Name: How to Overcome Fear as a Student😧 | 6 Actionable Strategies
Uploaded: 2025-11-05T18:18:14.000Z
Duration: 15 min 4 s
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Are you often worried or plagued by anxiety?

If this sounds like you, you are far from alone.

Jubbal medschoolinsiders.com we get a lot of comments and messages from students who are worried about the future, and

this fear causes them to struggle to make decisions.

Whether you're stressed about an upcoming exam, worried about whether or not you'll get into medical school, or overwhelmed by an aspect of your life, there's actually quite a bit you can do to overcome these feelings.

In this video we Actionable strategies you can use to manage your fears first off, you have to acknowledge your feelings and state of mind.

So many of us ignore warning signs from both our body and mind because we don't want to admit how we're feeling, but

Ignoring how you feel over and over again will result in an emotional reckoning at some point or another.

You simply can't keep everything bottled in forever, and

if you try to, eventually it will boil to the surface and it could be at a pretty inopportune time.

You could blow up at a friend or barista, or send a rude, impulsive email to a professor, none of which will do anything to dispel your anxiety.

If you're worried about something or suffering from anxiety, acknowledge to yourself that you feel this way so that you can begin to pinpoint the source.

Understanding where these feelings are coming from is the first step to working through your fears.

If you're worried about an upcoming test, ask yourself why and turn to the facts.

Are you worried because it's an important test, or are you worried because you haven't adequately prepared for the test?

If you're worried about whether or not you'll get into medical school, is it because you objectively have a weak application and are not prepared to apply?

Or are you experiencing an attack of imposter syndrome?

Acknowledging your feelings is the first step toward working through them in a healthy and productive way.

Next, put your worries and fears into perspective by understanding your circle of control.

There are so many aspects of your life that you have no control over.

And while that may seem even more scary at first, understanding what you can and can't control is incredibly empowering.

You learn what to focus on and what to let go of so that you apply your energy to the areas of your life you can actually impact.

Include what other people say, what other people do, what other people think, traffic, how a book show or movie ends, the weather, and

You can't control how a piece of fiction ends, so what uses it to get upset about it?

You can't control what people think or how they behave, so don't try to.

And you certainly cannot control the weather or when you have to go to the bathroom.

That doesn't mean you should just let life happen to you.

You can make the very most of every aspect of your life.

You do have control over things that are within your circle of control.

Include what you do, what you say, how you react, how you spend your time, who you spend your time with, and

When you focus on what you can control versus what you can't, you're able to let the uncontrollable roll off of you.

You don't need to worry about whether or not it will rain.

If it's going to rain, it's going to rain, and you can't change that.

But you can control your own actions, reactions and preparedness.

If you know eating at Chipotle sends you running to the bathroom, don't eat there.

Just don't eat there before an interview or date.

If you're worried about an upcoming test, focus on what you can do about it.

You control how much you prepare for the test.

You can't change the traffic you might hit on the way, but

you can plan to arrive early so that what's out of your control isn't a factor.

Next, Sometimes the best thing you can do is to talk it through with a trusted friend or mentor.

especially medical students and doctors, do not open up about our negative feelings for fear we'll be judged.

There is a great deal of stigma around mental health and seeking help in the medical community, which is quite ironic considering our shared medical education and chosen vocation to heal others.

We covered this topic in a previous video on the stigma of mental health for med.

Students and doctors link in the description, but despite the irony, it's true.

We don't want to admit anything that could be seen as a weakness, so we keep negative emotions to ourselves, further damaging our mental and physical health in the process.

However, talking with someone and asking for help not only requires tremendous bravery, but

Everyone gets scared and everyone has their own worries and insecurities.

Talking about your fears relinquishes their control over you as you can break them down and analyze where they're coming from rather than letting them fester.

Sometimes just releasing them into the air allows you to see how small and irrational they really are.

Open up to someone you trust who has the capacity to listen to you.

If a friend is in the middle of studying for an important exam, they won't be able to give you the time and energy you need.

Before diving into a deep conversation, be sure to ask the person if they have the time and are willing to listen.

But don't let this step hold you back if you have something weighing on you.

The people closest to you will make time for you if they know it's important.

The longer you keep your fears inside, the more powerful they get.

Talk it through with someone you trust to gain a different perspective.

The fourth strategy is to practice intentional breathing.

When we get stressed or scared, our fight or flight response is triggered, which sets off a chain reaction in our bodies.

Our pupils dilate to let more light in so that we can better see the danger.

Our bodies start sweating to cool itself, our muscles tense, blood is diverted from our digestive tract, causing it to feel uncomfortable, and

our breath becomes fast and shallow to improve oxygenation in preparation to fight or flee.

These physiologic responses were essential for our ancestors, who frequently had to outrun predators or catch their own prey.

However, they do little for us when we're about to give a speech or take an important test.

our body still believes it needs more oxygen, so we take more breaths.

when our oxygen and carbon dioxide levels become imbalanced, we need to restore balance by slowing down our breathing.

the basic act of breathing slowly and intentionally can do wonders for fear and anxiety.

The body influences the mind and the mind influences the body.

There are myriad breathing exercises out there, so we'll only mention a couple.

Andrew Weil and is based on the Pranayama breathing exercise practiced during yoga.

Start by finding a comfortable place to sit and keeping your back straight.

Next, place your tongue against the back of your top front teeth and keep it there.

Then exhale completely around your tongue.

Next, press your lips together and inhale through your nose for four seconds.

Hold your breath for seven seconds, exhale through your mouth and make the whoosh sound for eight seconds.

Then repeat this process three more times.

This will activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which controls your body's relaxation and rest response and offsets your sympathetic nervous system, which controls your body's stress response.

Do this exercise whenever you start to feel stressed or scared.

The more you practice it, the more effective it will be.

Another popular breathing technique is box breathing, also known as 4x4 breathing.