One of the feelings that I never understood until I got to college was the feeling of burnout. As we are nearing the end of the school year, I am starting to understand the feeling of being completely burnt out. With the end of the semester come exams, papers and projects. It is starting to affect me in all aspects of my life, especially in my social life. I do not even have the energy to go see my friends after a long day of work. Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of self-care and alone time. But I am such a social butterfly that without spending the evenings with my friends I feel as if I am missing out on it.
I as well am dealing with a level of stress I am not used to. I have had stress and anxiety since around middle school but nothing like what I am dealing with now. The other day I was so stressed that I started to break out into hives on my chest in the library. Obviously, I went outside to get a breath and felt better but it was still such a terrifying feeling. I have been pushing myself to the limit, especially at the end of the semester and it is taking such an overall toll on me.
What I have learned from one of the busiest weeks of my life is that time management is crucial. This is something I have been severely struggling with recently. I think a lot of it is motivated by the nice weather making me think that summer is here and I have nothing to do, but that is so far from the truth. This is crunch time in the semester so I have to put on my game face and get it all done. Although this week has physically exhausted me, I learned a couple of different ways to cope with severe levels of stress.
Going outside and just taking a breath is the biggest advice that I can give anyone. I have heard this for years and I never believed that it would work. Until I got to college and started doing it whenever I could feel the anxiety creeping up on me. So, as we go into finals, I wanted to let anyone who may be dealing with burnout out know that you are not alone. And although you may feel like you cannot get it all done, I promise you can. It will all be worth it in the end.