De Minimis
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
  • Podcast
  • Your Learned Friend
  • Anonymous Feedback
  • Art
  • Get published!
  • Constitution
  • Archive
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2017 >
      • Semester 2 (Volume 12) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8 (election issue)
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
    • 2016 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 9) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
      • Semester 2 (Volume 10) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8 (Election Issue)
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
        • Issue 13 (test)
    • 2015 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 7) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
      • Semester 2 (Volume 8) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
    • 2014 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 5) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
      • Semester 2 (Volume 6) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 12
    • 2013 >
      • Issue 1
      • Issue 2
      • Issue 3
      • Issue 4
      • Issue 5
      • Issue 6
    • 2012 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 1) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
      • Semester 2 (Volume 2) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12

July Used to be Fun

1/8/2017

 
Vol 12, Issue 2

LUKE THOMAS

​July used to be fun. Back home, July was summer vacation by the lake and long summer nights. Now, July in the Southern Hemisphere feels like February did in the North. Cold, wet, short days, long nights of wondering, ‘Am I always going to feel this way?’ At MLS, July has meant spending the winter comparing myself to others and coming up short—struggling to find the energy to sit through another lecture because I just can’t care.
Picture
But I’ve been through a few February/July seasons now and I know things aren’t going to stay as bad as they feel when it’s dark and cold. I know I get Winter Brain (‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’), and I know a lot of other people do too.

When I went to see the university mental health services last winter to try and sort my negative thoughts out, I nervously said that she probably doesn’t see many law students. I figured we were invincible. Everything around us seems perfectly ordered, from the polished glass windows to the fresh suits of young mooters. She laughed. Not in a malicious way, but because the opposite was true. According to this psychologist, MLS students make up a significant number of her clients.

It’s no secret that many legal professionals suffer from poor mental health. Apparently, our profession is one of the unhappiest. In my first year, I lost contact with my MLS mentor after he, admirably, took time off to look after his mental health. The American Psychological Association claims that lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than non-lawyers, and that they rank 4th in suicides by profession. That’s huge, and devastating.

I’m writing about this because Eilene Zimmerman’s tragic and beautifully expressed New York Times article, ‘The Lawyer, the Addict’ brought this topic back to the surface for me a few weeks ago. A brilliant, highly successful Californian patent attorney killed himself, not by choice, but over a career of increasing drug abuse and dangerous choices, which she felt was the result of a culture that refuses to talk about their issues with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse with each other.

It’s important we keep talking about this now rather than self-medicating or waiting for the pressure to build over years and years of practice. It’s crucial that we do positive things to learn how to look after ourselves now, and sometimes just admit to ourselves that things won’t work out the way we want it to, and that’s ok. You’ll likely fail or be rejected at some point, and even if you’re incredibly successful, data shows that you’ll likely have a different job within 2-3 years after graduating than the one you’ll take after leaving MLS. So don’t stress.

I’m really grateful to be at a school that values mental health and has so many initiatives with the LSS and campus services to make sure we take the time to think about if we’re ok. This is especially important to me now, as we’re entering a period of being judged by HR reps who, by necessity, reduce the complexity of our lives and struggles to a one-page CV. Clerkship season isn’t easy, but in case you’re struggling, remember it won’t always be winter, and things will get better. Look after yourselves.

​Luke Thomas is a third-year JD student

More articles like this
  • Inhibiting the Blue Moods
  • This Too Shall Pass
The rest of this issue
  • Non - Alcoholic Event Tickets
  • Legal Drafting Should be Compulsory​
  • Reviewing the Witcher Series
  • International Perspectives: People Make the Difference
Woof woof
1/8/2017 04:22:27 pm

I can't understand why anyone would ever feel anxious or depressed at Melbourne Law School. I mean, they give you a dog to play with every Thursday, which they're more than happy to milk for marketing purposes. They also bombard you with Instagram-style images of students during better than you (with falsified "Likes" numbers, by the way) on the hallway just to get up to the elevator to get to class.

In all seriousness, and without the snark, this is a great article and I'm glad you shared it. I should probably just take the stairs if I'm sick at looking at their marketing material. Who knew "Humans of Melbourne Law School" might spark a fitness kick? New year new me.

Jezza
1/8/2017 07:36:00 pm

... and as those philosopher minstrels William and Theodore said: be excellent to each other.

I hope you enjoyed your birthday Luke... even July has its moments!

I'm Blue, Too
21/9/2017 04:18:31 pm

"At MLS, July has meant spending the winter comparing myself to others and coming up short—struggling to find the energy to sit through another lecture because I just can’t care."

Great article. That part resonates so strongly with me.


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
  • Podcast
  • Your Learned Friend
  • Anonymous Feedback
  • Art
  • Get published!
  • Constitution
  • Archive
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2017 >
      • Semester 2 (Volume 12) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8 (election issue)
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
    • 2016 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 9) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
      • Semester 2 (Volume 10) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8 (Election Issue)
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
        • Issue 13 (test)
    • 2015 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 7) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
      • Semester 2 (Volume 8) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
    • 2014 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 5) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
      • Semester 2 (Volume 6) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 12
    • 2013 >
      • Issue 1
      • Issue 2
      • Issue 3
      • Issue 4
      • Issue 5
      • Issue 6
    • 2012 >
      • Semester 1 (Volume 1) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12
      • Semester 2 (Volume 2) >
        • Issue 1
        • Issue 2
        • Issue 3
        • Issue 4
        • Issue 5
        • Issue 6
        • Issue 7
        • Issue 8
        • Issue 9
        • Issue 10
        • Issue 11
        • Issue 12