Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Don't Kill Yourselves (It'll Make the Law School Look Bad)

Law school is mostly a blur of stressful situations and hours spent studying. Every once in a while, however, our professors give a little speech about how much they care about us, and how we should try to balance our lives with non-law school related activities. I think they're worried that someone's going to kill himself.

Our Evidence professor gave us one such speech today. In particular, he told us that we should try to make friends who aren't law students or lawyers. He ended the talk by telling us that, if we need to, we should go see the campus counseling services.

The first suggestion -- to make non-lawyerly friends -- is probably wise. Everyone needs good influences, right? The reminder about the counseling services just strikes me as funny. Also funny: that the people who are making our lives so stressful suggest that we go to Jamaica for spring break. Sorry, professor, I'll be too busy working on the brief to go to Jamaica this year. Gee, thanks for the suggestion though.

Sigh. Maybe next year.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure why seeking mental health services would be "funny." Law students and lawyers have a much higher than normal rate of mental illness and there's nothing funny about asking for help.

-2L in Counseling

Anonymous said...

I agree, what's so "funny" about seeking counseling? To some, it's a matter of life or death, literally.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the other two posters. Law school is stressful. Add in a few other factors and it can be enough to push anyone over the edge.

The counselors on campus are great at helping students develop coping strategies. Comments like yours put a stigma on taking care of your mental health and I take exception to such comments.

I went to the counseling center as a 1L and it is probably the best decision I made while in law school. There's nothing "funny" about it.