Burnout and 3 Ways to Overcome It

As the semester comes to a close and finals are just around the corner, it can be difficult to stay motivated. Between classes, work, and cramming in late-night study sessions, finding time to decompress can feel impossible. When stress starts piling up, it can be easy to feel burnt out. Getting out of a state of burnout can seem like another difficult task to take on, but with these tips, you can overcome it. 

Melinda Smith and Sheldon Reid define burnout as “a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.” Burnout is a process that gradually develops, characterized by emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms. According to Smith and Reid, at times, burnout can also develop into depression if gone untreated. While burnout cannot be medically diagnosed, it is still a condition that several people, including busy college students, can suffer from. Knowing how to overcome burnout can help you feel more confident and organized while maintaining all your responsibilities. 

Some symptoms of burnout include feeling drained, overwhelmed, and irritable, and can also lead to physical symptoms such as fatigue and increased susceptibility to illnesses, such as colds. Behavioral changes with burnout can include isolation, procrastination, and increased substance use, as stated by Dr. Brad Brenner.

The first step in overcoming burnout is to identify your symptoms. If there are factors at your job that are pressuring you or your school assignments seem to be never-ending, all that pent-up stress can lead to burnout. After identifying that you have burnout, you can begin to work on overcoming it. 

Take a break

One way to overcome burnout is to take regular breaks. After a long day of work, school, and any other tasks in between, it can be hard to find a moment to breathe. When coming home from your daily tasks, set aside a period of time to be alone in a calm, controlled space. Whether that means watching an episode of your comfort show, coloring, or simply sitting in bed, taking a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life can benefit your emotional and physical state. 

Obviously, there are still responsibilities that you have, like homework or chores. While it’s important to take time for yourself, don’t forget the tasks that need to be done.

A great way to balance self-care while also getting things done is by creating a list. In your head, all the tasks you have to complete become scrambled, seeming unattainable to complete on time. Writing a to-do list helps visualize what you need to complete and prioritize them accordingly. Within the gaps of your work, school, and chores, you can set aside moments for breaks.

Another way to balance productive time with breaks is the 60/60/30 method. An example of this could be 50 minutes for homework, 50 minutes for chores, with a ten-minute break in between, and then another 30 minutes to decompress. This rule can also be modified to a 60/30/60 or even a 20/5, where you work for 20 minutes with a 5-minute break in between. Sectioning off when you complete tasks and including time for breaks can drastically improve your mental state.

Talk to someone you trust

Another way to overcome burnout is to talk to someone you trust, whether that be a friend, a family member, or a therapist. Talking about the things you’re stressed out about with another person can help you create a plan on how to tackle them.

If you’re stressed out about a test, you can ask a friend to help you study the sections you’re worried about and create study guides. You can also go to your professor’s office hours to ask them questions on topics you don’t feel confident about, to gain additional help and guidance on where to find that material. If you’re worried about getting chores done, you can talk to your roommates to separate chores to lessen the burden on one person. 

There are some instances where tasks cannot be divided, and help may not be available, so you would have to take them on yourself. Just because you have to complete a task on your own doesn’t mean that you can’t ask someone you trust for advice. When I’ve felt as though things are piling up and I don’t know what to do, I’ve sat with my therapist to focus on the things I can control.

If policy changes at my job are beginning to cause me stress, I examine parts of those changes I can control. While I can’t change the new policies, I can change my reaction to them. One way I did that was by reading the updated manual to see which recipes had changed, and practicing them when I had downtime. By focusing on the things in my control, I was able to adapt better and lessen the amount of stress I felt. 

Talking about how you feel can be difficult as well. Admitting that you’re struggling can be hard, even if you’re trying to confide in a close friend. When you begin that difficult conversation, know that the person you’re talking to is someone who cares about you and wishes the best for you. Even if they cannot physically do anything to help destress you, they can check in on you and remind you to take breaks. 

Practicing a healthy lifestyle

Finally, you can overcome burnout by practicing healthy habits. Being healthy in your mind and body includes getting enough sleep, drinking water, and eating healthy. A great way to stay healthy is by working out. Whether that means going to the gym for an hour, doing an at-home workout routine, or even going for a 30-minute walk, staying active can help clear your mind and release stress. Yoga and meditation are great methods for maintaining the health of your body and mind. 

Being well-rested can help you recover from burnout. After a long day of classes, work, and other daily tasks, it can be difficult to finish all your necessary jobs and get enough sleep. A study conducted by The Sleep Foundation, as mentioned in an article by Cornell Health, discovered that the average college student needs seven to nine hours of sleep to be fully rested.

Several apps can track your sleep cycle to determine how often you enter a deep sleep and the time spent in each phase of the Rapid Eye Movement cycle. The REM cycle shows when you’re in a light sleep, dreaming, or in deep sleep. If you find that you’re having difficulty sleeping, try to cut back on how much caffeine you consume before sleeping and stay off screens 30 minutes before you go to bed. Dr. Michelle Drerup told the Cleveland Clinic that this helps begin the REM cycle. 

Eating healthy foods can improve your mental state and prevent burnout. According to Eva Selhub, MD., from Harvard Medical School, several studies have found “a correlation between a diet high in refined sugars and impaired brain function — and even a worsening of symptoms of mood disorders.” While eating the recommended three meals a day is good, if those meals consist only of fast food and junk food, your mind and body can still suffer the consequences.

Having a balanced breakfast, lunch, and dinner helps keep your mind and body healthy. This, of course, doesn’t mean that the occasional fast food run or snack is going to affect your mood drastically. Finding a balance in your diet is a result of finding a balance in your life. 

While overcoming burnout can be difficult, it’s not a challenge that needs to be considered impossible. By staying actively aware of when life is becoming stressful and making sure to take breaks, that feeling of stress can be reduced. Living a healthy lifestyle isn’t just for your body; it’s also for your brain. Finding hobbies and activities that you enjoy doing to decompress between homework and work helps create balance in your life and keeps you organized and with a positive mindset.

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