University is a competitive place to be. Everyone is balancing so many things at once — that’s not new information.
In a sphere that directly compares us to one another, students seem to be willing to go to any means to get a competitive edge. In the same way that some students pull all-nighters and only eat pizza for weeks straight, others take Adderall and pop caffeine pills.
These drugs, especially prescription drugs, are meant to help specific people with their health. They’re not designed for your last minute library preparations; it’s dangerous when you take them out of their intended context.
It seems we’ve become experts at taking drugs instead of facing the reasons our problems occur. If you get a headache, you pop some Advil, but still only get three hours of sleep the next night and survive on a coffee diet.
These pills are not going to help you in the long run. Sure, you might ace that exam. But when you have five exams back to back? You’re destroying your body for a bad habit. Besides, those habits you’re making now aren’t going to translate well to the workforce.
It’s easy to say that you’ll stop, but when you’ve built up a dependency over several cramming sessions, it really won’t be that easy.
Instead, take advantage of the resources around you. Go to one of the free study strategies sessions, talk to your advisor or see a counsellor if you’re struggling to cope.
Even if you’re a procrastinator, set time aside to study instead of forcing unnecessary chemicals into your brain.
With everything piling up on you this exam season, it’s important to remember to treat the problem rather than the symptoms. You’re only as good as your habits allow you to be, so don’t follow a bad strain.