Lily Tran is a third-year PharmD candidate at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy.
Pharmacy school can be overwhelming at times due to the constant stream of upcoming exams, projects, executive positions, along with personal responsibilities. When I become stressed from school, I de-stress by drawing.
Sense of accomplishment
I’ve been drawing since I was little with various mediums such as colored pencils, alcohol markers, graphite pencils, watercolor, and digital art. Since I already use an iPad for school, I usually draw digitally now. Taking some time to draw, even the simplest of things, still helps with decompressing because I can freely create what I would like. Seeing the end product is satisfying and gives me a sense of accomplishment.
While drawing, I’m still engaging my brain by thinking of different elements of the drawing, but it helps with de-stressing as it’s a refreshing shift in focus that doesn’t have as many complexities to it. It has overall helped with my well-being because it’s an outlet that allows me to be creative as many assignments in school are more structured.
Beneficial in my school activities
When I draw, I can illustrate how I’m feeling as a way to visualize my thoughts and become more aware of my mental state. It gives me the mental space I need to recharge to return to my responsibilities at school with more clarity and motivation. There will be times where I find that I’m too busy to draw, but that’s why I appreciate how drawing has proven beneficial throughout pharmacy school. For instance, I’ve used my artistic skills to design stickers for my professional fraternity, Kappa Psi, and was able to use my creativity for my executive position as historian of APhA to design the executive board display.
I would take the initiative when opportunities arise to be able to use my creativity, and even though they are for school, I find it rewarding to be able to contribute something meaningful to the organizations I’m part of.
Self-awareness of stress is key
Awareness of stress levels is something that I believe is very important. Burnout can occur when student pharmacists aren’t aware of their stress levels or decide not to do anything to de-stress, as it will decrease motivation and could negatively impact them as an end result. It is not something that comes easily, but self-awareness of stress levels allows students to think about the main stressors and what activities they can do to decrease their stress, which over time allows them to develop healthy coping mechanisms when they are stressed. It can be a variety of different activities, regardless of what it is, taking the time to think about what helps with de-stressing and then actually putting time into it will take their mind off of their stressors.
Taking a moment to step back can allow students to reassess challenges with a clearer mindset and may improve their productivity and overall balance.