I 'Crashed Out' After Studying Physics In College.

I studied physics in college, and it was very bad for my mental and physical health. I used to think school was the most important thing in life, but now I realize that academics aren't everything.

[official_awei]

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[postsupremacy]

As a physics major, I had my “wanna be genius” phase…I crashed and burned exactly like this. Best thing ever.

[VintageSoloHarmony]

Hi Alex. My late son Alexander looked exactly like you at 22. He was a computer science grad. His mum was from Taiwan, me, dad, UK. He got sick too, developed psychosis and took his own life, in Hawaii. But life goes on for me and for you. Stick with it “son”. Good.

[pabloenrique]

I'm a physics major, I ended up so sad and beaten up after I finished college, searching for work now is so difficult if all you did was to study a lot of quantum mechanics and mathematics that any industry is interested in, I'm so lost right now, thanks for sharing your experience, you help me to feel less alone in this mess

[SlowThoughts]

Brave of you for sharing. Thank you. It took me 15 years to get my BS in Physics. I was interested in learning but not motivated to study. Being poor also forced me to work during college and that was draining. And I craved change which resulted in a fits and start experience with relocations and transfers. Looking back, it was an irregular path full of disappointments, heartaches, and discoveries, but I would not change the road taken.

Now in my 50's, I can still relate to your college struggles. Afterall, it was a defining period. Approaching retirement, my Physics degree has served me well. Whether in the corporate world, or investing, or making things, I feel like I have a cheat code to the world.

Life finds a way, just keep moving and trying. You will do well!

[YoulookIncredible]

Beautiful story brother. Deserves to be heard and spread.

[aIbertI]

I'm a high schooler from Japan and everyone's mentality towards academic success, is like that. It's so f cking depressing bro. I've actually been thinking about studying physics in college, but I've also started to think like maybe, I'm not genuinely passionate about it. Maybe like u, i just wanna prove my intelligence to others or have romanticized studying it. I'm in 11th year and have +1 year to still decide what to major in, so I'll make most of that time, thank u for sharing ur story

[anonymously]

Academics is important but NOT AT THE COST OF YOUR DAMN LIVE.
Your story deserves to be heard more.
❤

[friedrichmyers]

The "insecurity in my own intelligence" really resonated with me. Everything I did up until now, I did because of of it.

And yes, it was stupid.

[vogelvogeltje]

Dude I just love physics and math. That’s why I want my degree. Just started my AS at community college. If I can get a job then cool, but I just love it, so much. It gives me purpose.

[halim]

I dropped out of my master's in physics 8 years ago, because of a breakup (my first girlfriend at the time), I almost died afterwards because I fell into a severe depression, being unemployed, I spent most of my time in my room, and one day I had caught a nasty flu or rather something related to the lungs, which made me stay in bed for like 2 weeks. Tbh I had the force to stand up but I just didn't want to because I was very depressed, and that just destroyed my whole body. I still can't fathom what exactly happened, maybe it was the sudden weight loss, but it started a demonic spiral, my whole body began aching, especially in my back, from the very moment I woke up and all day, and it lasted for a whole year like that. Fortunately my parents weren't that severe with me and they reached out to help me as they could, but I could see that I was seen as a failure for staying at home without anything to do for months and nothing to even aim at.

My physical health deteriorated to the point where it became a wake up call, though. The whole social situation began to fade in the back as I was just fearing literally for my life for a while. I just wanted to escape this daily torture and I found an escape after applying and being accepted in some software engineering conversion program. At the time those conversion bootcamps were very new here in France so I jumped in one and slowly but surely, that's how I managed to regain some health, both mentally and physically.

Some would say that it's not the best outcome, and software engineering is also known for generating burnouts, but my experience after dropping out was so traumatizing that I just felt lucky to be in the race again. I sometimes feel like my whole journey in physics was just a waste of time, but in reality it helped me a ton, especially for learning pretty much anything.

It could have been way worse.

I can't really relate with the toxic social pressure coming from parents, mine were not that toxic and tyrannical.
However I did feel the pressure not to disappoint them, and I fell into the trap of emprisoning my identity within the cage of these studies. Without these studies I wasn't worth anything, at least that's how I pictured myself, and I had to lose it all to realize that I could rebuild myself up from scratch without it.

[leon]

This is inspiring man. I think one of the most powerful takeaways is that you went through all that and you're still here with us and both mentally and physically stronger. I think that more than proves that at this juncture of life, you can outdo any problem thrown at your way, I mean you already went through a time that I imagine was hell but you still being here and just simply telling your story already speaks of victory and I think that outshines any academic validation you ever got. I mean think about it in order for the rabbit to tell us about how it escaped the lion, means it lived to outdo the odds and the situation, hence giving us its story.

Thanks man, you're another wonder we can speak about, a champion.

[kingofgoldnessr]

In a massive study following the lives of thousands of volunteers conducted by harvard, the things they most often regretted before dying were working too much, not spending enough time with family, etc. The things they were the most proud of were the families and relationships they made, not business success, vanity, or wealth.

So happy to see you looking out for yourself and the ones you love. This is a good lesson to learn and it will serve you well.

[oik]

I had my Master's degree in Cambridge, and came to a point of suffering that is beyond explanation. Like you said, I wasn't able to enjoy anything else in life including travelling with my girlfriend because the school was the only thing I could think of, like it's so ridiculous. I noticed that I developed this sense of toxic nostalgia where months later I would remember memories from those intense moments and think that I would miss them, but I think all I missed was each of those opportunities to be present in those moments, and I would feel a sense of regret over these moments. For me the most difficult part in the degree was the absolute lack of support with anything. Most work was online reading and we didn't really have lectures either, and we weren't even allowed to talk much to each other becuase they said it could lead to plagiarism through idea sharing... Like quite literally I was completely alone and was cut out intentionally by the school. I really have no idea how I managed to do research and write my thesis. I think I was so afraid of failure that deep in my mind the only option other than success was to end my life because I thought after wasting all that work that wpuld be the only thing left to do. By the way I don't know how it is in the us but in the uk I had to finish the degree in time or fail completely, not like in european countries where you can just fail classes and retake them next semester. I think it was this fear that activated a sort of auto-pilot in my system and I kind of unconsciously went through the most process. The day i finished everything was like the end of the LOTR where Frodo and Sam lie down and pass out, or where Gandalf takes the king of Rohan out of spell and he comes back to life...

[EzBz]

You bought into an image, brother. I went to school and triple majored in math, physics, and comp Sci.. I went on to pursue a PhD in math. I left solely after finishing my qualifying exams and starting my dissertation to pursue an opportunity in industry that would enable me to help my family. I grew up in a rough place too, and managed to get out.

Almost a decade later, I can tell you safely that exiting was the best choice for me. I have a meaningful, well-paying career doing industrial R&D, a healthy work-life balance, etc.

Academia is toxic; it wasn’t until I left that I realized the damage I was causing to my mental well-being. Many of my peers have done or are doing the same.

Couple your physics with IT/SWE skills, and gain some business acumen. Math, physics, etc. alone are useless. Pair them with a secondary skill and you become a star.

Good luck, man!

[captainasshat]

Coming to this during finals week as a physics major, I resonate with some of the struggles you’ve shared- nobody put any pressure on me to excel but that made me obsessed with the idea that I could prove to the people around me that I am more than they saw- but I really am not a fan of physics. I can do it, kinda, but I’ll cut as many corners as possible, and I’ll hate every moment of it. I need to figure myself out before things get really bad. Thanks for making this.

[donaldbucher]

I had similar experiences at McGill decades ago. I finished with zero self esteem and had to build it back up over a decade or so. At 35 I started teaching science at a high school for immigrants, which was transformative for me.

I’ve worked at three other high schools since then, and retired this spring. I’m living in a beautiful place, raised a family, have a pension. Those tough times in college made me a better more compassionate teacher. Yesterday I twice ran into retired teachers that were superb at what they did. We know what we did for 30 years of kids. They were joyful encounters.

When you develop compassion for yourself, you’ll be ready to help others. You can probably get a job coding somewhere like some of my roommates with physics degrees did, but being a physics teacher is a great life and worth consideration when you’ve stitched yourself back together.

[thebeastoffeasterpark]

I totally feel you on all the stuff you mentioned here. I heard in another vid you're from NJ where I was born and still live. I was a Physics major in college. I was always interested in Physics and Engineering since early childhood but never had a large drive to study it all the time, as I would need to. On top of that, mental health issues as well as untreated ADHD. I have so many varied interests and it's difficult for me to stick with just one subject. I finally realized my passion and drive for it wasn't high enough to pursue it as a career and so I got my A.S. and did some Bachelor coursework. I ended up just not going to classes much and eventually just fell by the wayside. Better to realize it sooner than later. This video is the first time I have ever heard anyone recount a college experience that was very similar to mine. I'm so glad for you you're doing so much better now. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

[alphabetsoup]

Relateable. Im black not asian but its the same tree different color. High pressure to succeed strong identification with academics, top school, study physics burnout then try again. I liked physics but had a warped view of it and what it was /what i could do-- it wasnt worth the mental health so i switched majors junior/senior year and then left school. Happy you got to step back from that and live your life. Physical, mental and emotional health>>> Career or white collar job so hope things are goin well for you and that you are able to engage both the ups and the downs well!!

[sci]

I am a physics major right now in my undergrad during my sophmore year. I hope to go into engineering and possibly work for a space program. There have been incredibly rough moments during my sophmore year. There have been moments where my mind kept screaming at me to just give up because the stress was too much. However, I got a really good grade in my physics class at the end of all the stress, and I feel confident about my classes in the future. I told myself not to give up because I will never know who I truly am if I do not go into a field that I am passionate about. The important thing is to just push through no matter how much it hurts. There will be good moments and bad moments. There were times where I felt that I was too stupid to get involved in physics and math, and there were times that I thought I was wrong about that. I plan on pushing through and aiming towards a masters in electrical engineering. I enjoyed your video very much. Have a good day.