Combatting Stress and Mental Health in Law School
There is no denying that law school is an extremely tough time for every student. The amount of hours law students are required to put into class, readings, and studying is more than a full-time job. This takes a huge toll on students' mental health, and unfortunately, the ‘grind’ has been over glamorized by Western culture and society. The idea that we as law students have to be in a constant state of hard work to succeed is toxic and not enough people address the serious harm law school can have on student’s stress levels and mental health. Compounded by the effects of living through a global pandemic, law student’s mental health is presumably at an all-time low.
It is critical to open up the conversation about mental health and normalize the fact that we are all struggling and face hard days. Law school is not supposed to be easy and if you are able to get out of bed every day and try your best, then you are doing amazing! That being said, law school is not the be-all and end-all. If this year has taught us anything, it is that our health is the most important thing, and that includes our mental health. As future lawyers, we won’t be able to succeed and make a difference in our society if we don’t address our own stress first. Now more than ever, it is time to take control of our mental health and recognize that stable mental health should be a priority and not something we allow to deteriorate just because we chose to pursue a difficult professional degree.
Of course, if you are struggling with serious, diagnosed mental health disorders, I urge you to seek professional help. However, I am writing this article, not in an attempt to cure anxiety and depression, as I cannot speak from personal experience. Rather, as a consistently stressed-out student trying to get by day-by-day, I wanted to share some ways I have been coping with my law school stress in hopes that it can help someone else as well.
This past year I have tried my best to develop some coping mechanisms and habits that help me get out of a rut or de-stress. Nothing revolutionary, but simple things that I encourage students to try if they feel anxious or nervous about tackling law school or just living through a pandemic right now. At the end, I will also link a variety of resources for law students to use if you want to address any mental health issues more head-on.
1. Create a gratitude list
Writing down a list of everything you’re grateful for is one of the easiest and most effective ways I have come to cope with stress. When you do this, you are forced to think about everything positive in your life. It can be as simple as listing “I am grateful for breathing, my family, coffee, food in my fridge”. I find that this really helps ground me and take a step back from whatever is stressing me out. There is so much more to life than one exam or one interview, and it's usually the simplest things that bring us the most joy and often go unnoticed among the dozens of other thoughts in our brain. Once you establish the things you are grateful for in your life, you may suddenly feel a weight lifted off your shoulders and realize that any law school stress is temporary and probably not that important in the grand scheme of things.
2. Listen to a podcast
If you haven’t hopped on the podcast bandwagon, this is your sign! The reason I love podcasts so much is because they transport your brain to a new space and let you forget about what is going on in your life at the moment. Podcasts are so versatile, there is bound to be a podcast for every person. Exploring the variety of shows and topics, unrelated to law school, really helps to get my mind thinking about something new. The beauty of podcasts is that many of them are between 20–40 minutes, which offer a perfect break from studying while still keeping your brain stimulated. There are even podcasts about mental health, wellness, and self-help, that offer great advice on how to handle mental health issues.
Click here to listen to Law School Life & Beyond’s leadership series!
3. Break down your to-do list
This strategy, although it elongates your to-do list, actually breaks down your responsibilities into smaller, more digestible, and attainable tasks. Sometimes anxiety is sparked by the blurry idea of ‘a big project’ or ‘a lot of reading’. But when you break down each task into ‘baby steps’ and then tackle them one by one, you will suddenly have crossed numerous things off the list! So for example, instead of writing “Study for Property Exam”, (which will sit on your to-do list for many days and is very vague), I would suggest writing “1. Prepare Property Outline; 2. Print property outline; 3. Read and highlight property outline; 4. Create short summary; 5. Do practice question 1–5; 6. Do practice questions 6–10; etc”. In this format, you will be able to recognize and organize all your smaller tasks and feel a great sense of accomplishment when you can check off multiple things, as opposed to just one. It allows you to view your daunting to-do list as a variety of smaller and easier tasks that you know you are cable of doing.
4. Plan each day generously
Planning each day will help set yourself up for success and feel a bit more structured if you are feeling lost or anxious. But let’s face it, law school readings take forever or at least longer than you anticipate. So stop trying to predict and perfectly plan how long it will take you to finish your class readings. Whenever I used to do this, I would get stressed out if I didn’t finish my readings in the time I allowed myself.
Instead, plan your days very generously and loosely. This means giving yourself extra time to accomplish tasks so you don’t feel like you are falling behind. Instead of fitting in 5 different tasks in one day, try to schedule 2–3. If you are a slow reader, give yourself 2 hours to finish those readings! Be flexible and don’t be hard on yourself if you cant conquer your entire to-do list in one day. Many times our stress comes from the idea of failing to be our best selves — but we can’t be our best selves if we impose limits on our time.
5. Go for a walk or exercise
If you can’t seem to focus because you are anxious, get some fresh air and move your body! Listen to some music or a podcast, and remove yourself from the situation that causes you stress. Reflect on what is triggering your anxiety and brainstorm ways that you can solve the problem. Or on the contrary, try to clear your brain completely! Sometimes a tough workout can show you that most things in life are mind over matter. This usually inspires me to tackle my homework and recognize that I can achieve great things when I put my mind to it.
6. Talk to a friend who isn’t in law school
In law school, it’s so easy to get caught up with what all your friends are doing or hearing about other students' accomplishments. We get sucked in a tight bubble and lose sight of everything outside of law school. Reach out to a friend who has no idea of your law school responsibilities, and ask them about their life. Talk about old memories or plan to do something fun with them! Get away from the root of the stress and remind yourself that there are other wonderful opportunities and experiences to be had outside of law school.
7. Unplug or unfollow from social media
In this day and age, it is very difficult to disconnect from social media. Although you may not realize it, mindlessly scrolling on social media can be draining on your brain and unconsciously puts you in a state of comparison to others.
You may be stressed out because you see other people enjoying their lives or being productive, while you sit at home studying or struggling. This is toxic for many reasons. First, most of what you see on social media is highly curated and a snapshot of someone’s day. That does not mean that everyone on social media is happy or productive. Everyone has faced hardship and adversity in some way this year, and it is important to remember you are not alone. This is why unplugging and focusing on improving yourself is so important.
Secondly, what you see on social media is no reflection on you and your ability to be productive. Sometimes a social media detox may help you reset your mind, priorities, and focus. It has become such an instinctive habit to check Instagram or Facebook every few minutes, when we all could be spending that time calling a grandparent or doing a quick stretch.
In addition, I would encourage students to unfollow accounts that trigger stress. The beauty of social media is that we can choose who we follow and the content we consume. So please be mindful of the content you are seeing every day and try to make it a positive and inspiring place if you happen to be a social media addict, like myself.
Other extremely helpful resources to learn to handle stress or strengthen mental health:
Check out Himani’s article on “The Long Hours”: Wellness in Law School & The Legal Profession
Headspace App: https://www.headspace.com/
CAMH: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-health-and-covid-19/coping-with-stress-and-anxiety
Stress Strategies: (a problem-solving approach to stress-management) https://www.stressstrategies.ca/
Mindfulness Courses: https://mindfulnesswithoutborders.org/
Online mind-mapping tool for studying: https://www.goconqr.com/
Daily Positive News: https://www.positive.news/
Online Counselling with BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com/
