is really scaring me. Every time, every SINGLE TIME I try to read or watch something, this scary thought jumps in my head, saying "Will you even understand it"...I can't think through any complex tasks clearly, because I become so afraid of not making it and I become scared for every mistake I make in any kind of thinking process. It just feels like my brain doesn't function normal anymore, I mean I can't THINK normally, nothing is even funny anymore because I am just so, so scared that I am getting dumber every day and such thoughts even made me just scream or fall on the bed and cry. Can somebody, anybody please tell me what is all this and will a rest (we have the long holidays now) help, because I don't know how much longer I can hold all that, until I start going insane of all the fear and brain blocks. I, once again, thank you very very much for reading this post and, if you have, answering it.
P.S. When I told about it to my friend, he told me to do sports in order to get oxygen into my brain, do you thinm that might help?
Thank You.

[Crazy Hitch]

Hi Wissenchaft,

Thanks for introducing yourself to us

From what I can see, this is your first approved post here on PsychCentral, so congratulations on joining. This is an awesome website to be a memer of.

I'm sorry to hear about the circumstances surrounding this post.

You seem to have alot of emotional turmoil happening due to external factors in your environment.

Your study hours per day ... if they're ontop of lectures/classes seem alot - but the part that concerns me the most is your lack of sleep - 5 hours a night is simply not enough to replenish your mind and refresh your thoughts, and I think that this within itself is biologically causing even further anxiety. And it contributes towards all of the negative symptoms that you have described. Which is not a good place to be, mental health wise.

Lack of sleep brings memory loss too.

Yes, rest will help.

Rest will help you very much so.

Rest will help restore your mind.

Rest will help your working memory begin to restore itself.

Rest will enable your feelings of anxiety and fear and depressive feelings begin to lift.

It is exactly what you need over the break.

I think that you'll feel like a completely different person after this, truly I do.

As for the suggestion that your friend gave you regarding sport - absolutely, I 100% agree with what your friend has said about sport - it is so true, and it will help bring oxygen to your brain.

Lastly, I wanted to quickly add that I think it's important that you think of some self care strategies that you can use to "pamper" yourself during this break, in order to help you wind down.

What sorts of activities can you get involved in over the break?

Are there friends you can go hang out with in order to get your mind of things?

Here's wishing you a healthy, peaceful and relaxing much deserved break

And best wishes for the remainder of your studies.

[Wissenschaft]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Hi Wissenchaft,

Thanks for introducing yourself to us

From what I can see, this is your first approved post here on PsychCentral, so congratulations on joining. This is an awesome website to be a memer of.

I'm sorry to hear about the circumstances surrounding this post.

You seem to have alot of emotional turmoil happening due to external factors in your environment.

Your study hours per day ... if they're ontop of lectures/classes seem alot - but the part that concerns me the most is your lack of sleep - 5 hours a night is simply not enough to replenish your mind and refresh your thoughts, and I think that this within itself is biologically causing even further anxiety. And it contributes towards all of the negative symptoms that you have described. Which is not a good place to be, mental health wise.

Lack of sleep brings memory loss too.

Yes, rest will help.

Rest will help you very much so.

Rest will help restore your mind.

Rest will help your working memory begin to restore itself.

Rest will enable your feelings of anxiety and fear and depressive feelings begin to lift.

It is exactly what you need over the break.

I think that you'll feel like a completely different person after this, truly I do.

As for the suggestion that your friend gave you regarding sport - absolutely, I 100% agree with what your friend has said about sport - it is so true, and it will help bring oxygen to your brain.

Lastly, I wanted to quickly add that I think it's important that you think of some self care strategies that you can use to "pamper" yourself during this break, in order to help you wind down.

What sorts of activities can you get involved in over the break?

Are there friends you can go hang out with in order to get your mind of things?

Here's wishing you a healthy, peaceful and relaxing much deserved break

And best wishes for the remainder of your studies.

Thank you so much for this answer, I truly will take that break.

[Crazy Hitch]

How are you doing at the moment?

Keep hanging in there!

You can do this!

[Wissenschaft]

Currently I am doing a little bit better, but there is just this weird creeping fear that after the rest nothing will change and that things won't get better....I suppose it's just some kind of a skeptic reaction of my brain...I thank you once again for all your kind answers.

[Perna]

Hi, Wissenschaft. I would also look at how you are studying and whether you are enjoying it. Would it be possible to drop a class or slow things down a little so you don't have to concentrate so hard for so long? Your health is not worth any school program where you believe you have to do so much as you are now. Can you join with other students and study together, maybe dividing the work up like a "project" so you teach the others a part and they teach you parts, something like that? I would try studying in a library part of the time too, around other students and where you can look up from your work and notice others working and things going on, people wandering around, not just the inside of your own head and space.

[Dog on a Tree]

Hello there, if your only been getting 5 hours of sleep for about a year, well that is really bad. Not to scare you but I think reduced sleep can increase chances of heart disease, and reduced life span? Also it makes sense that you can't think logically and other brain functions are reduced. Please please try to get 7-9 hours sleep, get back to this sleeping routine. Otherwise you are going to suffer with reduced levels on concentration, quick temper, not being able think clearly, etc.

[Wissenschaft]

Well now that I look back I have been getting approximately 6 or about 6:30 hours a night, but still my brain functions truly are reduced... About studying together...I just cannot do that... I mean it's not that I'm antisocial or hatred or something, it's just that I am used to studying completely alone in my room and just can't handle breaking the "system".