My week five blues in review

I personally have always had suspicions about the psychological nature of week five blues… does pre-empting a breakdown not inevitably prompt one? To investigate this phenomenon I decided to chronicle the extent to which my week five truly was blue. (Spoiler… I’d call it teal.) I have thus decided to rank several key aspects of my life at Cambridge this week on a lovely colour grade from yellow (the happiest of colours) to blue.

Tragically, and very ironically, I was ill in week 6, hence the delay of this article but if anything this bout of illness has convinced me that we give week 5 too much credit. Week 6 is just as bad.

Health

Five weeks of sleep deprivation really hit me this week. 

Low point: staying in bed for basically 40 hours straight, eating about four bars of dairy milk and watching two seasons of Love Island. Going to Revs the day after staying in bed for 40 hours straight. 

High point: staying in bed for basically40 hours straight, eating about four bars of dairy milk and watching two seasons of Love Island. Also, shout out to the strikes for making sure I had absolutely no lectures to go to and therefore could wake up at eleven every day. It was much appreciated. 

Was this week five’s fault? No. But I will hold it personally responsible and most definitely used it being week five to justify my fatigue and general sickness.

Takeaways: Dairy milk solves all problems. Also definitely speak to a GP if you’re sick, suffering in silence is both foolish and detrimental to your long-term health.

Colour: BLUE (so so so so blue)

my friends accurately representing the week 5 vibe (Image credit: Ella Sheddick)

Work

I finally reached breaking point with the Tudors. It’s arguably impressive I lasted this long but I’ve now reached a point where seeing the word Elizabeth makes me want to scream. 

Low point: Genuinely crying over the lack of information on Justices of the Peace. Getting emotional over the fact that Henry VII never met his grandchildren. Needing an essay extension. 

High point: My supervisor actually said my essay ‘wasn’t bad’ so maybe writing it in a cold and flu medication-induced haze is the way to go for the next three weeks. 

Would not have made it through week five without working in Nero and my trusty OneNote (Image Credits: Ella Sheddick)

Was this week five’s fault? Yes. Five weeks of the Tudors is too much. I know I picked this module but someone really should have warned me.

Takeaways: Essay extensions are awesome and supervisors are nicer than you think.

Colour: teal? Not the bluest it’s ever been but definitely on the way

General wellbeing

Surprisingly good. It’s annoying to say but the little things do truly make week five bearable. 

Low point: I consumed more coffee this week than I have ever before in my life. Also, my coffee machine (shout out to Tassimo) broke and even my engineer friend couldn’t fix it which meant I was drinking double-strength instant coffee that made me physically shudder every time I sipped. 

High point: we had a wonderfully organised and very mood-boosting open mic night. Also, I discovered that Queens has beehives? Who knew?!

Gabriel and Alice singing their little hearts out (Image Credit: Ella Sheddick)

Was this week five’s fault? No. I won’t give week five any credit for me having a pretty lovely week.

Takeaways: Go look at bees. Oddly therapeutic. Also if you need help really do reach out – the wellbeing resources at Cambridge can be amazing.

Colour: Green – had its ups and downs but what week doesn’t?

Social life 

You’d think that this aspect of my life would be limited by illness but I managed to still go clubbing twice this week which I think is actually a worrying sign of how much I value the music choices at Revs over my own physical health. 

High point: High School Musical was played at Rumboogie. We had two exceptional movie nights of watching the Grand Budapest Hotel and Paddington – arguably two of the greatest movies of all time. 

Low point: Let it Go was played at Rumboogie. We also watched Tall Girl 2 which is one of the most psychologically disturbing movies I have ever seen. 

Tall girl 2 is genuinely one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen (Image credits: Ella Sheddick)

Was this week five’s fault? I can’t really hold week five responsible for Let It Go being played at revs.. although I guess Frozen is sort of blue? Also not week five’s fault that my friends have awful taste in movies.

Take-aways: I go to Revs too often.

Colour: Yellow. Somehow still a fun week.

Conclusions:

I think five weeks of doing the same thing on repeat will always cause some sort of burnout but if I hadn’t genuinely been sick this might have been one of my nicer weeks. Getting an extension and sympathy from my supervisor shifted a potential disaster into something far more manageable.

My week five was not the bluest it could have been… BUT I am still crossing my fingers for a reading week next year. Even if just to give me one week of respite from the Tudors.

If you or anyone else you know has been affected by the issues in this story, you can find links to university and local mental health services here.

Feature image credits: Alice Drury