“I can do everything.” Yeah, I’ve had that thought too. While you may be able juggle an array of school, work, volunteering, etc., eventually you might find yourself running low on energy and enter burnout, a state of chronic stress that leads to both physical and emotional exhaustion. This lack of energy is often coupled with cynicism, detachment, and feeling a lack of accomplishment.
Burnout is a slow burn. Being passionate about your activities and driven to excel can blind you to the long hours, intense work load, and immense pressure. Burnout builds slowly as the fatigue and stress slowly wears on your physical and mental health. Just some of the symptoms of burnout include chronic fatigue, insomnia, lack of focus, forgetfulness, and increased frequency of illness. It is important to recognize signs of burnout early and learn to cope when encountered with burnout; and if you don’t know if you are experiencing burnout ask yourself some questions:
Do you drag yourself to do work and feel unproductive throughout your studies?
Have you become irritable or impatient, cynical or critical about your work?
Are you lacking the energy to be consistently productive?
Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?
Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?
Have your sleep habits or appetite changed?
If these questions resonate with you, whether or not you are experiencing burnout, you should be aware of your mental and physical state. Experts in psychology and health, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasize that burnout is more than just needing a break. Unresolved burnout can be long-lasting and presents a major health concern, and is not just a symptom of stress.
So, how does one cope with burnout and learn to prevent it? You mainly need to give yourself time to recover from the chronic stress. Although it’s not entirely realistic to take time off mid-quarter, there are things you can do now to manage stress and improve health while waiting for the well-deserved break. It is still important to note that burnout will not go away on its own until the underlying causes of burnout are addressed. So try these strategies for now, but looking forward create a realistic workload for yourself.
Physical improvements: You’ve heard it before, one of the best things you can do to improve your health is refining diet and exercise regiment. This is true for mental health as well. In addition, try yoga, meditation, or switching to tea instead of coffee.
Sleep: Shoot for 7+ hours a night. Make it a goal for yourself. Put it in your schedule: sleep. You cannot “make it up on the weekend” and you cannot function without it. If you are sleep deprived, increasing you sleep can improve your general state of being and increase overall productivity.
Learn to say “No”: And learn to say it politely. Try not to take on any new responsibilities or commitments while you’re recovering from burnout, this will only contribute to your stress.
Talk about it: It is important to find a dialogue for what you are going through, if only to articulate your stress for yourself and find ways to cope. It can be difficult to articulate the stress in your life to the people in your life that relieve stress (i.e. family, friends, dogs you pass on the street). If you prefer to speak to someone openly who can give you professional guidance, check out DePaul’s University Counseling Services (UCS). UCS provides a range of services to help individuals address emotional, psychological and interpersonal concerns (free of charge for full time students).
Fun: The team leader of Workplace Health Programs within the C.D.C., Jason Lang, recommends a daily dose of laughter to combat stress. Positive thinking falls into this as well. Avoid being trapped in a cycle of cynicism by thinking positively and taking time to recognize your achievements. You are feeling burnout because you are pushing yourself to the extreme, so recognize that you are awesome and focus on your health. Find something that you love to do, something you no longer have time or energy to do, and do it. Whether that’s exploring, midnight comedy hour on fridays at the Annoyance Bar, or reading a book at a quiet cafe. Seriously, free your soul.
Compassion: A suggestion you probably will not find elsewhere is to just be understanding to one another. It sounds straightforward, but we are all students, we are all juggling life, and we could gain a lot by recognizing that we’re not alone.
References
Rosen, K. R. (2017, September 05). How to Recognize Burnout Before You’re Burned Out. Retrieved October 18, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/smarter-living/workplace-burnout-symp…
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2015, September 17). Know the signs of job burnout. Retrieved October 18, 2017, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burno…
Mind Tools Team. (n.d.). Recovering From Burnout: Finding Passion for Your Role Again. Retrieved October 18, 2017, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/recovering-from-burnout.html