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Personal & Financial

Law School Stress: It’s Not about You, and It’s

All about You
Shawn Healy

Feb 27, 2018

4 min read

Personal & Financial Well-Being Mental Health

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iStock.com/Philip Thurston

Jump to:

 College Versus Law School

 Dealing with the Heightened Competition
 Focus on Your Interests
 Resilience in Law School

Do you ever have the thought that if you had known what law school was like prior
to starting (truly knew what it was like), you might have chosen to become a
professional bee keeper instead? There are many experiences in life that you
cannot fully understand prior to living them. Law school is definitely one of those
experiences. Law school is more stressful than most previous educational
experiences by an order of magnitude – for many reasons.

College Versus Law School

Think back to when you started college. That was also a time of great change and
adapting to a new environment. Your objectives probably included: learning some
new things, getting decent grades, making new and more varied friends, finding
different kinds of peer groups than were available in high school, and enjoying
yourself. Law school on the other hand is an educational experience that is directly
tied to a career and professional identity.
When you started law school, whether you were motivated by long-held ambitions
or by a wish to find an expedient route toward some kind of professional vocation,
you knew that there was a connection between how you would perform and your
future capacity to make a living and have a career. And most likely, you are taking
on very large student loans that make future income all the more important. Throw
in the reality that the supply of qualified new lawyers far exceeds available well-paid
positions, inflating the element of competition, and you are left with a stressful
experience like few others in life.

Dealing with the Heightened Competition

Competition can be a good thing. It can motivate you to perform or to challenge
yourself beyond what you thought was possible. Competition can also be harmful –
particularly when it separates and isolates you from others. The implication that
law school is a Darwinian environment where only the strong survive can be an
explicit message or an implicit suggestion in many programs. Whenever
competition is high and vulnerability is viewed as something to exploit (for
competitive purposes), isolation and increased pressure result. Depression is an
all-too-common byproduct in this scenario.

In many instances, these values are not completely aligned with your pre-existing
sense of yourself and your world, and they certainly are not necessarily healthier
for you. This is a world that is highly competitive and adversarial, and may not be
high on qualities like empathy or altruism (with many exceptions, to be sure). In
addition, many law students report that heavy drinking is seen as a reasonable way
to cope, and to get a quick, if artificial, break from all the stress.

Focus on Your Interests

You will be in a better position to deal with academic performance pressures if you
are thinking mostly about what interests you about laws, and about how laws,
regulations, suits, etc. affect people – and devote less mental energy to self-
judgment. In that sense, it’s about the material, not about you. When, in the
future, you are conferring with clients to gather information, prepare and support
them, or with colleagues to creatively develop strategies or do relevant research, it
will be much more helpful and gratifying to focus on wrestling with legal concepts,
intricacies, and precedents than to wrestle with self-esteem.
Helpful: “Oh, it would help in this case if I learn more about this point of law.”
Unhelpful: “Why don’t I already know more about this point of law; maybe I’m not
smart enough.”)

On the other hand, it’s all about you, if that means that you are staying in touch
with yourself. Are you, for example, finding some moments of pleasure in each
day, including the satisfaction that is derived from working hard to master new
challenges? Are you getting enough rest? Having some fun? Connecting with
people you care about? Are you feeling compelled to compromise your principals,
or forced into interactions that feel creepy or insensitive?

Resilience in Law School

Despite your best efforts, you would be in good company if you do develop
symptoms of depression, anxiety, alcohol/drug misuse, not to mention common
conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which would predate law
school, but which can make it that much more challenging. If so, we hope you
won’t be so concerned about seeming “strong” that you avoid seeking help.

The concept of “resilience” applies here – it doesn’t mean avoiding or denying

difficulties; rather, it is the ability to overcome barriers. Learning new ways to
discuss, understand, and work through challenges is how you build resilience. It is
important to recognize and resist the temptation to acknowledge a challenge but
justify putting off addressing it. “Once X happens, then I’ll take care of myself.” The
“X” is often graduation, finishing the semester, completing a course, or simply when
you feel like you have the time. The harsh reality is, there will always be an “X” to
get in your way. Act despite the myriad of “X’s” in your life.

Taking action can begin with the dean of students, the law school counseling
center, or your state’s lawyer assistance program. The amount of time and energy
required to take care of your mental health is a wise investment in yourself that will
produce large dividends for years to come. The earlier these kinds of problems are
addressed, the less of a toll they are likely to take on your life and career.

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