Managing Stress in Law School

It’s no secret that law school is a stressful place. During my first year of law school, I didn’t know how to manage stress very well. I spent hours in the library studying, my skin broke out, and I often forgot to eat, causing me to lose about 15 pounds of weight. This is certainly not everyone’s experience with how law school stress manifests itself… but it is mine. At the time, the stress and imposter syndrome were overwhelming and I wasn’t able to prioritize my mental or physical health because I was too busy navigating law school classes, internship applications, and everything else. Balancing classes, studying, and other activities rarely stresses me out now that i’m two years into law school and have most things figured out. The workload is usually manageable, although I definitely do get pretty stressed out from studying during finals. For the most part, I would say my law school stress stems from comparing myself to other students and not feeling good enough. I know this now because a lot of my stress went away when the pandemic hit and I wasn’t constantly near other law students.

Once we switched remote learning, I had more free time and was really able to prioritize my physical and mental health. Self care and de-stressing will look different for everyone. For me personally, de-stressing means getting outside more often and unplugging from law school when I can. I like to travel, try new food spots, blog, and spend time with friends when i’m unplugged from law school and it helps me to relax. During my second year, I also actively worked to eat better and get physical exercise daily. What I found was that even though I was studying less, my grades actually improved! I am now back to eating normally and at a healthy weight, thankfully.

Some other activities that my classmates do to de-stress include all forms and types of art, music, sports leagues, acapella clubs, rock climbing, tending to plants, and so much more. It is 100% possible to have these hobbies, even the time-intensive ones, if you manage your study schedule well and stay on top of your work! I have plenty of blog posts on how I organize my schedule, including this one I wrote recently. Having hobbies like this i’ve listed and maintaining a life outside of law school is so important. It not only takes you out of “law school mode” to reduce stress, but it also helps maintain fun hobbies you loved before you began law school.

Our law school also provides lots of resources when it comes to managing stress. We have our very own psychologist at the law school that you can meet with individually, in addition to all of the mental health and counseling services that the undergraduate campus provides. The law school also has weekly meditation workshops and yoga classes occasionally. If you’re really stressed out with law school, I highly recommend utilizing all of the mental health and counseling resources that are available to you.

Even with all of these resources, however, it is still up to you to utilize them and to actively take care of your mental health and learn how to manage stress well. An attorney told me recently that the habits you form in law school will follow you into your legal career, and given the high levels of depression and alcoholism in the legal profession, we should all start forming good habits as early as possible.

I am always happy to chat about law school stress management and mental health resources. Find me on instagram and tiktok, at earthtojul for more law school content! 🙂