<p>Hello, Guys.
I am serious. (No joking). Seriously.
In school, I sometimes feel disoriented, confused and absent minded. Additionally, I find it hard to remember and understand things. Consequently, my grades have plummeted. I don't really want to talk to my parents about it, since it will scare the hell out of them and they'll do all theses scans on me. (They tend to overreact). Also, I'm embrassed to take bout it to my friends. I have never experienced this before.</p>
<p>I am just wondering, did/do you fellows also feel like this, or is their something wrong? (I hope I don't have a tumor or anything?)
Thanks a lot,
The God. </p>
<p>(I'd thought I'd post this on the Harvard board since their may be others over-stressed like me)</p>
<p>Oh my God. I'm going through this too. It's really becoming difficult for me to remember things, especially in my Calculus class. I'll understand the lesson, but as soon as I attempt to do the homework, I literally blank out. This has been happening alot lately. I'm kinda concerned on how I'll do on my upcoming Calc test on Thursday because I don't think I know anything I have learned these past couple of weeks. You're not the only one going through this, The God. I thought it was only me, but I guess not.</p>
<p>I really don't even want to think about the AP tests that I have to take this year. Hopefully if my memory comes back I should do well. But right now, who knows? (I'm in the 12th grade)</p>
<p>I actually have the same problem as you...I lost my wallet (there's like the equivalent of $25 in it) this week because I couldn't remember where I placed it...= ="</p>
<p>Strangely though, I've been finding it easier and easier to focus on tests. I just go into these ultra-modes when I take tests and crash afterwards.</p>
<p>But yeah, go get some sleep - I'm very, very sleep deprived.</p>
<p>insomnia people, that's what it is
take it from someone who is "one more hour, and then i'll go to sleep" every night, and ends up sleeping half an hour before the bus comes to pick him up...
i dont feel confused or have trouble understanding, it's more like having completely messed up my sleep time schedule...
btw, all IB or AP kids will go through this, and in my experience IB kids more, cuz we tend to leave deadlines for assignments literally till last minute, so it really is all about not sleeping</p>
<p>and if u want any techniques to keep u up all night, just tell me
i am the **expert **on insomnia;):D;):D</p>
<p>The God - I have been experiencing exactly what you described for the last few weeks. I feel like I'm getting stupider sometimes! I used to be so incredibly motivated and I still have inner motivation but its like my brain can't keep up. Also, it used to be easier for me to stay up and do homework. Now if I have a lot of homework and it's late at night and I'm tired, I just go to bed.</p>
<p>I don't do homework anymore. I trap all day, so I got no time to study at night...you can find me instead on the block hustlin'....is there something wrong with me?</p>
<p>debate_addict ... as a fellow IB kid, I can definitely relate. I feel as if I'm getting stupider, too, which I think is partly lack of sleep and partly that I've had no time for pleasure reading lately (sometimes I feel as if I learn more from reading nonfiction than I do from my classes).</p>
<p>For those of those who have read several of the OP (... I will not use the name of the Lord in vain..) threads recently..I have to agree with The Ace is Back. He must certainly be having a good laugh now!</p>
<p>It was annoying at the time, but now I'm actually grateful that my school is so strict about deadlines -- I turned in the final copy of my EE in October '06. :cool:</p>
<p>Regardless of whether The God is joking, this is a serious matter for at least a few people (that are being serious in their responses).</p>
<p>Cognitive scientists have conducted studies showing that prolonged stress can affect your ability to concentrate (i think i read it in scientific american a long time ago). I think that there is some truth in this notion.</p>
<p>But probably closer to the heart of the problem is burnout. I know that people don't like to think about (myself included), but if you feel like you're going through stages of burnout, then it's important to be aware of this so that you can take steps to keep it from getting worse. Although I don't have evidence, I have a gut feeling that burnout is much more common than people think, especially at high-stress places like elite colleges.</p>
<p>I have read that there are varying degrees of burnout. Most people that experience burnout only experience light to moderate burnout, which does not heavilly affect performance.</p>
<p>To curb the effects of burnout, I would try to add more balance to you're life (meaning more "useful" relaxation as opposed to more varied activities that can still stress you out). But one of the best ways to help yourself recover from burnout is to develop a "work hard and then get rewarded attitude."</p>
<p>Most people seek financial gains after working hard. Students on the other hand, must continue to work hard, pursuing a more distant and prolonged award of being successful in school, or just the future in general. Note the key difference. When you get paid for work, you are benefitting from hard work directly (it's a concrete reward), whereas when you study very hard, you are indirectly rewarded. To help yourself escape burnout, it is very important to seek healthy immediate awards (while you simultaneously hold on to the notion that working hard now will pay off in the future).</p>
<p>If you want to read more, go to wikipedia to read about burnout (and the discussion section of that page). I have been through some burnout, so I know that this is a serious matter. I hope that this helps at least some people. =)</p>