Burnout

By Zaria Franklin

Burnout is nothing new. Exhaustion, fatigue, depression, imposter syndrome, and anxiety have become part of the social norm of the world. Everyone is anxious and tired. Everyone feels overwhelmed. This stress-induced culture of living has become so normalized in recent years that most people do not actually know what burnout is or when it’s happening to them. If anything, the severity of burning out one’s mental health has been repackaged as working hard, being resilient, and an idealistic way to live. 

Burnout, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” Now, burnout is not a medical condition, but rather a mental state that can occur due to conditions such as depression, anxiety, and more.  However, this is not always the case. Burnout is not reserved for those of us who have official diagnoses. Burnout is when we suddenly feel the weight of the world crushing us with its expectations and rules.. Burnout is a universal experience, and it is almost always tied to our work.  

Our society revolves around work. It is grueling, nonstop, and unforgiving. Therefore, most of the time, we will not know when burnout is happening. Take your typical college student. There’s a high probability that they’re stressed in some capacity, they’ve experienced burnout, or burnout is on the horizon. This may seem arbitrary to some, because college is often marketed as the best years of our lives due to newfound freedom, but still not the full responsibility of being an adult . However, that concept in of itself is the source of burnout for many college students. They are becoming solely responsible for everything in their life for the first time. The hours of classes and homework are on them. Their social life is on them. Their physical habits are on them. Whether or not they’re getting the absolute most out of college in preparation for the professional world waiting for them, is on them. 

So, how do we combat burnout? First, identify the signs. As stated before, burnout tends to creep up on its prey. However, if we know the signs of oncoming burnout, we can diffuse the situation before we reach complete exhaustion.

Here’s a couple signs of burnout to be mindful of:

1. Fatigue/Irritability

Are you finding yourself struggling to get restorative rest or becoming easily irritated by your work progress or others?

2. Changes in Diet or Sleep Patterns

Are you eating more or less? Are these changes in your diet healthy? Are you sleeping a lot more throughout the day despite going to bed at reasonable times? 

3. Procrastination/Perfectionism

Are you avoiding your work? Why? Are you spending too much time working on something in particular? Why?

4. Disorganization

Are you struggling to keep track of everything? 

5. Increased Anxiety

Are you finding that you’re feeling more anxious lately? When? Why?

These are just a few of the possible indicators of oncoming burnout. If you think you’re starting burn out…

Here are some next steps to restore yourself:

1.Plan and Re-Plan

An old Yiddish saying goes, “Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht.” AKA, “Man plans, and God laughs.”

Have a plan. Get a planner and write down everything you have to get done. Plan your day, your week, your month, your year. Whatever works for you. However, when things come up, and they will, don’t fight it so hard. Learn to roll with the punches, and make a new plan. If the old one no longer suits you, let it go. You can always start over and make a new plan. 

2. Create Separation

Keep your work life separate from your personal life. In this case, don’t study or work where you sleep. Give yourself distinct spaces for every aspect of your life. Create healthy separation. 

3. Ask for Help

We cannot go through this world alone. We are a part of many teams. People are always around. Go to them. Go to your coworkers, your boss, your teachers, your friends, your family. Lean on the people around you. That’s what teams are for.

4. Intentional Self-Care

Dedicate intentional time to serve yourself. Not the necessities like eating or sleeping. Not choosing to watch five hours of Netflix on a whim the night before a big presentation. Schedule it. Plan it out. Make it a date where you do something for and with yourself. Do this habitually. Treat yourself to your favorite coffee once a week. Do a spa-night every other weekend. Plan a Netflix day for yourself. 

5. Hydration

Stay hydrated. What you put in your body will affect how you feel and how you move through your day. 

6. Sleep

You cannot do everything to the best of your ability if you are not well-rested. Our world is so digital. As hard as it is, give yourself a reasonable cut-off from work and electronics before going to bed. 

7. Hobbies

Do you have any hobbies? That is, something you do with no extrinsic motivation? If so, do it. If not, go find one. Look up ideas online. Go try a free extracurricular. Start a journal, take a pottery class, or go running every morning. Whatever it is, make sure you have something you do just for the sake of loving it. 

8. Breathe & Let Go

Be where your feet are. If you cannot do anything about whatever is weighing on you right now, then let it go. If you can, go do that thing. Always remember to breathe. For one, it keeps you alive, and for two, it’ll calm you down more than you think. So just stop and breathe.

Sources Used:

zaleska. “What Is Burnout?” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Feb. 2022, health.clevelandclinic.org/signs-of-burnout/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.

“Merriam-Webster Dictionary.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2022, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burnout. Accessed 23 Oct. 2022.

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Graphic by Shyloh Koo