My girlfriend works too hard and I'm worried, any advice?

[BlueWind]

She's an art college student and she's constantly putting herself through all-nighters to meet homework deadlines. She doesn't procrastinate, she's just slow. I'm worried about her because I feel like she's working herself too much. She barely gets any sleep and it's not good for her. She says she's getting used to it, but that kind of scares me more.

Basically I'm just worried about her health. Any advice or input or ideas and such?

[Hidden_P]

Art is such a hard subject...theres artists who churn it out and they can deal with it. A lot of them are perfectionists and take a while.

It'll either catch up on her and she'll quit, or she will stick through it and once she's done she can do her own pace.

I know it's not healthy, but unfortunately, that is the creative way. Academic courses are more exam and prep rather than coursework.

All I can say to help her is...support her. Look for ideas. Get interested. For instance, is she is doing a piece on fore-shortening, or a study of animal print, help her find pictures, go out and take pictures with her, try and cut down that grunt work. You can always bounce ideas off with her as well. I adore my artwork, and my current piece (that I LOVE) wasn't my idea! It was my boyfriends that I developed :)

If she has any artist bios, or collages to do, you can help with that! :) You could try creating a plan with her to set in a proper sleeping schedule but it's hard to stick to them if you're 'in the zone'. The less pressure she has, the more healthy she will be.

Best of luck.

[MWalsh89]

Try to get her to take a day off and lounge around with her. Watch her favorite movies. have a glass of wine(if old enough), give her a massage, just let her relax and help her mind unwind and let her know that you're there, even if she wants to lay her head in your lap and sleep for a bit.

But either way, school is strenuous, sometimes you find yourself doing things that aren't to healthy(like barely sleeping). If she's barely sleeping though, encourage her to the above mentioned. I'm sure she'll love it, find herself relaxed and rejuvenated.

If she's a working college student, it might get a little tougher. In either case, just be there for her. But to be honest, as a student in general, you get use to lack of sleep. Don't be scared, just acknowledge. If you really see she's pushing herself too hard, which sometimes does happen, step in, take her out, see if she can take a day, study with her. Just be there. She'll appreciate it.

[canuckfarmgirl]

There isn't much you can do other than support her. Can you learn her schedule and help her out a bit when she's so busy? Like bring her dinner.

[shyone05]

As someone else mentioned, she may be a perfectionist. I know this from experience, as during my study I often find myself starting work over and over when it is not up to my personal standards. Had I done just the stuff that was necessary for it to be 'acceptable' then obviously I would have taken less time. If she is not notorious for being a perfectionist, however, and she needs to pull all-nighters just to get her work on that 'acceptable' level, you will have to consider the thought that the education might be too much for her to handle (I have known people like that).

It is very considerate that you are worried about her health like that. Make it clear to her that you do not want her to push herself to hard and offer her help in any way you can. Furthermore, ask yourself: What exactly are you worried about concerning her health if things keep going the way they are? And what could you do to prevent that scenario but make sure her grades are not going to suffer?

[Couter]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. The effects of stress and lack of sleep are absolutely detrimental to your health, but your body can generally handle it when you're young. I doubt her stress will manifest itself in any sort of physical ailment. If it does it will most likely be something like the flu or a cold, because stress and sleep deprivation impair your immune system.

That being said, I would be worried about her mental and emotional state. She's probably going to go through mood swings and periods of irritability.

The only thing you can do is just be supportive. Run some errands for her, cook her some meals. Above all else, remember that when she gets pissed off at you, don't take it personally.

[madmisskelly]

Thats the life of a student dude, especially if she is going into something like health care or law. Those subjects require you to study and have good grades.