Between classes, homework and extracurriculars, many students find themselves running out of energy long before the week ends. Burnout – the mix of physical and mental exhaustion – has become very common in many teens’ lives. Burnout is a feeling that makes simple tasks feel overwhelming and impossible to accomplish. However, there are many ways to cope with or prevent the feeling of burnout.
When the pressure from school or sports or life in general becomes too much, it can feel difficult to be mindfully present and recharged. What starts as a busy schedule can quickly turn into something much harder to deal with and recover from.
For some, burnout causes a disinterest in different aspects of life. It’s important to have skills to recover from feeling burnt out and to understand how to prevent the feeling in the first place.
“It’s just a lot of pressure on your shoulders,” senior Marbie Concepcion said. “Depending on your mindset, it dictates how you can deal with that pressure.”
To show how common this feeling is among students, sophomore Gavin Steuer shared his experience. Steuer is in different advanced classes, and he experiences burnout due to the workload in those classes.
“[It feels like] having no motivation to do anything and just being overloaded with things to do,” Steuer said.
When there is too much on students’ plates and they don’t know where to start, it can feel impossible to find the energy to do anything. Students might give up on their assignments, which can lead to poor grades.
“They’ve been turning in work all along and they just get to a point where they can’t anymore,” English teacher Jennifer Sayasane said.
One of the ways students can handle burnout is by communicating to their teachers about their struggles. Trying to come up with a compromise between a student and a teacher is a helpful way to preempt burnout. Teachers understand that burnout happens, especially when students are busy. Communicating to a teacher early on can help you to succeed in the future.
“I try to meet them where they are, and if we need to make adjustments to due dates, then we do,” Sayasane said.
Although burnout feels severe in the moment, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you take your day one step at a time and are gentle with yourself, things will start to improve.
“Just know that it’s not permanent and the feeling can be strong, but you just have to power through it and it’ll get better,” Concepcion said.
If you ever experience the feeling of burnout, reach out to peers and teachers to get the help you need. It’s important to remember that this feeling is temporary, and you have peers who experience the same thing.
