This is why SRS is a tool but not a complete solution. In medical school, there is such an enormous amount of material to commit to memory (specifically for board exams) that a lot of students find SRS very helpful. It is possible (I did this for a little bit in the beginning) to rely on it too much and therefore not be able to make the connections needed, be it on an exam or in real life. There's an art to making good flashcards- knowing which context to test a fact in, how to give enough context but not too much, etc. Also, there is little point to memorizing cards without understanding the material first. If I struggle with a card, I know I need to review the material, develop a mnemonic, etc.
I'm 30 and in med school, had a similar experience in high school, and my first attempt at college wasn't too different. I couldn't have changed gears without the right diagnosis, support and medication (though medication is truly just one aspect of it).
I was diagnosed in my 20s. If you go to a therapist/psych to talk about your issues you have a good chance of working them out and getting the support you need. the first psych to dx me was through the university health department, don't be afraid to use the services that are available for you.
> (though medication is truly just one aspect of it)
Yes, this is so true. The major pieces of the puzzle for me ...from most to least important... are: good sleep, proper environment, exercise, nutrition, medication.
When I say "nutrition" I don't even mean a strict diet. The most important part there for me is simply avoiding big doses of sugar and carbs. Those leave me drained.
Its unlikely that depriving your brain of fuel is having a positive effect on concentration, but since eating carbs triggers insulin, which supresses the effects of adrenaline, you might just be experiencing the benefits of not saturating your diet with sugar.
The brain is not being deprived, rather it's deriving it's energy from a different source -
> the brain starts burning ketones in order to more directly use the energy from the fat stores that are being depended upon, and to reserve the glucose only for its absolute needs [1]
Additionally -
> Because the brain can only power 70% of its action on ketones, glucose will have to be used no matter what. However, because glucose can be derived from non-carbohydrate sources such as protein, a low carb or no carb diet does not starve the brain of its required energy. [2]
And your absolutely right in regards to experiencing the benefits of removing sugar from the diet.
I meant to say it's primary fuel source. Will look into this more, but I would think avoiding suppression of epinephrine has to account for some of the effect of cutting to a no/low carb diet.
This is very interesting. As a med student with a programming and CS background, these efforts are particularly appealing to me. It seems that (polling healthcare workers, mainly docs) technology (EMR) is more of a hindrance than a benefit, which to me has always seemed like poor design, gamblers fallacy + overwhelming costs associated with changing software in a large hospital. I don't see how this can change unless there are standard protocols that allow for flexible data entry and analysis. The problem I see with this new system is that it doesn't (at the surface) appear to offer anything new, whereas asthamMD is creating objective data and a unique pipeline between healthcare teams and patient. It seems like we are just waiting for some software revolution that actually saves doctor time and improves patient outcomes - rather than generate data for administrators and bureaucrats at the cost of inefficiency.
