I’m sure that in some points of our lives, we all had felt the pressure of the academe. Whether it be an overload of requirements, the high expectations of your peers, the intense difficulty of your subjects, or maybe just the environment of the school itself. When it comes to engineering school however, it seems like this pressure increases tenfold. With increasingly difficult subjects involving challenging forms of mathematics, overly demanding professors expecting you to finish a project in a week when you’re supposed to be given a month to finish it, and of course, trying to live up to the expectations of others, the pressure can feel immense. Often, enough to make us break down.
And breakdowns are the worst. You never know what might happen to you or your classmates, as everyone does it differently. Some go into a state of depression and numbness, feeling nothing at all and losing all motivation, even for the things that they used to love doing. Others go into a state of anxiety and stress, where it feels like all this pressure is hunting them down, hence causing panic attacks that can happen anytime. Some just sit down and cry, whilst others totally lose control and delve into vices like drinking and partying to cope. More often than not though, it’s a mix of all of these, and that’s what’s dangerous, because all of these deteriorate one’s mental health, and sooner or later, once can develop mental illness, such as anxiety disorders, chronic depression, bipolar disorder, and even eating disorders.
This is why it is best to deal with these feelings before it gets worse, because if it’s left untreated, it could lead to the deterioration of your health, both physical and mental, and, worst case scenario, suicide. But how exactly do you do that? It doesn’t seem like there’s much to be done, after all, that’s just how engineering school is. However, that does not mean that nothing can be done. In fact, there are a lot of solutions to this problem, it’s just not that obvious of a solution. Here are some:
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DO NOT tell yourself, or others who are suffering under the pressure and are breaking down, to just “calm down”. This does not work. If you telling them or yourself to just “chill out” and “be happy” would have any effect, then you/they would have already done that. Trust me. It’s like telling someone with diabetes to just “produce more insulin” or telling someone with asthma to just “stop their immune system from overreacting”.
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Know that there is a problem and that is should be dealt with immediately. Whether it be yourself or someone else, remember that mental health is just as serious as physical health, and that something is wrong, and needs to be treated.
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Talk to someone or if the one who needs help is someone else, talk to them. Whoever it is, you/they always need a listening ear. Talk about your/their problems. Console them/have them console you. Remember that you are not alone, and that there is always someone there to help you, be it your best friend, your parents, your siblings, or even people online. It is easier to deal with a problem with others instead of keeping it to yourself.
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Take a break. Sometimes, one of the best solutions is to give yourself some time to think about everything, or maybe even the exact opposite, not think about anything at all, and just have fun and do the things you enjoy. It doesn’t matter if you have to be absent from class for a few days. It’s better to miss some classes and feel better afterwards, than to keep attending them, constantly having to deal with the pressure and deteriorate your mental health, and end up having to stop school because of it. Rest. Relax. Be free from all the pressure. Even just a few days can do wonders. Or if needed, stop for an entire semester. It will delay when your graduation, yes, but that’s nothing compared to the damage the pressure can cause you and your health.
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Seek professional help. This involves getting an appointment with a psychologist. Therapy and counseling, while a bit on the pricey side, it is always the best solution. Psychologists study for several years, and hence are very knowledgeable on how the human brain and its emotions work. And no, it’s not gonna be one of those things where they’ll ask you how you feel, they’ll do much more than that. It’s usually in the form of a several sessions where you’ll talk about various topics concerning your problems and will be able to find the root cause of all your unstable emotions, and hence will suggest the best ways to deal with it. There are even times when they can see and diagnose if you already have some form of mental disorder that’s causing all of this to happen, and hence give you more specific solutions, and possibly medication. The reason why they need to see and diagnose these problems is because mental disorders usually last with you for your entire life, and you might not even know it. Hence it’s always best to deal with the issue now and have it treated, rather than to deal with these for as long as you’re alive. It also provides you with insight as to how your own brain works, hence you know how you will react to similar, stressful situations, and will know how to deal with it in the future, or even avoid the problem altogether.
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And lastly, reevaluate yourself. Ask yourself, or ask the one with the problem to do so, as to whether or not you’re really where you think belong. Maybe you are in the right place, but just need help coping with the difficulty of the subject. Maybe you’re majoring in the wrong field of engineering, say you’re majoring in chemical engineering, but would actually like to take up electronics engineering more. Or maybe engineering school isn’t the right place for you altogether, and that your heart lies in other fields, be it STEM, Arts and Design, Sports, Business, or something else.
Being forced to take up something that you have no interest in, especially if you know that you prefer to be somewhere else, is one of the worst feelings ever, and will affect your entire career for the rest of your life. You wouldn’t want to wake up at 40 years old, unmotivated, and realizing you’re in a career you hate, and loathe yourself for not doing what you always wanted in the first place, don’t you? Follow what your heart tells you to do. Like what the great Chinese Philosopher Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”.
I hope these solutions could eventually help you deal with the immense pressure of engineering school, and that it will make all your problems regarding it, break downs and all, go away. Remember, mental health is just as important as physical health, and that you should always put it first before anything else. This way, you’ll be able to live a happy life and career, whether it be in engineering or not, worry free.
