It is common that athletes who have been competing in a sport for a long-time struggle at some point with their love for the sport and even feel completely exhausted with it. This is often known as burnout. Burnout is defined as “a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress” (helpguide.org). This can happen in things other than sports as well. But the stress of sports have an impact on students and this burnout can effect things other than just sports. Once someone is feeling burnout it is common that they begin to struggle in other areas too due to the exhaustion that they are experiencing. I have first-hand experienced this burnout feeling this year.
I have had a lot of health concerns arise in the past two years and those alone have added stress to my life and trying to stay on top of my sport and school has been incredibly hard. I have defiantly been facing burnout to the point where my love for the sport I have done my whole life is basically gone. I miss my sport so much but I am currently in a place where I cannot participate because it is too much. This is really hard to know that you are good at something and to know that you would be fine if you just got back into it. It’s hard to let things you love slip through the cracks. But I know that where I am right now is not the place to be participating in a super competitive sport.
There are positive things that may come out of burnout though. There is the chance that you will find a new love or passion. There is a chance that you find a new way to engage in the things you loved and you may come to the realization that maybe it is time to take a break, which is not a bad thing. I think burnout can teach a person many valuable lessons.