From the get-go, college is sold to us as “the best years of your life,” promising new friendships, a blur of late-night adventures and academic breakthroughs. But beneath this glossed-over idealization is a quieter, uncomfortable reality. Burnout. And not just academic burnout, but social burnout too. For many students, burnout doesn’t just arrive suddenly; it creeps in slowly, disguising itself as normal weariness, until you suddenly feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.
We often talk about burnout as if it’s normal — for example, a mental breakdown during finals season, that never-ending to-do list, etc. But more often than not, burnout is subtle and unromantic. It’s avoiding texts from loved ones because the thought of making conversation when exhausted feels even more draining. It’s hitting snooze on your alarm because you can’t stomach the idea of starting the day, it’s feeling guilty for cancelling plans even though you desperately need the rest, and lastly, it’s losing that excitement one used to have about joining clubs, picking classes or even getting ready for a fun night out.
The pressure placed on young adults to “make the most” of college contributes to this. From a young age, we internalize the idea that our college experience is valued based on how much we can squeeze into it — how many friends we have, how many events we go to and how many times we say “yes.” The outcome? As if students aren’t already academically overloaded, they become socially overextended as well. We fear that if we are not constantly present, involved or having fun, then we’re living the college life all wrong.
But maintaining that performance of non-stop excitement hides the emotional toll it takes. Admitting to social burnout can often feel embarrassing to admit — after all, aren’t these supposed to be the “best years of our lives”? Yet, studies show that “academic burnout has a negative impact on students’ academic performance and affects their mental health, including inducing feelings of stress, anxiety, frustration and fear.” So when every hangout becomes content for someone’s social media, and every relationship is compared to something seen online, even the simple act of socializing can start to feel like work.
Academic burnout isn’t just about having a large workload. It’s about the incredibly high expectations that students place on themselves. Getting good grades, not knowing what career path to take, creating the perfect resume and wishing that your parents were proud. More often than not, many students juggle internships, part-time jobs, family responsibilities, classes and more, making burnout almost unavoidable. But because everyone seems fine, we assume that we’re the problem.
So how can we fix this? The answer isn’t quite as simple as “take a break” or “try some self-care,” because unfortunately, a bubble bath doesn’t cure burnout in one afternoon. It requires looking at things through a new lens, altering the way we think about productivity, social life, and days off. Take time off to recuperate, set realistic goals, make time for your hobbies, and, most importantly, take time for yourself.
One of the most crucial steps towards this is learning to catch those early signs of burnout before we’re already overwhelmed, struggling to stay focused, losing interest in things we usually love, and feeling emotionally numb and overstimulated over the smallest interactions. It is important to remember that these things aren’t personal failures; they’re your mind and body telling you that something needs to be done. Rest isn’t something someone should “earn”; it’s something that everyone requires. Real rest isn’t about endlessly scrolling; it’s about taking that time for yourself without trying to impress, keep up, or prove anything to anyone. Lending yourself to this kind of rest is not laziness but instead the sustainability we need to keep going.
Social burnout also requires reevaluating what our relationships look like. Not every friendship needs to be maintained at full force all the time, and not every night needs to be eventful. Sometimes, keeping up with your social life means choosing meaningful interactions over constant ones. It means being honest with yourself and others when you need space and trusting that real friends won’t take it personally.
The simple truth about college burnout is this: you are NOT failing, even if you feel you are. You are NOT alone, and you aren’t expected to love every second of a time in life that is objectively overwhelming.
College isn’t about those picture-perfect moments; it’s real life. It’s messy, exhausting, demanding and beautiful; it becomes so much more manageable when we stop pretending that it’s supposed to be perfect.
Chong, L. Z., Foo, L. K., & Chua, S.-L. (2025). Student Burnout: A Review on Factors Contributing to Burnout Across Different Student Populations. Behavioral Sciences, 15(2), 170. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020170