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Having a hard time studying

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Vicente:
Anyone else have a hard time studying and retaining information?
For two or so years it's been impossible for me. Studying at home is almost not a option due it being a place with heavy negative energy (and people that don't leave me alone), even when there's no one around. I can somewhat study at the uni but I don't have money to pay for eating there or bring anything substantial to eat. Even then, I have a hard time remembering things I just heard/ read.

It's worth mentioning I also struggle with depression and anxiety.

Anyone have any tips? I've been researching but still haven't found anything that works.

Gertrude:

--- Quote from: Vicente on February 24, 2020, 08:39:10 am ---Anyone else have a hard time studying and retaining information?
For two or so years it's been impossible for me. Studying at home is almost not a option due it being a place with heavy negative energy (and people that don't leave me alone), even when there's no one around. I can somewhat study at the uni but I don't have money to pay for eating there or bring anything substantial to eat. Even then, I have a hard time remembering things I just heard/ read.

It's worth mentioning I also struggle with depression and anxiety.

Anyone have any tips? I've been researching but still haven't found anything that works.

--- End quote ---

My only advice is therapy, meditation, diet. exercise and sleep. Get that in the right balance and it will get better. Folks like us often need a reflecting board that therapy brings along with learning new coping skills. Meditation can help calm the mind and diet/exercise/sleep will help keep the brain chemistry in order.

Vicente:
I'll be completely honest and confess I've been slacking off self care. I've been just pushing myself to get stuff done and failing miserably.
Therapy is on my to-do list, until then I'll look into everything else (specially meditation, even my friend recommended but I just shrugged it off).

Thanks for the reminder!

ChrissyRyan:
It is easier to “remember” or reference information if you know how to apply it, if you do apply it, and you make sense out of it, than if you only memorize it. Mnemonics and the often used acrostics can help.

For example:  The basic trig functions of sine, cosine, and tangent can be remembered and APPLIED in solving meaningful problems by remembering “SOH CAH TOA”.

SOH stands for Sine equals Opposite over Hypotenuse. CAH stands for Cosine equals Adjacent over Hypotenuse. TOA stands for Tangent equals Opposite over Adjacent.

What gets you remembering these equations is needing to use them, understanding triangles, and solving problems such as determining side lengths when you know an angle measurement and a side length.

So... get enough sleep, focus, eat enough, exercise, ask questions, do not get behind, take excellent notes, be organized, manage your time well, set high achievement goals, get good, caring teachers, and... find real needs to learn what you need to “memorize.” 

If you see value in learning something, you will likely want to learn more about that something.  By finding how you will apply what you will learn, that should help your learning.

If you think that terms or definitions are useless to know except for memorizing for a quiz, then use flash cards and study groups.  My sympathies if that is truly the case.. Your professor is effecting student learning at a low level in that case.. see Bloom’s Taxonomy, original or revised for more information.

The key is to know for what you are learning the when, where, why, and how you will apply something and integrate it into prior learning and skills too, so you get better and better.  You can lookup all kinds of info on the job after school but if you do not know how and when to use it, that is truly a professional hardship. 

 :)

Chrissy

Vicente:
Chrissy, that was all very helpful! I do believe I was really lacking in seeing the value of everything being taught.
Also I literally never asked a question in over a year due social anxiety (what if I ask or say something dumb, I'd freak out). My teachers are great and also always take a interest on me because apparently they see potential but it never seems to come out.
I hope to make things different this year.

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