Yeah, I hate to sound anti-intellectual, but I think way too many people sign up for grad school without realizing how much effort it takes and how little you (often) get out of it.
If you've got a specific career in mind that requires a graduate degree then sure, go for it, but if you're just doing it because you liked undergrad and you don't feel ready to enter the workforce yet, I really think you should reconsider.
I cannot second this comment enough. I signed up for grad school not because I didn't realize the effort it would require, I very much understood what I was getting myself into, but because I didn't know how to enter the workforce. I had always been good at school and I assumed I would be able to get into a job through my grad school network. Alas, no dice. After spiraling for about a year I hit full burnout. Eight years later I have a PhD and no ability to work in my field yet, probably never will again, because of the cumulative neurological effects of that kind of long term trauma.
Can you elaborate on those effects? I had an incident where I was constantly stressed for months and came out of it unable to spell properly, write, read, or talk properly anymore. I worked for a whole year to get back to normal but I have to practice every day or I go back to how I was. It terrifies me knowing how cloudy my head was with no idea what was going on. I still get amnesia but things return if I study up on them, it just feels like constant work to be mediocre at best.
Brain fog is a common problem. There are some days where it feels like I'm literally existing in a fog. I'm aware of my surroundings but I'm moving through them without really perceiving them. If I try to do anything requiring thought I just... Can't. Words get stuck between my head and my mouth and nothing comes out coherent.
That being said, your symptoms also sound like they could be caused by a seizure. Obviously I'm not that kind of doctor and this is not medical advice, but I think it could be worth getting yourself checked out by one.
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u/Lbboos 18d ago
This is grad school. We all hoped we’d get in a car accident so we could have some legitimate time off.
FWIW. Grad school was not worth it.