• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Law School Toolbox®

All the tools you need for law school success

  • Tutoring
  • Courses
    • Second Semester ReBoot
    • Start Law School Right
  • Job Help
  • Law School 101
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • About

This is Your Brain on Stress

May 8, 2017 By Denise DeForest Leave a Comment

Your Brain On StressDo you want to hear the bad news, the worse news, or the good news?

Let’s start with the bad news. Recent studies have demonstrated (to no lawyer’s surprise) that the study of law and the practice of law are highly stressful situations. This is hardly news, though. Big yawn. You and I both know that the law’s I-can-handle-anything culture shrugs at such pronouncements.

But there is worse news. According to University of Denver Professor Debra Austin, that level of stress demonstrably kills brain connections.[1] In her words, it is the hormones, the glucocorticoids, flooding our systems in times of stress that disconnect neural networks and kill brain cells. The more constant the stress, the more damage done to the delicate synaptic framework supporting our lives as lawyers and law students. Professor Austin refers to the flood of stress hormones as the triggering of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, a/k/a the SNS/HPAA. When we are under continual stress, our brains are marinating in a SNS/HPAA reaction and suffering the consequences. That’s right. It wasn’t your imagination. The Erie doctrine probably did kill something during your first year of law school. And the bar exam? It’s a wonder anyone has a neural network left at the end of that process.

How could I possibly have arrived at this point? I used to kill brain cells having fun in college. Now, I probably do the same or more damage worrying about my cases.

I also promised that there was good news. Professor Austin did not leave us worrying ever more excessively about how much worrying we were doing without also pointing out the exit ramps. I bet that you intuitively know what these stress-busting activities are: these are the activities that make you feel better. We’re talking about making sleep a priority, about using exercise to help us rebalance and refresh, and about taking time for contemplative practices. All of these activities help us shut down the SNS/HPAA storms that engulf our brains and our lives.

The hard part is figuring out how to integrate these brain-saving activities into our lives. Perhaps it all starts, though, when we decide to thrive as a lawyer or law student, rather than to merely survive.

“As an irrigator guides water to his fields, as an archer aims an arrow, as a carpenter carves wood, the wise shape their lives.” Buddha

____________________________________

[1] What kind of lawyer would I be without a citation? Debra S. Austin, “Killing Them Softly: Neuroscience Reveals How Brain Cells Die From Law School Stress and How Neural Self-Hacking Can Optimize Cognitive Performance,” 59 Loy. L. Rev. 791 (2013).


 

Looking for some help to do your best in law school? Find out about our law school tutoring options.


About Denise DeForest

Denise was a tutor for Law School Toolbox and Bar Exam Toolbox. Denise currently teaches bar preparation skills at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She thoroughly enjoys trying new and better ways to teach difficult concepts to smart people who are trying to wrap their minds around our legal system.

Prior to her work at DU, Denise decided civil service appeals for a decade as an Administrative Law Judge for the Colorado State Personnel Board. This work built on her years as a disciplinary prosecutor and general counsel to administrative agencies as a Colorado Assistant Attorney General. Denise has also served as a mayoral appointee performing police oversight functions for the cities of Denver, Colorado, and Omaha, Nebraska. At the very start of her legal career, Denise had the pleasure of clerking for the Honorable Stephanie Duncan-Peters of the D.C. Superior Court. Denise attended Georgetown University Law Center.

During those pre-law school years, Denise was an investigator on criminal, civil and administrative cases. Denise still carries a torch for a great investigation. She now teaches the investigative process for state and provincial authorities in the U.S. and Canada as a senior instructor for the National Certified Investigator Training program.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Us

If you find law school tough, you are not alone! The Law School Toolbox team is here to help you through it. Check out our helpful free content, podcasts, courses and one-on-one tutoring. Thanks for stopping by and drop us a line if you have any questions. We also invite you to join our weekly mailing list, for advice right to your inbox.

Recent Posts

Trying to Interview Individuals with JD Advantage Jobs

Trying to Interview Individuals with JD Advantage Jobs

About two months ago, I decided I wanted to write an article interviewing classmates of mine who had decided not to pursue law, and who instead went … Read More about Trying to Interview Individuals with JD Advantage Jobs

Domestic Relations and Family Law: A Quick Look at Upperclassmen Courses

Domestic Relations and Family Law: A Quick Look at Upperclassmen Courses

It is important to know what kind of law you want to practice. The areas of law are endless, there are numerous claims to be brought and an infinite … Read More about Domestic Relations and Family Law: A Quick Look at Upperclassmen Courses

Podcast Episode 223: 1L Year at Harvard Law (w/guest Carla Luna)

Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! Today, we are welcoming guest Carla Luna -- currently a 2L at Harvard -- to discuss adjusting to law … Read More about Podcast Episode 223: 1L Year at Harvard Law (w/guest Carla Luna)

What to Wear to your Law School Internship or Externship

What to Wear to your Law School Internship or Externship

If you’re reading this post, you may be one of the many people who have an upcoming internship or externship and no idea what to wear. Therefore, … Read More about What to Wear to your Law School Internship or Externship

Can I Clerk with a Disability? (Short answer: YES)

The federal judicial clerkship hiring path is mysterious for most law students. If you’re lucky, your school has an office dedicated to helping you … Read More about Can I Clerk with a Disability? (Short answer: YES)

Want Better Law School Grades?

Sign Up for Our Exam Tips!

Footer

  • Podcast
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Tutoring
  • Courses
  • Job Help
  • About
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Refunds

Copyright 2019 Law School Toolbox®™