As the semester progresses, many students find that the motivation associated with the new year begins to slow down. Each day, it gradually becomes more difficult to keep up with the many activities of student life. Many begin to feel burnt out from the high stress of schoolwork and many activities and sports.
Burnout instills a feeling that nothing is worthwhile and as described by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is, “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration”.
This is why students with too much on their plate begin to feel overwhelmed with a large workload and many out-of-school activities.
Burnout is a serious, and common problem among students with many commitments. In an anonymous survey, students were asked how they describe burnout. One describes it as,
“Wanting to give your all into too many things, resulting in not having enough to give into each individual aspect,” said an anonymous LHS student.
Eventually, this causes students to fall behind in school, work and sports as their energy is drained; an increase in frustration is caused by the feeling that they cannot keep up with everything that student life entails.
“It’s as if you’re a slowly burning candle and your wick is growing dull,” said an LHS student.
Explaining the feeling that every task is too exhausting to accomplish.
Many students at LHS have experienced burnout at some point in their academic careers. Some explained that their lack of motivation stemmed from a specific class or classes. People taking many challenging classes said that they were feeling burnt out because of the high workload associated with them,
“Then the workload overwhelms [me] and other classes, especially academically challenging ones … just adds to the pressure,” said Anonymous.
Over time, stress and frustration continue to add up which can cause students’ grades to drop. Eventually, burnout can lead to lower academic performance and success.
Other students claimed that they experience burnout every day, and have for the entirety of high school. Not only because of the classes at LHS but also due to out-of-school activities such as sports and work. After seven hours a day at school some students have to work or practice for hours, making it difficult to find time for homework, personal care and sleep. This can have a negative effect on health, mental and physical. Working too hard, having a lack of sleep and decrease in personal time exhausts students making them too tired to keep up with a busy schedule. Health-wise, this can put them at a higher risk for sickness, and mentally, this also affects students by making them lethargic and at a higher risk for serious mental health problems like depression.
With these risks, it is important to realize the issue and what is causing the burnout. To overcome it, it is important to indicate the source of burnout and see what one can do to change it. A strategy for this is to find things that can be controlled in what seems out of control. Activities like rest, relaxation and self-care are all ways to help release tension and feel rejuvenated. Another way to find control is by organization and cleaning, it can help to figure out thoughts and find a starting place for overcoming burnout.
LHS students also have their own methods of overcoming burnout, some take time off to reset, and others spend time doing self-care and relaxation techniques. Others have a more strategic method.
“Trying your best to set goals for the day and do them can help,” said Anonymous.
Setting goals helps focus on what one can do to make their workload less stressful is just another way to help combat burnout. Other ways that students have said help boost motivation are by finding a balance between work and relaxation, going to the gym and using studying strategies.
Since burnout is such a common issue among students and people with busy lives it is important to remember to stay in touch with one’s emotions. Keep in mind the symptoms of burnout and recognize them in others as well as one’s self. This will help to control the burnout and keep it from turning into depression.
