Honestly, almost all of the pressure is self-imposed when you start delving into this with people, and even when it is external (being around students who ask what you got on the test as soon as it is handed back or the people frantically running around before an exam pulling their hair out), it still is on you to manage your stress. Simply blaming other people for things that affect you rather than taking action within your control is never a good way to solve a problem. I always think it odd that people complain about this as premeds since eventually you will have to face this environment in medical school. Med school is (surprise, surprise) a bunch of premeds all grown up, but you will still encounter people with the same franticness and the “pressure-cooker” environment that some people try so hard to avoid in undergrad. Even if you somehow dodge it as an undergrad, and as a med student, most physicians are juggling dozens of patients everyday as they diagnose, treat, and check the progress of every patient, each day. Remember that a simple mistake can end your career, can land you in financial ruin and maybe even jail. You don’t think physicians have extremely stressful lives? You have a nurse saying one thing, a technician saying another, lab results coming in, pharmacists wanting you to reconcile the medication list, insurance billing (if you have a private practice), trying to distinguish drug-seeking behavior from patients in genuine pain, and all while trying to be a responsible parent to your 2.4 children at home and an honorable citizen of your city, state and country who pays his taxes and does his jury duty and remembers to wash the car only after checking that it won’t rain. You can’t hide from stress, it will find you - that’s life. So how does anyone do it? They learn to compartmentalize the stress and learn to locate stressors and how to effectively remove or negate them. Whether you want to learn the skills for it now, during med school or as an adult, it will come, and it’s up to you to learn what balance you need in your life to keep your sanity, health and to maximize productivity.
I, like many people, maintain hobbies as outlets for the stress. I like to cook my own meals - I find it relaxing and keep it novel. I jog to clear my mind and play the piano to let out the feels. I enjoy the TV running in the background while I study. I can’t procrastinate or the self-loathing ensues. I wake up a half-hour early before exams to stretch. I take deep breathes whenever I feel that it’s all too much. I learned a lot of this at Hopkins and found the balance then rather than now, where things only get harder and the penalties greater. You will find what works for you, everyone living manages it to varying degrees because life is just too much otherwise. Gone are the days of the siesta and the fika, at least in this country. The onus is on you to figure this stuff out, and the sooner you do, the better off you’ll be. Wife number two won’t care that you didn’t figure this out sooner. So come to Hopkins and have a happy marriage that doesn’t end with your assets being divided up and your children resenting you for a stepmom that “never really loved us.”
Final note, I realize Hopkins is labeled a premed magnet, but honestly, at most 50% of students are initially premed and that will go down to about half by senior year (mainly because people acknowledge the amount of work involved and realize there are easier ways to make money, gain prestige and make a difference in the world - not because of some institutional weeding process). So we’re talking about over 600 hundred students in your class freshman year who will have no interest in medicine that you can mingle with and forget about whatever premed problem is on your mind for the day. Join clubs, go on dates, when a test goes poorly go with friends to the local shelter and play with puppies. There are plenty of distractions for a college student, we’re young with large amounts of free time - normally it’s the focusing on work that’s the bigger problem for most of us.
BTW, I realize now you didn’t necessarily say you’re interested in medicine. Nonetheless, I believe this applies to almost any profession where you’re making important decisions that people are depending upon you for (and this includes being a parent).