Masters Degree exhaustion

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I finally graduated, at the age of 42, with my Masters Degree, and I'm still exhausted months later. I have been in college since I graduated high school, except for the year break that my doctor made me take because of extreme burnout and psychotic break. I've never felt a sense of relief like this, yet I'm exhausted too. Has anyone else experienced exhaustion long after removal of a chronic stimulus? How long does this last? I should be celebrating this enormous accomplishment.

Congratulations. What did you get your Master's in?

Have you had difficulty obtaining employment? The frustration in this could lead to a feeling of "exhaustion."

Congratulations on your degree. Getting a Masters is hard work. I can understand being exhausted after years of only being able to take courses part time. Are you going to have a party to celbrate?

I got my Master's Degree in English at 26. I felt no joy in my achievement then, only relief that is was finally over. I wondered what kind of job I would ever get. I thought at the time I would never get a job. I felt I wasted my life.

I was exhausted after just trying for my master's. I tried twice and never did finish, so I am pleased for you.

I am actually right now in the longest and most difficult emotional recovery of my life. It was a court trial that ended in November, along with the two years of threats and aggression from our neighbors that left us with no choice but to sue them. My therapist estimates another year before I'm back to work.

A big change in my life puts me into shock, which may resemble exhaustion, since I can't decide what is worth doing. Every goal is really just a milepost - if you don't find a new goal, there's not much point in being alive.

My degree is in Mechanical Engineering. I'm lucky that I was already employed. I've worked while pursuing my degree, although I tend to get fired for vague reasons frequently. The stress of financial uncertainty was an emotional burden, and I was already dealing with the stress of playing the mysterious and ambiguous academic game. I did have a small gathering at the state park near my house. We played Cards Against Humanity in a pavilion and I had a table full of single-player games and puzzles for the most introverted and/or socially anxious. A nerd band played acoustic songs about video games and horror films. It was an autistic wonderland. Nobody judged. Everyone was relaxed with their quirks.

I've pondered this myself. I agree about goals, and I do feel that I haven't effectively replaced this one. Maybe part of my exhaustion is from goal deficiency.

Slightly off-topic, but I think it relates to what you’re feeling. A while ago I saw a youtube video that really addressed some lingering concerns I had been nurturing about focusing too much on goal-setting. I’ve hit major goals in the last few years that I thought would be absolutely life-changing, but turned out rather anti-climatic and disappointing. Whenever I reached a goal, I would go around grinning like a fool for about two days - then it would abruptly seem normal, and I had to set an even higher goal to feel better. It’s amazing how fast a person can get used to anything, even the big events! The video talked about how by focusing on goals, we concentrate on only a few glamorous moments of our lives, instead of the 95% of time that passes while you’re working towards them. The suggestion was to instead focus on building the kind of daily life you want to live, and taking the high points as bits of fun to celebrate along the way. I imagine you’re going to experience many satisfied moments whenever your new degree creates more opportunities in your day to day reality, but to me it makes sense you’ve simply already adapted to having reached this goal.

Oh yes indeed. I was hypoglycemic from living on short rations, and that lasted about three years after I completed my PhD and was working.

To cheer you up even further (sorry, sorry) I retired after spending 2.5 years with an ever increasing workload and no relief in sight... that was in late 2015. This winter I'm beginning to feel like my old self. (However, I'm an asthmatic with an inferior heart valve. Surprising stamina but long recovery times. Most people would spring back sooner than that.)

Moral of all that blather, don't be hard on yourself; be proud you did it, and baby yourself a little. Think of it as recovery from a marathon. Because it really is.

As a teenager, my father was a food worker and had an engineering firm as a client. He warned me that engineers get laid off after projects, or when management wants to cut costs, or just want to reorganize thier staff. I ignored his advice and I am an electronics engineer. The reasons for your firing were likely vague on purpose, and no fault of yours.

Sounds nice.