[star1]

i've been depressed for quite a while now and i decided not to resort to medication and found relief from reading books on spirituality mostly osho.
but the truth is i really study nothing and have lost the interest in my subject. i wanted to be a filmmaker...still want to i guess....i do not want to quit studying...but i feel i need a break and i should mention here that i have been in absolutely no study state for atleast 3 months or more.
now because of the books i read my motto for life has changed to doing what makes me happy or doing stuff cuz i want to not because i have to.
any views on what i should do? any advice is welcome

[Crescent Moon]

Originally Posted by star1

i've been depressed for quite a while now and i decided not to resort to medication and found relief from reading books on spirituality mostly osho.
but the truth is i really study nothing and have lost the interest in my subject. i wanted to be a filmmaker...still want to i guess....i do not want to quit studying...but i feel i need a break and i should mention here that i have been in absolutely no study state for atleast 3 months or more.
now because of the books i read my motto for life has changed to doing what makes me happy or doing stuff cuz i want to not because i have to.
any views on what i should do? any advice is welcome

Maybe going into medicine isn't what you *really* want to do?

The good news is, that being stuck like this can be what catapults you where you need to be. If film making is what makes your heart beat fast.. then change your plan! That's the really great thing about life.. you can always stop what you're doing and change direction. Medical school is an enormous commitment. I work in the medical field. A neurologist I work with told me that he hates his job, every single day. His parents encouraged him to pursue being an MD. He chose one of the most difficult specialties. And he hates his work. How sad.. for him and the patients who come to him.

When we're young (college age), especially in 2012, there are so many choices that it can get really confusing. We can develop a lot of angst, believing we have to choose the *right* thing. Just remember - you can always stop and start over. If the medical field is already becoming yuck, I doubt it will get better with time.

I love what they do in England.. young people taking a year off after high school to just *do* life. I think that provides the opportunity to explore and sort through your interests. My son started college right after high school... and has gotten stuck. I'm encouraging him to take a year off.

[Crescentmoon]

Originally Posted by star1

i've been depressed for quite a while now and i decided not to resort to medication and found relief from reading books on spirituality mostly osho.
but the truth is i really study nothing and have lost the interest in my subject. i wanted to be a filmmaker...still want to i guess....i do not want to quit studying...but i feel i need a break and i should mention here that i have been in absolutely no study state for atleast 3 months or more.
now because of the books i read my motto for life has changed to doing what makes me happy or doing stuff cuz i want to not because i have to.
any views on what i should do? any advice is welcome

I think that, if you have the choice, you should do what you want to do, what you really love, not what you have to do or what someone else wants you to do, or what society expects you to do.

If you think you can give it a try, I suggest you try to push it a bit further - your medical studies I mean. Who know, maybe if you go a bit more, you might find that you do actually like it and you would have regretted it if you had thrown it away earlier.

But if you are [I]really[I] sure that you don't want to go on - and you have the choice - then you should listen to your heart.

It's difficult to go through medical school if you're not totally in love with it, but it's a million times more difficult to work as a doctor if it's not what you're totally in love with and that you're willing to give up a lot for. It's not fair for you, and it also won't be fair to your future patients.

If it means anything, I'm a junior doctor (just 1 year out of med school) who only took up medicine because my exam results were a bit good, and my society expects smart people to become doctors. Yeah, and I was a bit big headed at the time and only thought of the money, status and glory (so serves me right huh) Where I'm from, I don't have the choice to quit because I hate it. We're not even allowed to quit if we're depressed - unless we commit suicide which a few young doctors have done, and which many contemplate of doing (and we're supposed to be the people who treat other peoples illnesses!?)

While you're making your decision (if you haven't already), just think of me While I'm writing this, I'm depressed at the prospect of starting my oncall in just 4 hours time in a new department where I will be in charge of ~60 very sick patients. And after my oncall, for the next month at least, I will be waking up at 4 am, starting work at 5 am and hardly get to sit down (or even go to the toilet!) until 6pm (if I'm lucky). Oh and despite all that I will still be screamed at by my consultant every day and called an untrustworthy, lazy bum.

That's a junior doctors life in the third world for you...But maybe things are different where you're from?

One of my friends started writing when he was depressed as a medical student and as a doctor.

'Crescent Moon Parables' by Abdul Hafizh Mohd Zubir, on amazon's kindle.

The book is quite good I think, and if you're a med student, maybe you can detect some of the not-so-subtle references to the depressing parts of being in the medical field in his writing...And some of the funny ideas that go through the minds of people like us.

All the best in life

[Suki22]

my only concern is that there really isn't a lot of jobs in film making. my ex bf was a film student and luckily he (still) has his parents supporting him financially (grown man of 40) because the only work he can get is very low paying. do you have other interests? you can work on film (take classes at night, etc) if you have a reasonable job to pay the bills. just my two cents--take it or leave it.

[flaminga]

Originally Posted by Crescent Moon

Maybe going into medicine isn't what you *really* want to do?

The good news is, that being stuck like this can be what catapults you where you need to be. If film making is what makes your heart beat fast.. then change your plan! That's the really great thing about life.. you can always stop what you're doing and change direction. Medical school is an enormous commitment. I work in the medical field. A neurologist I work with told me that he hates his job, every single day. His parents encouraged him to pursue being an MD. He chose one of the most difficult specialties. And he hates his work. How sad.. for him and the patients who come to him.

When we're young (college age), especially in 2012, there are so many choices that it can get really confusing. We can develop a lot of angst, believing we have to choose the *right* thing. Just remember - you can always stop and start over. If the medical field is already becoming yuck, I doubt it will get better with time.

I love what they do in England.. young people taking a year off after high school to just *do* life. I think that provides the opportunity to explore and sort through your interests. My son started college right after high school... and has gotten stuck. I'm encouraging him to take a year off.

Not everyone college age is necessarily young.